The other day I found myself humming a familiar tune while putting on my helmet. Yes, I'm not afraid to say it: the round Bern helmet gives me an unfortunate resemblance to Toad. Separated at birth? I suppose there are worse characters to be in the Marioverse. Sure, Toad started off as a buzz kill in Mario 1 -- the Princess was always in another castle! -- but he redeemed himself by becoming my second favorite character to play in Mario 2. End random helmet association.
read moreChicago loves bikes. It's official. My morning commute yesterday felt like a group ride! For more than half of the way, I was in a line of 9 cyclists going down the bike lane. Our spontaneous conga line caused stares, double-takes and smiles. How could people not consider cycling as a valid form of transportation after seeing so many bikes all around them? Snowball effect - more riders beget more riders. On the way home, I spotted my friend Elizabeth. She had pulled over to chat with the owner o...
read moreI know I complain sometimes about the hills on my commute, but every once in a while I look forward to tackling them. One of the little-discussed benefits of bicycle commuting is using your ride home as a stress release. Trust, it's better than blasting Pearl Jam in your car (what can I say, music I listened to in high school is still the best when feeling angsty). Now, back to our regular scheduled, positive programming. And my glass of Jameson -- happy St. Patrick's Day!
read moreMonths of short days and drab colors wear a girl down. Eventually she needs yellow sun and blue skies. Enter SPRING!
There is no denying the proof in the pictures: winter is behind us; let's all spring forward 
Happy Sunshine!
. . . my Batavus, that is.
Here she is waiting outside for me during a happy hour last week.
As I was walking away, I looked back and found myself turning around to take a picture (or 10). Who cares what the rush hour drivers thought? And anyway, I knew my friend C wouldn't get there for a few more minutes -- she was trying to find a place to park her car. 
Where will your bike take you this week?
I'm pretty sure these would still be funny, even without three glasses of Friday night wine. Hipster Puppy - ari stayed up all night drinking beer and playing old 7”s, so he’s gonna have to sit out this month’s critical mass (photo kari g) Hipster Kitty - Even Ender’s bike-polo teammates have begun to notice his body odor (photo Sarah VanCamp) Thanks for the tip, Trisha! You know me too well. Don't forget to email us pictures of your cat (or dog, bird, small child, etc.) surfing the inte...
read moreChicago is in defrost mode and the snow is becoming little more than ground water and memories. Rain has taken over the precipitation spotlight, setting up shop over the city, where it plans to remain for at least another week. Today's commute pictures come courtesy of my new Holga, an odd little all-plastic camera similar to the Diana camera. Yes, that last picture is a pack of Huskies accidentally double exposed over the bike path. Seeing what comes out is fun, although dropping the fil...
read moreAnd nothing matters when we're cycling / In tatter-tatters you're entrancing / Be we in Paris or in Lansing / nothing matters when we're cycling
A slight change to the original.
Monday night, Me and Mr. Dottie, dinner and Magnetic Fields concert.
That is all
P.S. Thanks to {frolic} for making us one of its first Blogs of the Week. I love {frolic} and visit daily for my dose of happy.
Reader Melissa tipped us off to this one -- Marisa Tomei riding a gorgeous vintage-style bike as part of the promo for a new web-based series, "Into the Heart of Italy." (Didn't embed the whole clip since most of it is a Bertolli pasta commercial!)Melissa, who's based in NYC, happens to be looking for a similar bike. Readers, any suggestions? Do any modern manufacturers mount the headlight on the handlebars like that? I can't think of one . . .
read moreBetty Foy's bloom: the surest sign of spring. Last week, the awkward weather felt like neither winter nor spring. Suddenly this week - spring! Granted, it's the chilly and rainy spring, not the sunny and flowery spring, but beggars vs. choosers, etc. You may have noticed that this photo is from a warm day last month, not from today. Betty and I were together both days and that's pretty much how outside looked today, so close enough. I was so cheerful about spring, I took a joy ride during my lu...
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