One of my favorite things to do on a weekend is get out of my jammies, bike to the bookstore, and return home to my jammies and a day of reading new books. (I'm a wild woman, I know.) The ride to my favorite bookstore is about 3.5 miles roundtrip - the perfect distance for an easy ride that nevertheless allows me to feel like I've accomplished enough physical activity for the day.
As much as I love this bookstore, I would shop there less often if I could not ride my bicycle, because 3.5 miles is a bit much to ...
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Continuing with our "Favorite of 2011" series (read about our favorite albums here), I present our lists of favorite books of 2011. We are both voracious readers and enjoyed our fair share of new books in 2011, especially Trisha, who is a book reviewer—as in reading and reviewing books is part of her full time job—so we put a lot of thought into our picks. :)
Trisha's Top 10
Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie
This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park
The M...
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Over the summer I had the pleasure of meeting Russ and Laura of The Path Less Pedaled during their three-week stay in Nashville. These two have a gift for getting to the heart of what makes a city tick—especially when it comes to bike-related matters—and seeing Nashville through their eyes was a real treat. (Especially since they turned out to be big fans of my adopted hometown!)
Somehow, between touring across the country, metalsmithing (Laura) and taking stunning photographs (Russ), they've managed to pu...
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Unless I'm riding my bike or spending time with friends, you can bet that I'd rather be reading a novel. Especially Russian novels, which I studied in college to earn a degree in Russian literature.
My attachment to Russian literature began as quickly and simply as my attachment to bicycling. During my junior year of high school, I randomly grabbed a book off the library shelf - The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy. This Tolstoy guy was like nothing I'd read before. His dir...
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Happy April First!
Chicago's temperature climbed to a high of 83 degrees today! While cycling the Lakefront Trail for my morning commute, I was compelled to pull over, awestruck by the gentle sunrise. Work could wait ten minutes.
I spent my lunch hour on a park bench reading War and Peace and eating the most fabulous cupcake. (Now that I've discovered the cupcake boutique More not far from my office, my addiction can only get worse.)
All of this beauty really warms my hea...
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Though we've already penned our odes to fall and tights, and recapped our fun-filled summer, I left work this afternoon to find an overcast morning had brought forth one last glimpse of summer sun. So of course, Le Peug and I headed off to enjoy it. Our destination: Sevier Park, starting point for the LGRAB Garden Party Ride, home of Sunnyside Manor and less than a mile from my house.
I changed from work clothes into something more suitable for a last taste of summer.
A quick fashion digression: This year ...
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The sun was blazing today with temperatures near 90 degrees. Although I grew up in North Carolina and should be used to it, I absolutely hate extremely hot weather. I'd much rather cycle in the snowy sun. Despite the heat, I couldn't sit around all day, so I put on my breeziest summer dress and set out on Oma. This picture captures how hot the sun was, apparently burning through my clothes.
My original plan was to go to the art musuem and park downtown, but I did not get far before abandoning that idea - s...
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Another beautiful spring day on bicycles. We enjoyed a few hours in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, visiting the bookstore, music store, Italian restaurant, coffee shop, and running store. Cycling there makes the whole day 100 times more fun, since it's so much faster than driving or the el train, plus it's impossible to find a car parking spot and the el is always sorta depressing. On bikes, the journey becomes part of the day, instead of a hassle to get through.
This morning I put the front rack and basket o...
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I recently received a copy of Richard Hurst's The Cyclist's Manifesto, and since anecdotal evidence has proven that many bike commuters are also readers, I thought I'd let you all know it's coming to a store near you in May.
Hurst jokes(?) on his blog that "uch of it consists of unstable rantings," but he promises a lot of information on bicycle history as well as conjecture about its future, and I'm looking forward to getting deeper into the book (so far, I've only read the first few pages, which are sett...
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The sping-like weather and vibrant blue bike inspired me to dig out my peep-toe blue suede shoes for a ride to brunch. My first real ride with Smurfette (Trisha's brilliant name suggestion!) was very satisfying. She's quick and light with a ride almost as smooth as my Oma, if you can believe it. Twice during the short ride, drivers who came to four-way stop signs first waved me on, perhaps catching some of my happy vibes.
Good thing, too, because the brakes were not in tip-top shape and the rain that started as...
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