Going to the Bike Shop in COVID-era

My bike is but a few months old, and it needed to get some adjustments. I’m not used to using a double chainring and needed some help getting my derailer set right for the perfect amount of trim. I wasn’t sure how much life my stock chain had in it (turns out to be a lot!) and one of my discs had some rub.

I procrastinated for weeks, but finally got out to the bike store. The store moved to separate entrances; sales and service. While several people didn’t read the signage, it was clear and well done. It worked for the most part. Each customer had to wait in line outside until space opened up inside. Each staff person had a marked “zone” to stand in, and they kept a 1:1 ratio for staff and customers. Each staff person had to be their own cashier and checked out thier customer only. Sanitizing stations cornered the zones. They did a great job.

Justice for Floyd

It's a small act of programming, but thank you for being on the side of humanity, Strava. Nicely done!

They decided to turn the routes black in the activity feed only:

Athletes for Equality Support for equality, and especially justice for George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, is at an all-time high in the Strava feed. We’re proud to see athletes standing up for what’s right. Starting this weekend, use these hashtags in your activity and we’ll add a special polyline to your workout to be sure it stands out in the feed: #equality #justice #justiceforfloyd #breonnataylor #irunwithmaud and more. Everyone in the Strava community – and beyond – deserves justice and equality. We’re more than happy to amplify the voices of those who are calling for it.

Is This Bike My Size?

Just curious…

Found in White Pass, Washington.

SheRides' Most Visited Post

I looked into SheRidesTodays’ analytics the other day and found something interesting. For the longest time, my most-searched topic was my West Maui Loop biking video. I feel bad about that one, because it’s such a poorly made video! But now, a new search takes the cake, “cycling enthusiast”. The word “enthusiast” specifically, was a word in over 70% of the searches that led to my site. I feel bad about this one, too. The post is nothing but me comparing myself to terms posted by another site. I hope that my page gave them a lot of traffic, as I had nothing to do with it, really. Apologies to my readers, I’m going to try to get some better content!

Ode to My White Bicycle

A random search down Spotify lane connected me with this amazing song. I accepted the color of my bike. Sure, I'd had a lot of unintentional white forms of transportation in my life. My first car was white. My second car was white. My boyfriend's car is white. My vanerhome is white. It coordinates perfectly with the white bike rack and white car, but white is so, bland and....vanilla. Then I found this song. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a bike any other color from here on out. So here is an ode to my white bicycle for a feel good Friday. 

The lyrics can speak to the Seattle experience:

“The rain comes down, but I don’t care
Wind is blowing in my hair
Seagulls flying in the air
My white bicyle
My white bicycle”

— Tomorrow, "My White Bicycle"

Minor mod and it's still Seattle Riding:

“Ridin’ all around the streets
Four o’clock and they’re all asleep*
I’m not tired and it’s so late
Movin’ fast everything looks great
My white bicycle

*replace with “traffic’s knee deep” to better capture the Seattle experience”

— Tomorrow, "My White Bicycle"

The Bike Everywhere Challenge Recap

The Bike Everywhere challenge is over! Our team captain, Jessie (also a Wooleater) led our team of 10 riders to logging no less than 1550 miles! Between the 10 of us, we took 283 riding trips in one month. Not bad for a bunch of nerds! I personally rocked it. I usually ride about 65 miles a week, but I exceeded that this month somehow. No wonder I've been so tired!

update on the bib display

I finally got around to adding this year's rides on my bib display! Actually, I only did one organized ride in 2017, but I am still proud!  

The Puget Sound Regional Travel Study

My household got selected to participate in the Puget Sound Regional Travel Study. I admit I felt excited to participate, because transportation is of key importance in our society. There are several studies connecting health and wellness with time of work commute. Being someone who loathes commuting with all my being, I have a particular investment in this sort of thing. Being able to bike to work has probably been the single biggest factor in my sticking with my current employer. I've been with my current employer longer than any other, so that says something. Needless to say, Seattle's roads and transit are, in my opinion, the biggest blemish keeping Seattle from being an epically beautiful place to live. 

The above data says it all. Perhaps I am more sensitive to satisfaction than others, but most people look at me as though I am a bizarre alien when I admit that I've chosen jobs paying at poverty with no or next to no commute over more traditional choices for most of my adult life. 

