I have been waxing poetic about my lovely rides lately. However, every ride is not rainbows and sunshine - you all know that. Here is a commute diary entry from a less enjoyable day.
I'm not smiling because:
I am sick with a cold. I thought a 12 mile bike ride would make me feel better. I was wrong. Quite the opposite.
The weather was super muggy. I was sweaty.
My thighs were tired. My lack of a daily commute is showing.
I cannot walk in those heels. They hurt my feet. Why do they make them tha...
read more
Welcome, Autumn! This is my favorite season with the best cycling weather.
Incomprehensibly, when summer ends bike commuters begin dropping off as if they were flies and the crisp autumn air were infused with Raid. I'll never understand why so many people think the best days to cycle are the insufferably hot ones. In light of this phenomenon, we'd like to discuss how to keep on cycling in the fall. The main trick is using light layers to combat the chill that you can remove easily if your body warms up. I am ...
read more
Oma is one good-looking bike.
To ride her is to imagine a future full of trips taken in style.
With a little sweet-talking, she could be mine, right?
After all, we have so much fun together...
Alas, I am relegated to the back seat (aka rear rack) in Oma's heart. But that's OK. There are worse places to be!
read more
Chicago has plenty of sophisticated dining options, but the heart of Chicago's food experience is its deep dish pizza and hot dogs. Our friend Tanya visited this weekend and wanted a Chicago dog, so I took her to Murphy's Red Hots (1211 W. Belmont Avenue). I am not an authority on Chicago's best hot dog - I don't eat beef or pork! - but she gave them two enthusiastic thumbs up.
While she had a red hot with everything, I enjoyed delicious fries and a vanilla shake with a hearty dose of kitsch.
...
read more
Yesterday, in between thrift store visits, we stopped for lunch at the Earwax Café, where the food was much more delicious than the name might suggest.
Public bathrooms aren't usually the best photo venues, but I couldn't resist documenting this piece of graffiti. If you're going to deface a wall, you might as well say something worth saying. Just one of the reasons I love visiting Chicago!
read more
My friend Jeremy is planning his wedding and wants to ride off afterward with his new bride on their tandem bicycle. They have a very cool set-up where they commute to work together 20 miles on their drop bar tandem, so they are experienced tandem riders (in fact, they have a whole blog about tandem cycling, Honking in Traffic). The problem is how to secure her wedding dress to prevent it from getting wound up in the drivetrain.
Extra complication: there’s a chain on both sides in the stoker’s position, drivet...
read more
Surprise - Trisha and I are together again! She's in Chicago for the weekend, to be joined soon from Texas by our friend Tanya. Tonight we rode our (well, my) bikes downtown for a picnic in Millennium Park. I thought we were going to see a free ballet performance, but that was yesterday - oops! my bad. We still enjoyed our picnic and the beauty of the park at night.
To prove that it's really us, not random silhouettes or mannequins 
Lots more fun in store, including our exciting (and hi...
read more
After six months of winter, I was thrilled by the re-emergence of roses and puffy hydrangea in Chicago's Grant Park. I cycled through the garden every day to and from work, and these flowers always brought a smile to my face. Sadly, they are now dying as autumn takes over.
Aw, so sad. See you in nine months, garden!
read more
The number one reason I ride my bike is because cycling is so much fun. Words cannot describe the feeling that comes over me while riding my bike. Even if I'm running late to a meeting and there is a ruthless headwind, I am happy. If I get soaked by a sneak wave attack, I swear and laugh and keep rolling. If I get to ride with a friend, it's double the fun (thanks, EA!).
I wish I could make everyone feel this, but the best I can do is blog about it and hope others give bikes a try.
I love rid...
read more
Last week, my friend P. and I took Le Peug and the Dahon down to Centennial Park, one of my favorite places in Nashville, to see a performance of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged.
We both decided that we would have preferred an actual play, but it was still a nice night under the stars. Before the show, we had a quick ride around the park and admired the sun setting behind the Parthenon. Unfortunately I couldn't convince P. to step out from behind the camera and make her internet debut—...
read more
