Happy Father's Day!

It has been a long time since I have been around.  May be a bit before I return. Who can say?  In the meantime, after 8 weeks off his bicycle after a highway accident on his scooter, Hubby The Bikeman made a brief, first post-crushed foot ride.  Fittingly, it was on the Grandma.





Happy Father's Day to all you Daddy-types out there, but mostly to HTB!  We are all happy to see you riding again!

friday fun times: panda shadows

well, this week started off with a bang for us. to my knowledge, the jerk still hasn't been caught. left it up here this week to keep the word out.

with lance confessing thrown in the middle of this crazy first week back in the states, let's just say we are dreaming of simpler times and ones where we are with our loved ones and they are safe and sound. what better way to be with those loved ones than on a nighttime bike ride?!



the weather is nice here in SF. went up to be in the low 70s as a high today? where are YOU going this weekend?

much love and stay safe everyone! happy riding.

--CTX

Me and You

Night Ride

It has been a while since James and I were out riding at night.  It just never happens anymore.

Thought I would take a picture to remember how much fun it is!

Bike To...

Somewhere other than work.

It has been a while since I had to bicycle to "work".  But I take my bicycle just about everywhere else.  I call it "Bike To Life" and anyone can do it.  Give it a try!

Danger Panda!

I have never been this cool in a bicycle.

Panda shot + danger + ghost riding + galoshes + fantastic smile = !!!!!!!!!!!

(pic by Hubby The Bikeman)

happy friday! panda style...

these two pandas were spotted recently riding in SF.



watch out. they are ready to have fun in a place near you!

happy friday y'all. have a great weekend.

Mission Accomplished

I have now accomplished it all. If this were the internet, I would have reached the end! A panda, with cat in basket!

This is my kitten, Betty, on her way to the vet for a check-up. Goooooaaaaaallllll!!! : ) The couch-on-a-folding-bike people have nothing on me.

Tweed Street

A street with a bicycle is a well tailored street, indeed!

The weekend is upon us. Count your blessings and ride your bicycles.

Day 2 With The Whale

Holy cow! What a day! I thought it would be a quiet ride out to West Portal to get some coffee and a little sunshine (we are having what seems to be an annual false Spring this week). Boy, was I wrong! I have never been yelled at so much while riding a bicycle in my life! Thankfully, it was all super positive! Because lane splitting at lights is almost impossible with the Whale I end up waiting in line with the cars. Every time, at least one driver opens a window and starts firing questions at me. People yell as they pass- Hey! What are you riding?!!! It was a little overwhelming. Not unpleasant but a bit like entering a room full of people you haven't seen since losing 100 pounds.

After coffee and errands I went and picked up Declan and his friend from school. The boys acted like they were on a carnival ride! It was funny listening to them. This is a picture of them pointing at the people driving by who were pointing at us.

So I guess now that I can take pandas with or without a full load on the front I am going to have to get used to answering a whole lot of questions. I wonder how long that will last?

Top to Bottom Holiday Shopping

I Can't Do This!!

I wish I could do panda's this good! "Sweet Olive" always shoots great pandas, but this one is my favorite.

Can you do better? Give it a try and send it into the Flickr group!

scenes from the bikey lane: happy holidays edition

this past sunday, the san francisco bike coalition held its 6th annual christmas lights ride. it started off at around 6:30pm and we rode all over the city looking at houses that really go all out with their light decorations. we rode to christmas tunes, sang some of our own made up holiday songs, and, of course, were very very merry.

after having lived on the east coast for so long, it doesn't feel like christmas to me unless it's 30 degrees F. however, this ride helped me get into the holiday spirit. new friends 2.0, old friends, new bikes, old bikes, spirits and snacks, and lots and lots of lights for all!

overheard:
"merry christmas asshole! :)" -- to a car that insisted on honking often and loudly at the 100 or so bikers around us.

"we're, like, the happiest gang ever."

"wheeeee"

"fa la la la la, ga ga ga gaaaah"

"wheeeee"

[singing with carolers to various tunes]

"aaaaaaaadriiiiiiennnnne!"

"wheeee"

"nice sf tie"

"our rudolph's nose went out!!"

(and i'm not joking about how often i heard those "wheee"s either)

overseen:

a wise man with a yarn beard once said...

(all of the following photos by Volker Neumann)

christmas lights panda!



it's a very meli christmas.



wheeee! (see, i really wasn't kidding about that)


christmas lights limbo!


snack time. finito. spirits and smiles all around.


despite the light rain, & a man down (sad face), it was really fun. good times :)

please share your bikey holiday lights stories. i've seen some pics on flickr already. GO!

happy holidays everyone!

Road View

Today, I present a truly thought provoking post. What my feet saw during my Tuesday ride around Downtown San Francisco.




There are a lot of cracks in our streets. There is also a lot of paint. I never noticed until I started riding everyday. I wonder if you can read your future in the cracks?



I think we can all appreciate a little nudity in our calenders. A little roadside soft porn can go a long way.



Brick. Pavé. Whatever. It's bumpy!



Sometimes the road is a reminder. This is one we can all use.

Ride Of The Sand People

I was playing around with my scarf the other day and, of course, took a picture of it. It was decided I looked like the sand people from Star Wars. Our friends over at Toronto Bike Chic took notice and declared that a panda shot while looking like a Sand Person would be called a "Sanda".

These are the results of this epic, international story of bicycle, and artistic, inspiration.

Toronto Sanda



San Francisco Sanda

I think I have the edge on this as my hair acts as a full face shield just about all the time.

Happy Friday! Send us your sanda!

We Have Created A Monster!

One of our group members, Val, submitted his very first Panda shot to our Flickr group a while back (June is Panda month for us). For the record, Meli and I take full responsibility for letting this cat out of the bag, or "Bike Pilot" out of the corral. -Push play and enjoy his set.

Panda's!

We do not refer to the adorable leaf chewing black and white beasts of China (although they are cute and deserve a blog of their own and probably have one out there someplace). We speak, instead, of the cycling in progress self portrait type. Everyone shoots one, eventually. There is at least one Flickr group devoted to these wonderful shots. This month, I asked our Flickr group members to submit their own Pandas so we could see them all in action out in the world.

I love Panda shots because they show us as true people. They are pictures of us at our best, in motion, comfortable in our skin. Pandas are proof that we indeed "can"- we can be strong, we can be fast, we can be self sufficient, we can be beautiful.

photo by Madness Rivera

photo by Amsterdamize

photo by Johnclimber

photo by calitexican

photo by the Goat Whisperer

photo by bikepilot

And then , there is Meli and me!





Now go take a picture of yourself on your bike! Now!