*********************************************************************************************

I wear layers. On this day, I wore a lightweight denim dress over leggings and boots. Added a warm cardigan for the ride in. When the weather warmed, I lost the cardi and the leggings and was good to go (I can never remember to take the ‘after’ photo)!

**************************************************************************************The dress is longer than it looks here, I promise! Layers are the answer to all of my current wardrobe weather issues. You?

Lowrah from Grease Rag Ride & Wrench was our hostess for the visit, and we couldn’t have asked for a more brilliant person to show us around. She found us bikes, lead us to delicious watering holes, helped us meet other cool cats, and rode with Ross in the snow storm when I was too scared. Her passion for cycling and society in Minneapolis knows no bounds. We had a lot of great conversations and shared ideas and thoughts about cycling culture in our respective cities.

*************

Lowrah is one of the lovely ladies who help run the bi-monthly womens/trans/femme co-op Greasrag, HQ’d at Sunrise Cyclery. Obviously she knows her way around a bike, and for that we salute her. Right now she’s helping get a project together for the Bicycle Film Festival – a look at DIY WTF bike spaces. If you’re interested in helping out with that project or are a WTF in the Minneapolis area and have yet to visit Greasrag, get on it!

Over the next few days I’ll be putting up short posts about different aspects of our trip, but for this first one all I wanted to say is, Low, you ROCK!

I just started taking ballet classes a few weeks ago. Naturally, I ride my bike to and from class. Last week it was 27 degrees and windy, making my riding attire pretty hilarious, but tonight was balmy and perfect. Riding is actually the perfect warm-up and cool down, making me less sore the next day.

Somehow on the way, I cut my knee (I think it was carrying the bike up the stairs at Alabama Ballet Company). Because you do not hold up ballet class, I just put on my shoes and got in line on the barre. Throughout class, I kept feeling the cut get bigger every time we pliéd. By the end of class, I had a 3 inch trail of blood through my tights. Back on the bike to ride home, then finally peeling off the bloodied tights and taking a hot shower.

I told a friend of mine this story and her response “You are just that kind of girl.” Yes I am, and I like it.

***************************************************************************************

Today someone said this sentence to me: “It seems like your little cycling career is ending anyway.” Hours (and an apology) later and it still smarts.

Do I ride less than I used to? Yep. Do I sometimes complain about riding up hills? Yep. Did I take 8 weeks off due to a broken foot? Yep. Am I riding less because it’s winter; choosing to walk or get rides when offered? Yep. No, I am not as gung-ho about proving myself, I got over that. Is my “little cycling career” over? NOT A CHANCE.

I don’t want to think that this has to do with  my being a woman, but I can’t help it. Today’s remark was not the first time I have heard this. People ask me all the time if I have given up and decided to get a car. Why is that even a question? As though getting a car is giving up on riding my bike. News flash: plenty of people ride bikes AND have cars. News flash #2: my job, which is why I gave up my car, is still the same. No raise = no car anytime soon.

My love for riding is not a passing fancy. Even if I do buy a car or ride less, that means nothing about my passion for riding. If a man takes some time off from riding, is he asked if his “little cycling career” is over? Does anyone consider his decision to ride a “little cycling career”? I am recovering from an injury and trying to get back into it. It is harder than I thought, which is upsetting, but I am working on it. Shit, I just had the flu for a week! I rode my bike to and from an ass kicking ballet class last night in 27 degrees.

To be clear, I am not lambasting this person. It simply brought out some anger about being treated as a joke. As a woman working in the non-profit world, I get that enough. As a 31 year old single woman, I get that enough. The last thing I need is it coming from the cycling world.

Tomorrow night I will ride my bike in a prom dress and have a great time doing it. Anyone who has a problem with that can suck it.

If I am running from one meeting to another and want to arrive fresh and clean, I walk up any steep hills that may be on the route.  I used to ride up them to be a badass, now I care less about that and more about having cute hair and not overheating! After one too many meetings sweaty and out of breath, I am taking the easy way out. During the winter it actually seems worse, since I am dressed perfectly for regular riding but much too warm for the hills.

After my last meeting of the day, I always ride up the massive hill by my house, glad not to have to worry about arriving home sweaty!

Anyone else do this?

***********************************************************

Here in Birmingham we have been iced in since Sunday afternoon.  As in, schools and businesses shut down.  Roads impassable.  Ice everywhere.  Just this morning, when it was 20 degrees, I debated on riding when I saw this tweet from Bike Skirt friend, Dan:

Fellow bike commuters: Protect your hands and face today! The wind is wicked today. My face is burning!

