Lee 2G

Another contribution from one of you out there in the world! It's like getting an early Christmas present. Or a late Hanukkah gift, your choice : ) Lee is one of the folks out there in the San Francisco Bay Area that rides all the way from SF to Cupertino (38 miles, one way!) at least once a week. I love how this group has turned a bicycle commute into a way to socialize and encourage one another! Would you commute by bicycle more if you had people to ride with?

"I met the SF2G gang at last year's Bike-to-Work Day, where they
traditionally assemble large rides out of San Francisco down to
various workplaces along the peninsula. Although I was a little
anxious, I found them to be friendly, encouraging, and enthusiastic
cyclists, some of them advanced, and some the everyday-type, spinning
along like the rest of us. I learned that these rides occur just about
every working day. Some of the rides may be faster paced than others.
But, the group usually hosts a pleasantly paced, super-social ride at
least one Friday a month. After my bike-to-work experience, I started
participating in their morning bike commute rides more often. And,
after learning the routes, going on them myself or often, with other
friends.

There are a number of reasons why I bike the 40-plus miles to work on
some mornings. Some reasons are easy to understand, like the feeling
you get from the fresh air and the exertion, having your workday start
with you in a good mood, getting to see the Bay Area in a way you
wouldn't normally, and so on. But overall, I think for me it's simply
just about the adventure and the spirit of camaraderie that that
adventure can bring out in you and the people riding next to you."

Monkey In The Mail

A reader contribution for your enjoyment! This installment from Charley Hopkins who writes "Screaming Monkey Bike" (great title!).

I like most people started riding bicycles in my youth. To this day,
some 35 years later I can still smell the exact same smell when riding
at night that I used to smell all those years ago while flying down deserted city streets at midnight with my friends. This was and still
is a very good feeling. I didn't ride again on a normal basis until
about 5 years ago. Then while riding a cheap cruiser bike my wife
bought me it just clicked. I was hooked on the simplicity of the
"noblest invention" the bicycle. Part of the thing that appealed to me
was getting out of my 500 horse power Volvo eighteen wheeler at the
end of a long day and onto a completely silent machine. It's Zen like.
Since those early days of my enlightenment I've invested in a better
bicycle.Thankfully. Last year I also took the leap into the world of
commuting to work by bike. This endeavor was made a little more
difficult by the fact that I get out of bed at 2:30am and need to be
at work at 3:30am. I work 12 to 14 hours then ride the 10 miles back
home. It's definitely a challenge but very rewarding in a sadistic
sort of way... About a year ago I started Screaming Monkey Bike blog
and have taken my passion "world wide." Literally. I've also dropped
from my original 288lbs to my now 228lbs and have also been able to
drop my blood pressure to a normal level.


I love your blog... It seems like a very happy place...

Thanks, Charlie @ screamingmonkeybike.blogspot.com

Thanks for sending us your story, Charlie! It is so much fun to hear stories from around the world and see we all have such a positive thing in common.

We love contributions! Send us yours so we can share it with the world (we have readers from Bahrain to Brooklyn!).

Sometimes You Just Gotta

I like to ride in wide legged trousers and a cute hat. That's me. Sometimes, though, I can see the lure of the pelaton and the open road and wonder to myself "where did I put my old bike shorts?"

car back! (pedale. barrique)

Photo by pedale. barrique

Lock up your sports drinks! And your daughters! (Photo by pedale. barrique)

Cyclocross ain't just for young guys (photo by Giorgio Vianini)

photo by EricM.

photo by Rocketdog

Now, who out there has some pictures of woman out racing? We would like to share them!

Taxi Service

Every time I ride across town I notice more and more people with kid set ups on their bikes. The best thing is that for the first time I am seeing an increase in woman carrying kids on their bikes! So tonight, I present some of the wonderful pictures of people transporting children that have been sent to us through the Flickr group.

photo by Xander n' Dante (Toronto)

photo by efeb (Copenhagen)

photo by Iam Sterdam (Amsterdam)

bicyclesonly (New York City)

photo by Meligrosa (San Francisco)

photo by Cleverchimp (Portland)

photo by fnagrom (California?)

photo by ktieche (San Francisco)

How do you get your kids around? Share the knowledge!

Shazaaammm!

I usually leave cycle chic posts over at "Vélo Vogue", but this one just had to go here. We'll call it an homage to my bike blogging beginnings : )







From Flickr group member, Sweet Olive.

It may be time to step it up, people! How good can you look on your bike?

Three Wheels, Ninety-Two Years

This lovely picture and story was sent into our Flickr group by "Cold Iron", a bicycle mechanic at Cycle City in Alameda, Ca. He sends in lots of pictures of his customers with their bikes. I like the stories he puts with the pictures because they show us all that a cyclist is just a person with a bike. This story, however, was super special to me. I just recently ended 12 years of working with Senior Citizens and this generation is, by far, my favorite. With a daily dwindling number of WW2 vets left, to see one out on a trike... makes my month!

