Exciting Development

There is a free newspaper, The Boston Courant, which is delivered to our apartment regularly, maybe weekly? I don't read it much, but this week a headline caught my eye:

Space for Bikes Not Cars at New Building

It seems there is a new residential development in the former Renaissance School building. It appears this is right downtown, near the Public Garden and Back Bay.

I don't know if the bike parking will be sufficient or not. The article states that they have 767 square feet of storage for up to 80 bicycles. The building will have 128 units, broken out as 76 two bedrooms, 29 one bedrooms, and 23 studios. Certainly that's less than one bike per unit, so my family would have trouble taking only our fair share. Of course we could keep doing what we're doing - parking some bikes in the apartment itself. In any case it would be fun to live in such a bike focused building.

I wonder if they'll release photos of the bike storage design? I'd love to see how they have it set up!

OK, I blame hormones

But this is kinda cute, right?

Available from hellobanjobaby on Etsy.

Hope you all get to ride today with your Valentine!

love,
  Charlotte, the possibly hormone-addled

More than just Winter Quiet

I apologize for the silence on this blog. I haven't been able to ride and have been finding it just unbearable to think about cycling when I can't get out on my bike.

I thought I could ride yesterday but heard that we were expecting snow in the evening so I reluctantly took the bus. It was warm and puddled all day. Today I waited for the bus for half an hour then gave up in disgust and went home for my bike. If snow was not actually falling from the sky I wasn't going to worry about it. Maybe I still won't be able to ride home. Whatever.

This morning I rode slowly and safely, walked when I was nervous, and have been grinning like a fool with the endorphins from actually getting to ride my bike for the first time in almost a month. I feel so much happier!

I also got to use my new bike accessory:

I am not the only cyclist with big news, and I have been spending a bit of this last bus-bound month reviewing Totcycle archives. I've been lucky that I have been able to ride so much during this pregnancy, with only one other three day obstacle in December. We're 34 weeks today (hurray!) and as a person who has had setbacks, this seems like a nice, safe, good time to finally announce!

My husband thought you would all have guessed our news when my Italian "baby-moon" photos featured more Moms on bikes than sexy Italian bicycles, but I guess it was subtle enough. Now you all now know why I was so obsessed with lights this autumn!

I fear this blog may divert a bit into mom-bike territory, as even the Dawes for my own mother is getting reworked as our family station wagon (for when Future Cyclist is big enough).

In the near term I hope the Future Cyclist and I will be able to snap some good cycling photos for you all when we're out on walks. I'll also be back on my bike ASAP after s/he joins us, which should coincide with the nice weather arriving. I'm trying not to think about missing brevet season (and a PBP year at that!) and focusing instead on perhaps volunteering at checkpoints. We already have a baby-sized cycling cap and are working on cheering... "Allez les cyclists!"

So please bear with me as time rolls along, the seasons change, a focus shifts, and my bicycle transforms to continue to reflect my needs at any given time... aren't bicycles awesome?

I'm going to ride my bike until I get home...

Monday afternoon, missing the weekend, this video made me smile:



It even has a Brompton in the very beginning!

Bicycle right from the Denver Airport

I wasn't prepared this time, but perhaps on my next trip to Denver I will be ready to avail myself of the designated bike route that has signs posted all over the airport.

Here you can see that the bike route starts inside the terminal!


Viewed from Passenger Pickup, these are the bike signs that mark the route (look at that hot sun and plan to bring water!):


This is the only bike parking I saw at DIA, making me think there is either an employee shed somewhere or they mostly envision this bike route for travelers.


Here are examples of the signage along the road:



This route is not for the faint of heart. People who have done it report that riding so close to cars zipping by at 70 is nerve racking (but something they would do again). Still, I'm just happy that some facility has been made to make a distant and rather inaccessible airport more accessible.

MassBike has information about riding your bike to Logan.

Back Bay Bike Parking

New bike racks are going in on Clarendon Street, in the Back Bay. This location is right across from where the Hard Rock Café used to be (empty now), and is very near the new John Hancock building and the Back Bay subway and commuter rail station.

The upside of all this parking is that there is certainly a lot of it, it's in an area with a paucity of bike racks, and the entire area is covered for protection from the elements. Downside is that the entire area is covered because it's a tunnel freeway entrance for the Mass Pike. It's a great use of space for a much-needed resource, but beware of "freeway-minded" drivers folks!