I HATE riding in that and have super sensitive eyes, so I decided to walk to the meeting.  Within 2 feet I was glad I did: ice everywhere.  At the bottom of the hill by my house was a huge ice sheet and I saw a Semi nearly lose it.  Not everywhere is like this, but there were ice spots the entire way to the coffee shop. No snow plows, little sand and salt and temperatures below 30 degrees is a problem here.  Add to it that I have small, racing tires and I am walking it.

nothing but ice

*****************************************************************

Walking was slippery and boy was I glad for the snow boots my mom, who lives in Milwaukee, sent me!

*********************************************************

I hear that the rest of the country is insanely cold too.  Tricia over at Let’s go Ride a Bike seems to be having similar issues. Do you have any stories of icy good (or bad) ness?

To getting back on the road!

Super scary to watch this truck slide down the hill

too much ice for this girls bike ride!

Cyclocross is over for me (a dismal season), and I am so happy to get my road bike back in action. It really is an amazing feeling to ride a bike so significantly lighter than my others, and to be able to get some real miles in. This morning I joined Rossitron on his commute to work, and we stopped to enjoy some delicious pastries from Continental Bakery. Getting back to some hill climbs, french donuts, coffee…puuuuuuurfect.

squinty in that wonderfully warming sun

I also recently acquired some  awesome Icebreaker merino wool thermals that covered me top to bottom, and I was pleased to discover that the bottoms fit under my tights! Other things that helped me today were a good slater of Jojoba oil, Chapped Hands Remedy from C.O. Biglow, and the Burt’s Bees lifeguard’s choice lip balm. Seriously guys, I would not survive winter without these products in my life. 

I had a reasonable two mile commute from the coffee shop, which I was thankful for because my toes and fingers were starting to protest rather painfully. If this low temperature persists, it will be time to break out the snow gloves and add some better socks to my wardrobe.

********************************************************************************

Well, I had my first day of winter weather riding, highs of 38, lows of 27 today.  I had a meeting and errands to run, so I had to dress appropriately. Not as hard as it sounds!

What I wore: Long sleeved black T shirt-H&M
Black high-waisted black skirt- Old Navy
Teal tights from HUE (best ever)
Smartwool knee high striped socks
Ruff Hewn boots
Pearl Izumi winter jacket (gift from a friend when he got a new one!)
Wool Cycling cap from Walz- bought when I was with Dottie!
Sugoi merino wool Wallerino gloves
Teal/camel pashmina from Hong Kong (thanks, Mom)

the photo shoot got a little silly!

*****************************************************************************

I was pleasantly warm and actually found myself a bit hot when I rode some hills in the sun.  I am excited to ride in the cold and not arrive everywhere sweaty.  However, the hat hair sucks.  Oh well, you win some, you love some.

How has your cold weather riding been?

It’s so cold, and I decided much earlier in the season that I prefer walking with less of a wind chill and a longer commute.  However, last night my alarm did not get set and I was therefore running insanely late this morning, so decided to ride Whitey at breakneck speed to work.  Running late also meant that I had insufficient fashion planning time, so although I had decided to ride, I also for some reason chose a ridiculously long skirt to wear.  As you know, once you commit to something enough to put it on there’s no time for a redesign.

I gobbled toast and a glass of OJ (I also used all my coffee up yesterday *tear) and bolted out the door.

Side note: I live across the street from a Planned Parenthood.  Currently there are some lovely religious types camped out on the sidewalk with signs and prayer beads for the 40 days of life.

So I’m in the parking lot and stuffing my skirt all which way up in my jacket and wrapping it around my waist while these lovely folks are looking on.  I rode away with some dignity still intact, but about a block further down I was not having much luck with containment and considered taking my skirt off to just ride in leggings.  Thankfully(?), stopping and disrobing took time that I did not had, so I opted for the ”not using my back break” technique.  It worked out OK.

At one stop light I was doing quite a bit of skirt adjusting, and then realized that there was a guy behind me on a bike.  I always try to be friendly when these rare encounters occur, so I hoisted a huge smile and said “HELLO!!!”…I think he was confused.

I can’t wait until it’s spring.

And that’s about all I’ve got.  Well that and a bunch of cookies that I made over the weekend.  They’re delicious.