That being said, am thrilled that my choices will be counted in a study like this. However, I must admit that the study has been tedious and time consuming to say the least. I can't imagine anyone less passionate than myself actually completing it. The study is based on a phone app (rMove) that tracks your travel for a week. However, every walking and driving trip I take is mapped incorrectly, and false trips are recorded when I'm just walking around the home. The study requires that the whole household participates, and I convinced a begrudging boyfriend to participate. His app has tracked him taking out the trash, getting a shopping cart, and other short activities as "trips". Last night we took a walk around the neighborhood. The app captured our stop to pet a friendly cat as a "stop". How do we track that? Were we going to work? Home? Restaurant? Errand? The options are many, but the importance none. Luckily there are options for error correction at every turn. If you still think the study isn't consuming enough, you have to realize there are 5 PAGES OF QUESTIONS FOR EVERY SINGLE TRIP AND 5 PAGES OF QUESTIONS AT THE END OF EACH DAY. I expected the study to be similar to the app-based happiness survey I've participated in since 2009. Puget Sound Regional Council and rMove, if you have low compliance from your participants, you may want to take some notes from Matt Killingsworth. If everybody actually diligently answers all these questions, well, count me amazed. I can't wait to find out the results of the survey, and I hope the results are considered valid. Itwon't help is participants cherry-pick trips because the process is tedious. A lot has changed in Seattle since the last time the survey was completed. It's only been since 2014, but already I am seeing more cyclists every year and the urgency from King County Metro Transit's alerts to work from home every time there is a transit delay (which is nearly every day). If we all worked from home, there'd be no baristas, Seattle! C'mon, let's fix this!

Refueling while Riding

I rode out to Seward Park on a miraculously non-rainy Sunday morning. My mom had just mailed me some whole-wheat chocolate chip walnut cookies, so I decided to eat them on my ride. I packed them in the adorable reusable popcorn bag Sara made me. Gifts are wonderful things. What a great treat to eat while enjoying the cherry blossoms. They are in full bloom this weekend!

Bike Trend Tuesday: Animal encounters

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-readers-choice-poll

I am a little surprised how many people have encounters deer. I spent a lot of time riding in deer country, and have any near misses with any. I am actually pretty proud of my low number of animal incidents, both on the bike and the car. I've ridden over more than one snake while on the bike. One I am certain was still alive when I hit it, the others I am not so sure. I recently had an encounter with a rat while on the Elliott Bay trail here in Seattle. A large rat ran across the bike path, away from me. At the last minute, it stopped, turned, and bolted toward me. Just as I began to swerve, at that moment I rode past it. I felt my foot come into contact with its head as I rode past. WHACK! I hope it didn't suffer any brain damage or concussion from the impact. I Have a feeling it was fine. While it definitely ran into my foot, I have a feeling rats can take a lot of impact with no ill effects. 

New Cool Bike Stuff

I got a nifty bike-themed Christmas gift this year- a picture frame that's a bike chain. How cool is that? I decided to display it prominently on my wall of bike ride memorabilia. Yeah, I really have gone on so many organized rides that the dowel is bowing from the weight of it all. Yikes! It’s a pretty fun frame. I put the picture of me, my uncle, and his friends from the MS Bike in Pittsburgh inside.  

Seattle City Bike Map Glasses

I got these awesome Seattle bike map glasses as a gift for Christmas. Not only are they fun to drink out of, they include part of the route I ride 8 times a week and my work site (shown above). What a fun gift! I just had to share because they are so nifty. It will also be fun to keep these glasses and see how the bike routes change as the years progress. These Bike Map Glasses were printed in Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh is my family’s hometown, making these glasses are extra special. 

Bike Trend Tuesday: Beating the Odds

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-readers-choice-poll

I need to get updated reader statistics. I imagine since cycling has grown in popularity since 2014, these stats have probably changed. Still, these stats are fun to reflect on. 

I am one of the 26% of women having been hit by a car while cycling. I've been nipped several times, but the only full-frontal car ramming right into me was at a 4-way stop. The teen age driver made eye contact with me and continued to drive right into me. She gushed with apology, saying she was just tired. I am incredibly fortunate that she chose to be tired at a 4-way stop and made a full stop while there. 

I am also one of the 10% of women to have received a traffic ticket while on a ride. This is a hilarious story. Again, 4-way stop. The only other car in the intersection was a cop car who was doodling at something. When he didn't go, we proceeded across the intersection and he ticketed us. I wrote a letter contesting the $80 ticket and it was revoked. My friend on the ride forgot about the ticket and ended up having to pay upwards of $300 for not paying the ticket on time.

I have never broken a bone while riding. 

I am one of the 9% people who have more than one bike stolen. Neither bike was valuable. However, the first bike stolen from me happened the night before my first midterm in college, so I had to content with getting to the test on time without a bike I thought I had. It was locked inside a secure shed, which goes to show you never can be too safe. The second bike was stored inside a key code-entry garage, but was not locked and had 2 flat tires and some broken gearing. 

I am a little surpised I tend to be of the minority in these stats. 

New study...

When I read this article by The Onion, I couldn't stop laughing. I often times feel sore from riding. Sure, I have a regular yoga practice, and I lift weights somewhat regularly to help balance out the muscle, so the soreness is probably better than it could be. Still, this article is one of those that meet the “It’s funny because it’s true” criteria. That doesn’t mean I’d ever consider slowing down, however. I’d rather be sore doing something I love than feel pristine and missing out on life’s joys. 

