Is it really January?

Posted by Dottie at 10:37 commute diary, Uncategorized 20 Responses »
Jan 072012

Sunny 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 riding Betty Foy, who usually gets packed away for the harsh winters.

This is the same outfit I wore two years ago for my video demonstrating how I dress for winter bicycling, but now without the wool leggings, second pair of socks, wool sweater, wool overcoat, huge mitts, handwarmers, scarf, hat, and glasses!

I think the weather I’m experiencing now is more like typical winter for most of you, but this will go down in the books as one of the warmest winters in Chicago’s history.

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Video: Cycling Chicago's Lakefront Trail

Posted by Dottie at 08:02 video 19 Responses »
Jan 042012

I ended the year on Saturday with a ride downtown along the Lakefront Trail with my friend Elizabeth.  Here’s a little video of cycling the Lakefront Trail heading south. I’m riding my Betty Foy and Elizabeth occasionally pops up with a santa hat on her helmet. The video is sped up by 150% and the song is by The Moonlighters from Free Music Archive.

You can see that the car-free trail is a very nice route, especially when it’s not crowded. I would take this route to work every day if it were a little more conveniently located for me.

Happy New Year!

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A Happy Bike Ride to University of Chicago

Posted by Dottie at 07:37 explore, random rides 4 Responses »
Dec 272011

Hello, there!  Since today is dark and rainy and I have to go back to work (sad face), I’m starting the morning with something bright and happy.  I just stumbled upon these photos and realized that I never posted about this ride.

On the last Sunday of October, a day of perfect weather, I biked to Hyde Park to enjoy brunch at my friend’s house.  Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the southside where the University of Chicago is located, about 15 miles from where I live.  After brunch, I took the opportunity to explore the area by bike. The campus is beautiful, as you can see below.

At the time, I thought this was my last warm weather hurrah, but winter has yet to take hold of Chicago for real. The high temps this week will be in the 40′s.

I wish I could post something about biking during my Christmas vacation in North Carolina, but sadly my hometown is not conducive to biking. Did any of you make time for a nice holiday ride?

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Winter Group Rides - Critical Lass

Posted by Dottie at 14:04 events, Uncategorized 19 Responses »
Dec 172011

Chicago’s monthly Critical Lass ride continues on, even in the dark cold!

Usually I avoid winter group rides because biking for a long time at slow speeds in freezing temps is a great way to freeze my extremities off.

The ladies behind Critical Lass understand these problems and have adjusted the winter rides accordingly. For the next few months, the ride will be short (3-4 miles) and end at neighborhood bars that are close to home for as many of the lasses as possible.

This plan worked perfectly for December’s ride. A hardy group of 16 lasses showed up and spent much more time drinking pitchers of beer in a cozy pub than pedaling in the cold.

To stay up-to-date on the different dates and locations for Chicago’s Critical Lass ride, check out the Facebook page.

What do you think about winter group rides? Have you been on one this year?

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Biking to Harpo Studios

Posted by Dottie at 08:19 commute diary, events 12 Responses »
Dec 132011

Yesterday was a special day for me, thanks to good luck. I won tickets to a taping of The Rosie Show where Tori Amos was the guest, by writing an essay about my love for her music. When I got there, they sat me front row center, the best seat in the house!

Rosie tapes her show in Harpo Studios, where Oprah used to tape. Riding there from my office was a breeze, since I could take the Kinzie protected bike lane and side streets the whole way. Riding from there back home was a little crazed and stressful. I wasn’t familiar enough with the area to attempt side streets at night, so I took a main route full of fast traffic, which then detoured because of construction, putting me on an even busier street, and *ugh* reminding me why I prefer side streets. At the same time, the experience also reminded me that I can confidently handle the messy stuff when it comes my way.

Outside Harpo Studios, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find bike parking, forcing me to lock to a light pole. There is very little bike parking in the West Loop neighborhood in general.

Here is the view from my seat in the studio, not zoomed in, right after the show ended when we were finally allowed to take pictures. You can see Rosie to the right and Tori’s piano straight ahead.

