2009 April » Let's Go Ride a Bike - life on two wheels: simple. stylish. fun.

Bikes and Baby Bellies

Posted by Trisha at 10:39 family, humor No Responses »

Apr 172009

Warning: this is a total Friday post, with gratuitous cuteness and only a minimal connection to bikes. My next post will be all Batavus, so enjoy the break.

I got to see one of my favorite babies on Sunday night. His mom, Ashley, is one of my best friends and put up with me for three whole years while we were in college, so it’s always a treat to catch up with her and her family. Rowan was looking adorable as always, and I got a kick out of his little outfit — Ash knew I’d appreciate it! Anyone have a guess as to what kind of bike Pooh is riding on Rowan’s onesie?

Close up

The whole package!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Tweeting Across Europe

Posted by Dottie at 22:21 travel No Responses »

Apr 162009

Okay, I am having a heck of a time, Brownie, setting up all this Twitter crap. But I think I’ve succeeded. So. Trisha and I will be tweeting our way across London and St. Petersburg, Russia. Follow us because that’s where all the cool kids will be. We promise many fascinating updates, such as “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN” and “VODKA!”

The name is: Trisha Dottie, @letsgorideabike. You may also want to follow editrish in case my set-up fails miserably.

Smolny Cathedral follows us on Twitter

Perhaps you are wondering why we are going to St. Petersburg. Part of the reason is that my bachelor’s degree is in Russian language and literature (very practical, I use Dostoevsky in my daily life) and I lived in Pete for a semester way back in 2001. Part of the reason is that St. Petersburg is gorgeous and bad ass. We will keep an eye out for “St. Petersburg Cycle Chic” but my clearest memory from the city is of a car careening onto the sidewalk purposely and then honking at me for being in its way, so I’m not sure how much of a thriving bike culture manages to exist.

We will be back on the 28th. We’ll be updating as much as we can along the way and we’ve also scheduled a few posts to publish here and there.

Tweet, I’m out.

Dutch Bike Co. New York!

Posted by Dottie at 21:54 news No Responses »

Apr 162009

Bike Girl by Ed Fotheringham

Lots o’ peeps have blogged about today’s Dutch bike / Style articles in the NY Times. (My friend Jeremy even sent me the link, which I’m sure he found through Bike Snob making fun of it.) I’m not crazy about the articles, a little too “Vogue.” Don’t you love how they refer to the bikes as having a “hefty pricetag” but when you look at their slideshow, it’s the same damn price as their featured “Navy cotton jacket with contrast detail”? A-holes. But this is good press for cycling. I was most excited about the mention that Dutch Bike Co. (Seattle, Chicago) is opening a third store, this one in New York City. So happy for their success! They are a really cool group of people and I’m proud to have been the Chicago store’s first customer. So here is a toast to Dutch Bikes and the fine people who import them!

(The lovely Dutch bike print can be ordered here.)

In Honor of Ugly Rental Bikes

Posted by Dottie at 19:17 basics No Responses »

Apr 152009

I owe a lot to an atrociously ugly (even, dare I say, fugly) beach cruiser. In the spring of 2007, I went on vacation in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. The whole place is basically a huge retirement community with some of the coolest older folks. They were up with the sunrise to play bridge by the pool and stayed up for the sunset to play dominoes by the pool – sign me up! Anyway, in this bucolic place a natural activity, after tennis and shuffleboard, was to rent a couple of beach cruisers and explore the nice bike path down the beach to the park.

might want to raise the seat a bit...

The bikes were god awful ugly, but I don’t think I was fully aware of the severity of their aesthetic failures at the time. Besides having been beaten by the proverbial ugly stick, they were also not so comfortable. BUT. Continue reading »

Cake Would Never Run Red Lights...

Posted by Dottie at 19:00 commute diary 7 Responses »

Apr 152009

…and that is why I love cake. No, not the band! This isn’t the ’90′s. Here is Betty dutifully carrying Pho’s Thai take-out and Dinkel’s cake slices. No matter how I’m feeling, this combo never lets me down!

Happiness

Going International

Posted by Trisha at 09:30 news, travel 14 Responses »

Apr 142009

You may have noticed my Batavus Day countdown ticker inching toward the finish line over there in the sidebar. Yes, folks, Let’s Go Ride a Bike will be going international in just a few days as Dottie and I head for London and then St. Petersburg, Russia. Of course, we’re planning some biking outings during our trip, and hope to be able to share them all with you.

In London, we’ll be checking out the new Cycodelic product line at Topshop.

And of course, on Saturday, we’ll be visiting Littlehampton Dutch Bike shop to have tea with Paul and test ride my long-awaited Batavus…as well as every other bike they have in the shop.

Russian bike plans are a little more ambiguous, but we plan to rent bikes at least once: either on Krestovsky Island or during a day trip to Vyborg.

Anything we’re missing? Leave us a note in the comments! I’m especially interested in whether anyone’s used London’s Oybike rentals.

Jammies As Rain Gear

Posted by Dottie at 19:06 commute diary 11 Responses »

Apr 132009

I admit that if it had been raining at the time I left for work this morning, I would have taken the EL train. But since it was only dark and gray with a 100% chance of rain, I went for the bike. Of course, it started raining two minutes into my ride. I figured it would, though, and I’m glad that I took the bike. The rain was not a downpour, but the wind was quite nasty. No bother – still better than public transit.

Woman v. Nature

What do jammies have to do with this?

Happy Easter!

Posted by Trisha at 07:32 humor No Responses »

Apr 122009

Bike on, chicks.

Quality Family Time

Posted by Trisha at 21:39 random rides, travel 7 Responses »

Apr 112009

I rode part of the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama today with my parents. Full post TK, but here’s a quick photo of us, windswept but happy, after the ride (thank goodness for self-timers). Was especially proud of my mom for going 13 miles on her first long ride on her new bike, and especially grateful to my friend P for loaning me the Dahon yet again.

After the ride

After the jump, a quick taste of small-town Alabama. (I kid because I love.)

Betty Loves Shakespeare and Dresses

Posted by Dottie at 20:28 Betty Foy, random rides, style 15 Responses »

Apr 112009

Today I cycled to the Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier to see Twelfth Night, a 12-mile round trip. This is probably my favorite way to spend a Saturday. I do it quite often (see here and here). (This is amazing theater and younger folks in Chicago should know that they can get tickets for only $20 by using the code UNDER35 when purchasing online.)