Woolsgiving

bicycle banana creme pie

The Wooleaters, a group of Seattle Cycling fanatics from work, celebrated Woolsgiving this weekend. It’s a 2nd-annual celebration of the year of riding and friendship that involves eating a ton of food and donating wool socks (or just socks) to people experiencing homelessness. This year Betsy hosted at her lovely home, which, imho, was way better than last year’s venue, Freelard Pizza. We started with crackers and assorted cheeses, and chips and guacamole with 2 incredible salsas. Kreg made a jicama salad to compliment the tamale dinner with beans. Kiki make an avocado zucchini salad that disappeared instantly. For dessert Abby made a chocolate stout cake and I made a bike-and-sheep-themed banana crème pie. Of course I had to finish a good 50-mile ride in the morning to balance out the calories consumed at this dinner. See, riding has myriad benefits. 
The evening involved lots of laughter as the group recounted various bike crashes, martial arts shenanigans, ride-bar experiences and animal encounters. Truly something to be thankful for.

Bryant counted up statistics of the group. I thought they’d be pretty fun to share. Mind you, I didn’t participate in all the event, but I did participate in some.

Since the last Woolsgiving, we Woolies have participated in:
•    At least nine Coffee Rides
•    Over 650 miles of training rides
•    Four organized rides: Candy Cane Lane, Chilly Hilly, Emerald City Ride, & Flying Wheels
•    At least two pool party rides
•    Two birthday rides (for Kreg and for Jessi)
•    AND the inaugural Tamale Ride
... which included two car-free, multi-modal adventures:
•    Bussing to Redmond, riding a loop out to Carnation
•    Biking to Kirkland, hiking through St. Edwards State Park
... as well as:
•    The MLK Day snowshoe outing
•    Craft Night
•    AND the Fourth of July bocceminton/beerBQ event

Bryant and Chris enjoy some bicycle banana creme pie

Bike trend Tuesday: where do you ride?

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-readers-choice-poll

I thought it might be fun to compare my riding style and interests with other riders. I found this Bicycling Magazine Reader's Choice Poll and thought it had some entertaining info graphics. The article was published in 2014, but I couldn't find a more recent poll that was equally interested. I doubt we've changed that much since then. Where do you fit in?

I've ridden in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Alaska. I've also ridden in Italy and Antarctica. At 11 states and 1 foreign country, I've beaten the average. 

 Oddly enough, I don't think I've ridden in Hawaii, Canada, New Zealand or Australia. These are all places I've been to frequently enough, that you would think I would have ridden in them. I have no memory of it though it I had. 

There are several states with specific rides I'd like to do, or specific areas I'd like to see. Some just seem like they'd be fun to ride through. I mostly want to hit the eastern states; Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. I'd also enjoy exploring Wisconsin and Michigan. I'm not opposed to riding the southern states, they are just not on my list because I think of heat and humidity when I consider riding them. I now there is a good time of year to ride, and so I've also pondered riding in Florida, the Carolina's and Tennessee in years past. Pretty much, I just want to ride through every state. If I were to have a whole summer free, I'd love to ride across the country. A girl can dream!

Specific countries of interest include Canada, Myanmar, and the Czech Republic. The problem when I think about travelling though, is that I want to bike my way through everything. Every time I look at a seeing a country, the first thing that goes through my mind is, "I want to bike it!" 

The best mid-ride energy snack ever

yum!

I am obsessed with these muffins I discovered from a blog over on MyFitnessPal. The blog was about things to do with over-ripe bananas. Brilliant! These are so easy and forgiving, which is what I love most about them. All you have to do is throw a cooked sweet potato in a bowl with a couple of over ripe bananas with an egg and mash them together. They mix really easily, although the last batch I used a food processor because I made 4 batches at once. From that you can put in whatever additional “boosters” you want. I like the chocolate chip, dried cranberry, coconut combination so much I keep doing that. In my most recent batch I didn’t add chia seeds, but I did in the batch before.

The moist and spongy texture of the muffins reminds me more of cake than a muffin. So often “healthy” muffins are dense, heavy, and dry. These are light and fluffy. It’s easy to eat one after the other. I noted on the recipe site regular (non-dried) cranberries, which I would love to try!

These muffins have no added sugar, but the ingredients are so sweet you would think sugar was added. They have to be wrapped, and while they might get smashed in a jersey pocket, they are still easy to eat. Because they are so moist, they break down into large pieces, not crumbs. 

Bike trend Tuesday: Cycling makes life better

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/2014-readers-choice-poll

I thought it might be fun to compare my riding style and interests with other riders. I found this Bicycling Magazine Reader's Choice Poll and thought it had some entertaining info graphics. The article was published in 2014, but I couldn't find a more recent poll that was equally interested. I doubt we've changed that much since then. Where do you fit in?

I'd say "Free Bird", at least the refrain, describes what riding is like for me. The things definitely apply to me. I don't really save money or see friends more often when I ride, but I definitely feel happier, have more energy, and think more clearly. I was going to say something about being less forgetful, but I forgot what it was.