I also had the pleasure of seeing Tori in concert at the Chicago Theater on Saturday night, a sold out show. Chicago Theater is the best for seeing bigger concerts.

Okay, I’m done with my fangirl stuff. (Everyone has a favorite artist they’d be super excited to see up close…right?)

The weather in Chicago is back to being oddly warm. It’s in the 40′s now and will get up to the 50′s tomorrow. Weird but good for winter cycling!

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Podcast: Women of West Town Bikes

Posted by Dottie at 10:31 podcasts 5 Responses »
Dec 122011

For the second LGRAB podcast, I talked with three women of West Town Bikes: Kim Werst, Liz Clarkson, and Mia Moore.  West Town Bikes is a non-profit organization with the goals of promoting bicycling in Chicago, educating youth with a focus on under-served populations, and fostering Chicago’s growing bicycling community.  The women I talked with focus their efforts on Women/Trans Night and the Girls Bike Club.

Women and Trans Night is an offshoot of WTB’s adult program, a weekly open shop night that offers a comfortable and welcoming environment to work on bikes and learn more about bike maintenance.

The Girls Bike Club is an offshoot of WTB’s earn-a-bike youth summer program that teaches bike mechanics and safe cycling skills.  They saw a need for a girls-only group and started the Girls Bike Club.

Some of the teen girls from the Girls Bike Club and their mentors joined our Women-Who-Bike Brunch last month. I wanted to learn more about this fun and impressive group.

To hear about the importance of women-only spaces, the challenges of getting girls on bikes, and how bicycling empowers, listen to the interview below or visit our iTunes page to download the podcast.

West Town Bikes is currently raising money to send the Girls Bike Club to a national bike conference in NYC to give a workshop on how others around the country can organize their own Girls Bike Club. You can DONATE HERE. Click on “Donate Online” and then type “Girls Bike Club” in the designation line.

Did I mention you can DONATE HERE? Any amount helps!

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A New Red Coat on the Bike Path

Posted by Dottie at 22:51 commute diary, style 23 Responses »
Dec 072011

Bright red seems like the best color for city cycling, getting drivers’ attention while still looking stylish off the bike. Chic, classic, and bold.

For this reason, I’ve been searching for the perfect red coat for two years, especially since seeing this post on Copenhagen Cycle Chic. Yesterday, the miraculous happened: I finally found “my” red coat. I was walking through Anthropologie during my lunch break, which I often do to torture myself because I usually can’t afford their beautiful clothes, when I spotted this unique red trench for half off.

Everything about the coat is perfect for me. The bright red “hi-vis” color. The classic trench styling. The length. The cinched waist with a bow.

And the laced back! Just the kind of quirky, personal touch I love.

Best of all, the coat will get me through three Chicago seasons: fall and spring over whatever I happen to be wearing, winter with a cashmere or wool sweater and my lightweight windbreaker underneath. There’s a nice lining that makes it a bit more substantial than the usual trench.

Plus, the red matches my other Oma accessories.

I also purchased something else on sale that I’ve been searching for: a digital camera. I wanted an affordable compact camera with manual controls and sharp photos, which I found in the Panasonic Lumix LX-5. I love shooting film, but for blogging purposes digital is faster and cheaper.  I (and my huge gloved hands) will be able to post more daily photos of my commute, more quickly. Yay!

Moving beyond consumerism to talk about actual biking, I had a lovely commute this morning.  I took the Lakefront Trail for the first time in a while.  I’m going to make a video of this route (with HD video on my new camera!) because it’s so beautiful.  

Pure bliss = rolling on Oma down the quiet trail, listening to Jill Scott, enjoying the sun in my face and the wind at my back. Makes me wonder why I ever bother riding to work among car traffic.

Now is the best time of year to bike the trail – the crowds have left, but ice is not yet encroaching from the lake.