Mr. F was born in 1917.

He's lived through 17 U.S. Presidents.
He was 9 or 10 when Charles Lindbergh became the first man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
He was 22 when the Nazis invaded Poland.
He was 30 when the British left India.
He was 39 (my current age) when Elvis made his television debut on the Milton Berle Show.
He was 52 when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.
He was 64 when Iran freed the hostages from the American Embassy in Tehran.
He was 73 when the Berlin Wall came down.
He was 86 when the Centenial of Powered Flight was celebrated at Kitty Hawk.

I am fascinated with the history of the 20th Century, and it's a real treat for me to know such a man.

I think there is so much that can be learned from someone who's lived through so much change... and can keep a positive energy, and a fresh attitude... the way he has.

I plan on riding well into ride into my 90's. When I grow up, I want to be just like Mr. F.

Why We Ride

There are a million reasons why we ride. Maybe we ride so we can be the wind.

photo by Giorgio Vianini. Quick! Go look at his AMAZING photography!

Why do you ride? What does it look like? Let us know!

Bike Culture. Yay Or Ney?

I have a family blog that does not get updated enough these days. With three kids, James and I are usually pretty busy, so writing can get shoved to the side. Today I was looking for a picture I knew was on the family blog when I ran across this post from my Hubby the Bike Man. I didn't realize he had posted it (I haven't even looked at the family blog for months!).

James & His Xtracycle

While discussing the topic of American bike culture with our new found friend Geoff, he explained how no such thing existed while he lived in Amsterdam.

Huh?

How can that be? How can the city where bikes have the privilege of having roads made specifically for them, where every one rides a bicycle, have no bike culture. Further discussion on the matter lead to some enlightening conclusions that come at you like a bus full of Vegas bound retirees. And it seemed so obvious in hind sight, in a way not so unlike the cartoon light bulb going off.

The discussion started with a simple question not unfamiliar to American cyclists: "What kind of cyclist are you?". Most American cyclist will have a natural answer at the ready. The terms "weekend warrior", "roadie", "mountain biker", "downhiller", "BMXer" come to mind. Yet that very same question would perplex someone from Amsterdam. The bicycle is so ingrained into the every life of the Amsterdamer, that they no longer think of it as a facet of their lives.

Suppose I posed to you this multiple choice question: "What kind of driver are you?", with the available answers as "off roader", "race weenie", "mileage counter", etc. It would seem rather absurd wouldn't it? The bicycle is such a large part of the average Amsterdamer's life, just like the automobile is a part of the average American life, that the very idea of "bike culture" just doesn't make sense to them. It's just part of their culture, much the same as American culture is car-centric.

So to have Americans integrate bicycles into their lives, all we need to do is rid ourselves of bike culture, right? Until then... Down with bike culture. Long live the bike.

photo by Iam Sterdam

So, what do you think? Do we need to eliminate "bike culture" or do we need to make it so ubiquitous as to make it unnoticeable?

Movies And Laws And Days In Court

I love people who stick up for what they believe in. It isn't always easy to stand up for what you think is right, especially when everything is stacked against you.

You may have seen these films on other sites, but if not, give them a look see. Both films, by Mike Rubbo of "And So To Bike", feature Sue Abbott. Sue is a woman who has never worn a bicycle helmet in her life and does not want to start now. This is problematic for her as she lives in Australia where helmets are required for all riders.

For myself, this is not a story about helmets. There is so much more to it than that. This is a story about a woman who does not want to be told how to live her life. She wants to make her own choices, and really, don't we all?





So now that you have seen these films, how do you feel about helmet laws? Note, I am not asking about helmets themselves. That is an endless discussion in frustration. Are people smart enough to make these decisions for themselves? Do you want helmet laws where you live? If you have a helmet law, do you want to keep it?

Family Life

So Monday has come upon us again and it is time to get the family out to school and work and soccer and violin lessons... this is what it looks like!

Time for a play date?

Home from school

Kids can ride for themselves.

The whole family can participate in getting around.

SRO commute.

Cross town traffic.

First day of school!

Japanese commute cuties!

Headwind stops for no Dad!

So go out there and get those kids to ballet on your bike! They will thank you for it!

38 Weeks

You are not a real, dedicated cyclist until you have ridden clipless at 38 weeks of pregnancy! What's that crap about the weaker sex? : )

Flying By Bike

I love the things people send in! What can be done with a bicycle is always amazing to me, and if you can make other people fly with one, what could you do for yourself?

Lego Disaster

Lessons from the Lego world, sent in by the Calitexican. At least he was wearing his helmet : )




Got anything else you think we should share? How about a story about where you go on your bike on Saturday night? Send it to us so we can share it with the world!