San Francisco Bicycle Parking

Sent in by a friend, this image was taken outside Public Cycles in San Francisco. I think this may be the most elegant outdoor bike parking I've ever seen. It's almost as if they're surfing bikes, paddling out to the break.

What do you think? Parking or sculpture?

UPDATE: Thanks to D in the comments I now know this is called a Bike Arc.

New Bike for a Friend

I get the fun job of helping a friend shop for a new city bike. She's mother to two, so the bike must carry the 18 month old, and in this case reliability trumps aesthetics. I'd still like to find her something cute, and regular readers know I'm a bit out of my element when it comes to new bike shopping, I'm a vintage bike kind of girl. But as I adjusted my brakes yet again this morning I knew that I should limit this bike search to new bikes. I thought I'd list my thoughts and hope that you, dear readers, could chime in with ideas and suggestions.

My friend is about 5'7", a very fit triathlete, with two young girls (4 years and 18 months) who are also growing up to be cyclists. Her previous city bike was a generic hybrid, which was stolen off her fenced back patio! This bike will have to go in the same spot, but we hope to have it better secured. She has a triathlon bike, this should be her upright kid-hauling city bike.


1) dream bike would, of course, be a custom ANT ($2,700)
Upside would be that it would be perfect for her and her family, now and in the future. Downside would be the price. But look at those lines! The headlight! These lavender rims! And working with Mike is so fun. I love the upgrades he has planned... Sigh... It's fun to dream about the custom colors I would choose.


2) REI offers the Electra Ticino ($800), onto which I imagine we could add a chainguard. This bike looks a lot like mine, which may be why I like it, but it has cantilever brakes, which appeal to me for kid-carrying. She'd also get the REI refund on the purchase.
Downsides include no eyelets for a rear rack (and thus no baby seat). This is a deal-breaker Electra!


3) A new maker, Public, offers a cute Mixte ($750)
My friend would love the color options, it has a chainguard, and internal hubs ($890 if she needs the 8 speed). There are eyelets for the child seat. As people have commented on this blog, the fender line shown on their website bodes poorly for their overall attention to detail, but we can hope that was just the poor work of the bike stylist?

(Photo credit to the excellent blog Lovely Bicycle, who steps in where bike manufacturers fail!)

4) KHS offers the Green bicycle ($350) in black only.
I think the biggest downside to this bike is that certain parts of it do look really cheap. On the other hand they're some of the parts I'm most likely to change anyway. If we got a sprung black Brooks saddle and a pair of black swept-back handlebars I think it would go from "cheap" to "simple little black bike" pretty quickly. I don't believe the included rack is rated to carry a baby seat, so we'd have to switch that out. Also the ladies' bike only comes in 14" and 17" frame sizes. She might fit on a 17" but I know I wouldn't! I do like the idea of an internal hub for her, but while I'm ok with 3 speeds and a rack of groceries, I don't know about three speeds and a rack of toddler. She may need more gearing options. This bike works well for some but definitely has some drawbacks.


5) Trek offers the Belleville WSD ($660)
It has the 3 speed internal hub, includes the chainguard and fenders and racks. The front rack would likely be very useful to my friend, the rear rack would again probably have to be changed for the baby seat rack. Somehow there's something about this bike aesthetically that I don't like - has it got too much going on or something? Maybe it's that saddle.


6) Gary Fisher has the Simple City 3 ($600)
I can't put my finger on it but this bike (and the 8 speed) does not excite me at all, and the women's version is worse.


7) Specialized Globe has a beautiful candy apple red Live 1 Mixte ($580) but I think my friend needs some gearing. Otherwise I think this bike has a lot going for it, particularly for taller ladies.


So readers, are there any new bikes out there that are exciting, and meet my friend's needs? Should I start looking into vintage bikes with new components (à la Renaissance Bicycles?) How can a lady haul toddlers in style?

Lazy Woman's Hub Cleaning Scheme

A simple pipecleaner, $1.99 for 100 at my local store (and yes, I have spare ones for free if you want one), makes an excellent hub cleaner for lazy people. The directions are simple:

1. Wrap it around your hub
2. Twist the ends together
3. Forget about it for about a week on your townie or for a long (dry) ride on your pleasure bike

When your hub looks sufficiently clean you just tug firmly to remove. It is so easy that while the rest of my bike is still dirty the hubs are certainly gleaming!

