Today was another lovely bike ride home. A little windy and chilly, but sunny and relaxing. Refreshing. I was grateful for the escape after a day at the office. Nothing helps me unwind and appreciate my place in life like time on the bike.
read moreToday was a beautiful day. One of the most beautiful of the year. The sunshine and blue skies and flowers and fresh air all made me remember how wonderful living in this world can be, on the right kind of day. I rode my bike more than usual and I was thankful for the opportunity. In the morning I had to be far downtown for a seminar, so I took the Lakefront Trail for 45 refreshing minutes. A few hours later in the early afternoon, I got to enjoy the outdoors again as I biked from there to my office. Whil...
read moreSpring is such a beautiful time of year for riding a bike! Oma enjoyed very much spotting so many of her homeland's flowers during the ride home this evening. I put her flowered basket back on for now. I could feel a substantial weight difference with the front rack and basket today, versus strapping my bag to the rear rack, but the basket set-up is worth it for the convenience and aesthetics. The back street route I traveled was car-free for much of the time. Such a rarity in Chicago, which i...
read moreOur friend Melissa (the one who put together the first Critical Mass ride in her old suburban town) is settling into life in Denver, where she moved partly to make living an active life easier. Recently, BikeDenver put together a photo booth event, We Bike This Town: Portraits of Bicycling in Denver, "to create a collection of portraits of our bicycling community to help us show our elected officials and decision makers who their decisions are affecting." What a great idea! Attendees were given a word bubbl...
read moreIt really says something about how mild this winter has been that tonight, when I had the chance to ride in the rain in the dark, I was actually sort of excited about it. After all, I haven't had to walk home or catch a ride home because of the snow even once! Made me think of all those poor people who live in Hawaii or California and never have to pull out sweaters and barely open umbrellas. They've gotta get bored. Change is good! p.s. hi everyone. It's been a while! Short version...
read moreD'oh! That's what I said to myself as I went to lock my bike at work yesterday morning and realized that I forgot my u-lock at home in the garage. I scratched my head for a moment and then rolled Betty through the back door, up the elevator, and into my office, where she kept me company for the day. If I were not able to bring Betty into my office, I don't know what I would have done. It was too early to buy another lock from a bike shop, too risky to leave the bike unlocked outside, and too time-consuming t...
read moreI consider winter to be more than half-way over around this time, late January/early February. February is usually brutal, but at least I know spring is around the corner. This year, November, December, and now January have passed with only a few super freezing days and two noteworthy snowfalls that melted quickly. I haven't even put studded tires on Oma yet. By enjoying this extremely mild winter, I feel like I've gotten away with something major, like a jewelry heist. I almost don't want to write this ...
read moreHave I mentioned that winter's finally come to Chicago? And she is not messing around. This morning I biked to work in 15 F temps. My alley was an ice rink, but the streets and bike lanes were clear and dry. That's good, because I haven't put studded tires on Oma yet. I was totally comfortable throwing a puffy vest over a wool skirt suit and wool undershirt, plus cotton tights, snow boots, scarf, gloves, and earmuffs. I stuck heating packs in my mittens and boots, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. By...
read moreSunny blue skies, clear roads, mild temperatures - is it April already? I'm used to the occasional brief warm up during winter, but this year winter hasn't yet arrived at all. If the forecast is right, this will continue for at least the next five days. Yesterday was so warm (relatively) that I simply threw a long cashmere cardigan over my dress before heading out the door. By my evening commute, the temps had increased to 50 degrees F and I didn't even use my cardigan. And I'm thrilled to continue rid...
read moreHere is a little video I made of my morning bike commute through relatively quiet side streets. Not the most interesting video ever, but I wanted to show how it's possible to commute into downtown Chicago while avoiding busy streets and scary traffic. This is part of the quiet route that I often take, which I blogged about a few months ago here. It's hard to hear what I'm saying in the beginning and my memory card became full about 1/4 of my way to work, but you get the idea. The speed is 2.5x faster ...
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