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

Cutest Helmet Ever: DIY

Posted by Dottie at 22:27 How To:, style 24 Responses »

Dec 212009

Check this helmet out – what an idea! The author of Oh Joy!, a top style-lifestyle inspiration blog, happens to be a very chic cyclist. When she couldn’t find a polka dotted helmet to suit her needs, she made one out of a Bern Muse helmet and sticky decals.

Oh Joy's Polka Dot Bern

She is also the proud owner of a Velorbis Victoria. Classy!

Oh Joy's Velorbis and Bern Helmet

Read about her project direct from the source HERE, including the link to buy the polka dot decals.

I’m tempted to get a red helmet and attach black dots. I have a thing for ladybugs! Couldn’t hurt project get-drivers-to-treat-me-like-a-human, either.

Anyone else into personalizing helmets?

Bicycling On Ice: My Studded Tires

Posted by Dottie at 22:24 How To: 80 Responses »

Dec 102009

It’s that time of year again: legions of bike commuters are gearing up for winter and considering whether to buy studded tires. Well, okay, maybe just five or six of you. So should you get studded tires? I asked myself that question for weeks last year. My dithering abruptly ended on the morning my bike slipped from under me and I landed on my butt. Many winter cyclists in Chicago seem to go without studs, sticking to the major routes that are well-plowed, but I prefer side street and the [. . . there's more!]

How To: Dress For Winter Bike Commuting

Posted by Dottie at 22:35 How To: 61 Responses »

Nov 162009

The time has come to talk about winter. Winter cycling is a wonderful experience because I enjoy the outdoors and all of its snowy beauty every day while most people hibernate. I’m really excited about my second winter cycling. Last winter was all about learning the ropes and testing my limits. (See my photo synopsis of winter 2008-09 here.) Now I know what to expect. Here I share my wisdom on how to dress for winter bike commuting. This advice is based on my personal experience: riding 7 miles in [. . . there's more!]

How-To: Cycling in the Rain

Posted by Trisha at 07:23 advice, basics, How To: 68 Responses »

Oct 192009

Everyone’s been talking about riding in the rain lately. It’s easy to cycle in fair weather, but dealing with rain is more of a challenge, and one I have been reluctant to embrace, to be honest. Like Tim of Car Free Days, I try to play the weather radar game, but sometimes—like on my way home last week—getting wet is unavoidable. It took a while, but I’ve finally come to appreciate the exhilarating effect of riding in the rain. Most of the time. Let’s start with basics: when it’s raining, [. . . there's more!]

Grocery Shopping on a Bike

Posted by Dottie at 18:26 basics, How To:, random rides 66 Responses »

Oct 122009

I’ve never posted about grocery shopping on my bike before, because I live very close to a grocery store and simply walk. In these tough economic times ™ I decided to head up the road a bit and see what good stuff (i.e. beer and wine) I could find cheaper at Trader Joe’s. As expected, all my purchases fit with no special panniers. For the weight she was carrying, Oma rode smoothly. There was a barely perceptible squirrely-ness to her front handling – a slight but constant shift side to [. . . there's more!]

World Premier: Our First How-To Video

Posted by Trisha at 07:43 How To:, video 53 Responses »

Oct 062009

Attentive readers might remember Dottie’s passing mention of us filming a how-to video when I was in Chicago two weeks ago. We decided to start with the basics and demonstrate how to start and stop properly. As befits a LGRAB production, it’s a little goofy and definitely unscripted, but we think we shared some useful information — and hey, if nothing else, you get to see Dottie’s beautiful bikes in motion! This is just the beginning of our YouTube adventures, so stay tuned: we’ve got a channel to fill. And [. . . there's more!]

How To: Dress for Fall Cycling

Posted by Dottie at 12:58 advice, basics, How To: 36 Responses »

Sep 232009

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 [. . . there's more!]

Bicycling in a Wedding Dress

Posted by Dottie at 12:45 How To: 24 Responses »

Sep 202009

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, [. . . there's more!]

How To: Fresh Summer Cycling

Posted by Dottie at 11:15 advice, basics, How To:, style 38 Responses »

Aug 262009

Cycling with style is easy and fun. However, I don’t want it to seem like I simply hop off my bike fresh as a spring flower and go along my merry way. If that’s what people think is supposed to happen after they read about how easy it is to ride in regular clothes, then they will be annoyed when it does not work for them and give up. So I want to be clear that I sweat. A lot. More than the average person. I have been known to [. . . there's more!]