Accepting Fault

No one likes to be wrong. Some take this so far that they automatically refuse to accept fault, even if they make a mistake that endangers another. During my ride home on Tuesday, I experienced two opposite reactions from drivers in this situation.
1) As I took my turn riding through a four-way-stop intersection, [...]

Another side of biking safety

Chicago is a big city, which presents some unique challenges when bike commuting. Usually, heavy traffic is the biggest problem, but sometimes – rarely – the problem is dangerous people.

Greg (Mr. Dottie) is working in the far suburbs this week, so [...]

Happy Friday!

I’m off to start the morning right.

Enjoy your ride!

Who, knowing the truth, would choose anything else?

This morning I planned to take my usual street route to work. After I got on my bike and felt the sweet sun and cool breeze, however, my instinct took over and led me to the Lakefront Trail. I thought maybe I needed a clear stretch of pavement to go fast and get [...]

A Typical Tuesday

My commute to and fro today was lovely, other than having to yell “JERK” at some jerk, who honked at me for being in the road and then cut me off to turn right.  I guess I should not be surprised, since some people (*cough* men *cough*) are often jerks in general.   The anonymity [...]

Friday Unwinding

This morning I almost took public transit instead of riding my bike, as the news predicted a sweltering 90 degree day with thunderstorms. I decided to ride anyway. By the afternoon, the official thunderstorm watch was the talk of the office, with heavy rain and lightening strikes predicted…any minute… But the rain [...]

“Excessive Heat Warning” Commute

Today there was an excessive heat warning in Chicago, the first since 2006, due to a top heat index of between 100 and 107 degrees. I rode my bike today, as I have every day this week. It wasn’t a big deal, nothing dramatic. I went slowly and sweated and that was [...]

A Hot Ride

The heat wave continues in Chicago and around the country. In the 90 degree temperatures, this dress helps me look put together while sweating bullets. Although the black material attracts the beating sun, sweat marks are completely concealed.
I love this Diane von Furstenberg dress because I bought it from the [...]

LGRAB in Yes! Magazine

Let’s Go Ride a Bike is featured in the upcoming issue of Yes! Magazine, an award-winning, ad-free, non-profit publication that supports people’s active engagement in building a just and sustainable world.  The issue is on building community resilience and one of the features is 8 Crash-Proof Ideas, highlighting people and places building skills now that will come [...]

Bulk Grocery Trip

My bulk grocery trips are not as pretty to look at as my farmer’s market bike trips, but I imagine the former are much rarer than the latter in the bicycling world. Of course, Mr. Dottie and I prefer to buy our food at the farmer’s market, but the bulk store keeps us in [...]