TGIF!! babes, bikes and baskets

From the third member of the "Mixte Girl Posse" (or something like that), Melyssa.
*All pictures by either Adrienne or meligrosa. Each links, so help yourself -

TGIF!! babes, bikes and baskets

"i am a creature of habit. i have a schedule that leaves room for improvisation, but in a structured (to me at least) way. i tend to go to the same places, see the same people, do the same things.

but, i am also rather curious about trying out new things. i just need a nudge now and then to remind myself that, for example, sf has places i've never been to...exotic places like north beach.

kidding, i've been to north beach before, but it was usually for a school networking function, to take people from out of town or just passing through during critical mass. i hadn't spent too much time in north beach because before i became a bikey person, i took MUNI, and it was a pain in the you-know-what to get there from where i lived. as a result i never really got acquainted with this neighborhood.

recently i joined the lovely creators of this blog for a mixte lady's night out, and north beach was the chosen destination.

having never been to north beach on my own by bike, i was excited to go and grab a few drinks at a nice fun spot that i haven't been to before. and yeah, since this part of the city is not really mapped out in my head (and i forgot my trusty bike map), i had to think of a way to get there. i took a very roundabout route, and finally managed to meet up with meli and a few minutes later AJ came strolling by.

we were quite the sight as we made our way around the neighborhood. we all had our older mixte bikes, which in turn all have baskets. it was a night of babes, bikes, brewskies, bags and baskets. so much fun, and definitely worth a repeat trip. we parked in motorcycle spaces, rode through the stockton tunnel, took pics outside a visually stunning window display, and rode three apiece on market street before i rolled over some glass, made a joke about it, then BOOM--got a flat tire.

that is the sort of night that i could add to my list of habitual things that this mely likes to do. minus the flat tire, of course.

until next time my fellow-ray-ban-wearing, mixte-loving-partners in bike riding...have a great weekend everybody!"

Caryl Rocks The Camera

Someone asked me what makes a good bicycle picture. For me it is an easy answer- any picture that makes me want to jump on my bike and go is a good bicycle picture. One of our Flickr group members, kinamari (Caryl in real life) takes exactly those pictures. Every time I see one of her shots, it makes me want to jump on my bike and go! Caryl manages to consistently capture that exact moment we all want to have in life.

Philip And His Mule

Another contribution!! How brilliant is this? People sharing experiences!! In this post, Philip shares how bicycling became his passion and how it has directed his life to date. While his profile states that he is a "balding,overweight, middle aged man whose mid-life crisis is like 'Groundhog day", we feel a bit more kindly to this lovely gentleman who donates great amounts of time to causes he believes in and who writes his stories down for all of us to enjoy and learn from!

Late Beginnings

As a youngster I was never really interested in cycling. In fact I can’t even recall having a bicycle.

It was never through lack of interest, but I guess lack of opportunity or influence.

Being at boarding school cycles were not permitted, so I guess my parents never thought about buying me one.

The reason I say It was never through lack of interest, is because I do remember some adolescent emotions.

Like envy and isolation.

When I returned home on my school holidays, my friends would visit on their shiny bikes.

They would talk of adventures on distant streets, led by their two wheeled conveyances.

Bright colours, washed and polished chrome, levers, brakes, and spinning wheels.

Maybe I can now blame all the negative aspects of my life on 'Cycle deprivation.

I could just shake my head ruefully and say: 'You know, I never had a bicycle when I was a boy'

Surely people would understand?

I came into cycling much later in life by default really.

I used to play rugby, and after snapping my Achilles tendon I sought cycling as a recuperative form of exercise.

I was instantly struck by the diverse and multiple opportunities that cycling brings to your life.

Living in a beautiful rural area I loved the new perspective. I was able to appreciate everything at a pace that allowed all my senses to take part.

To see the purple moor tops, smell the heather and feel the cool onshore breeze as I was thrilled by steep descent into hidden valleys.

I was able to see over the other side of the hedge, both literally and metaphorically.

I could get fit in natures own Gym, breathing air that would not give me a cold the next day.

Getting closer to nature opened my eyes to environmental issues, to human intolerance (Car drivers), and to the unique camaraderie held by other cyclists.

I now have three bikes and I cycle 6,000 to 8,000 a year.

My low emission car is rarely used, less than 1,000 miles a year.

I use Cycling as a vehicle for charity fund raising and a thread for my other passion, writing.

It is amazing to find so many cyclists who have sublime writing talents and operate blogs from all over the world.

This blog is a perfect example of the warmth and generosity that comes from the cycling family.

My own blog is called http://philipshrimpton.blogspot.com/

It attempts to follow my cycling adventures and create interesting and light-hearted articles.

Happy Cycling