The weather today is suddenly colder, in the low-20′s. Winter is pushing its way through, slowly but surely. At least I have my red coat. :)

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December's women-who-bike brunch

Posted by Dottie at 22:04 events, style 12 Responses »
Dec 052011

On Sunday, Chicago’s lovely bike ladies got together for the final brunch of 2011. The weather in Chicago is unseasonably mild and I was able to get by without a coat, wearing a sweater dress ($2 from Salvation Army!) and glittery Cynthia Rowley tights (a gift from Trisha last Christmas).

About 15 of us met at The Southern in Bucktown and boy was it good!

I had to get the fried chicken, biscuits and gravy (hey, I’m from North Carolina!).  There was enough left over for yummy dinners on Sunday and Monday.

Martha seems to be taking her benedict seriously in this photo, but she liked it.  And Ash her donuts.  :)

For real, these cinnamon donuts with fruit and coffee dipping sauce looked amazing.

After a leisurely meal, we headed outside for our usual bike talk.

Maria, Samantha and Seri showed off their wintery white helmets.

Jen, Ash and Holly modeled their oh-so-lovely jackets.  ;)

Catherine made a strong case for purple and green together.

Martha’s bright red scarf and Samantha’s neon yellow gloves were great pops of color (visibility!) next to their black coats.

And check out Martha’s new Yakkay helmet cover.  Swoon!

April and Holly brought some spring colors into the mix.  (Stay tuned for a full review of April’s raincoat coming later this week.)

So cheerful on a grey winter day!

I think I managed to get everyone’s photo this time except Stef and Carrie, so I’m posting these that I took at prior gatherings. (A bit underdressed for December, aren’t we, ladies? :) )

After brunch and bike talk, some of us headed to the nearby Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market.  A perfect Sunday morning!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the lovely ladies for coming together every month.  I feel like our group is really something special and I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made.

Cheers to an excellent 2011!

{Are you a Chicagoan who wants to join our fabulous group?  New women are always welcome!  Email me at LGRAB@letsgorideabike.com.}

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Video: a busy Chicago bike commute

Posted by Dottie at 14:54 commute diary, safety, video 32 Responses »
Dec 032011

Earlier this week, I posted a video of my commute along quiet side streets.  To show how different the ride is along a busy route, on Friday morning I took Lincoln Avenue, a popular street for both bikes and motor vehicles.  I considered this taking one for the team, because I hate this route during rush hour.

A few notes before moving on to the video:

  • Lincoln Avenue is a major bikeway, with either bike lanes or sharrows along the length of it. As I discussed previously, it’s a pathetic set-up for such a popular bike route. Nevertheless, most bicyclists would take this street from my neighborhood to downtown.
  • This route takes about 25 minutes to my work, while the side streets route takes about 40 minutes.  Lincoln is faster because it is diagonal, a straight shot to downtown.
  • The bicyclist who happens to be in front of me for most of the video is carrying a child on the back, very cool.  I position myself a little further in the street and away from the parked cars than she, to avoid the door zone.
  • There’s a lot of traffic during rush hour and I generally filter on the right to get in front at stop lights.  This is the safest place to wait, but it’s important to position yourself in front of cars and trucks, not next to them.  Also, I know the light cycles well and go ahead only when I have enough time to do so safely.
  • The video is sped up by 250% and shows only 1/3 of the ride.  My memory card got full right before I passed three solid blocks of traffic-jammed cars.  That’s always smugly fun.
Without further ado, I present another low-budget LGRAB production:


The song is Beat Culture by Midori and I found it on Free Music Archive (thanks to Vee for the tip!).

Can you see why I prefer the side streets?  Which route would you take?

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Video: a calm Chicago bike commute

Posted by Dottie at 23:12 basics, commute diary, video 34 Responses »
Dec 012011

Here 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.

[UPDATE: May not work for international readers. Sorry!]

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 than reality.

I’m no Leslie Knope with iMovie, so please excuse the poor quality. (If you don’t get that reference, you didn’t watch Parks & Rec tonight – shame on you.)

Major shout-out to super sweet reader Ambrose, who gifted me her old bike camera mount after I posted my last ridiculously shaky handheld video. It made a huge difference. Thank you!!

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