Another sort of Flower Bike

I don't generally go for the decorative bike. I think functional bikes are beautiful enough, I prefer those. This one, spotted outside an independent bookstore on Cape Cod this weekend, made me smile so I wanted to share it. Perhaps I like it because it never was a real bike, never could have been ridden, so being a planter is not degradation. I can't wait 'till it can be filled with real flowers - just a few more months!

Someone has a sense of humor

Though not as objectively beautiful as the other "Pinarello" city bike I've featured, this one always gives us a smile when we pass it on Newbury Street.

A Historical Chic Cycling Treat

I am lucky enough to have a brother-in-law who is a historian. He sent this wonderful gift for all of us. What amazes me while reading this is how very similar Ethel's journal entries are to the entries and comments in modern chic cycling blogs. The more things change...!

Today I came across a journal of a chic cyclist from 1897, and wanted to share some of it with your blog. In her day a bike was referred to simply as “a wheel”. Attached are two scans from the journal as well.

Selected entries from the journal of Ethel Starr Mack of Benton County, Oregon, 1897:



April 8: I worked today on a wheeling suit which I am making of my old blue dress. I am making a sleeveless Eton jacket with a sailor collar trimmed in white braid. I think I shall like it quite well…. We have heard that our wheels came to Lebanon [Oregon] today, by stage.

April 12: Our wheels came today. Mine is a beauty! The prettiest wheel in town, so everyone says. It is dark green with dark red and black lacings. I can ride already. I learned in the College hall – after practicing half an hour I could ride across the Hall. After three-quarters of an hour I could go around the hall. After school tonight Effie Holt and I went up to the Hall with our wheels but so many were riding I could not try mine, so Herschel, Effie and I went down to the college track. Soon the whole crowd followed. There were nine wheels on the track! I rode around it several times but I did not have strength to ride more than once and a half around the baseball diamond without resting. Herschel looks the best of the boys on his wheel. They all said I learned remarkably fast. Herschel took supper with me and Ali, Wayne and George and Amy were there besides spectators. We had a nice time and I rode five miles and was not much tired. Herschel and I came back together and went to the spring for a drink.

April 20: I sewed some on my machine today and it works nicely. I am making a shirtwaist of my old blue chambray skirt to wear with my wheel suit….

April 21: Herschel took me down to the track and we rode together. I rode seven miles and at once I rode a mile and a half without stopping. Herschel and Gilbert went to Albany today and got them new wheel suits. Herschel looks so handsome in his. He has gray pants and a red sweater and stockings….His wheel cost him $22.50.

May 1: This being May Day I made a May basket of green and white crepe paper lined with pink, and filled it with flowers.

May 2: Mama told me to take my wheel and go to the track. I did so and Allie and I rode four miles without stopping.

May 7: Herschel came down and we started out for a ride. It was my first attempt to ride on the road. I wore my new wheel suit for the first time. We found the first mile too rough for riding but after that it was nice. Coming back we sat down under a tree to rest, and Herschel graded an examination paper. I was not much tired when I reached home and Herschel praised my riding. It was altogether the happiest ride I have taken.



As an aside, when I googled "Ethel Starr Mack" I was happy to see that she's buried alongside her husband Herschel. Long live bike romances!

Bicycle Wedding

Extremely chic photo by christinanicoleb

We've been talking about tandems, but on my second wedding anniversary I'm thinking more about Bike Love in general. There's something about a tandem that says love and marriage, but like I said yesterday - two years ago there were none to be found. I like the symbolism of two wedding bikes also, so in the end it all worked out.

In retrospect I wish we'd thought to take some photos that day with our bikes. The inherent joy is somehow captured in the movement of the bike. A handsome handlebar is a natural prop if you want to do the ring photo. Just remember a handlebar basket for your bouquet. And how about this bicycle tube garter belt!?

I can imagine that this gentleman is using a bicycle wheel as a metaphor for the dynamics of marriage. He's probably talking about how you have to both support and depend upon each other in order to roll along easily, and just keep moving if you don't want to fall over. I love this wedding cake because the bride is carrying the groom on her handlebars!

The bicycle must be a powerful marriage metaphor because there are plenty of other bike wedding photos, invitations, accessories, etc. out on Flickr, Etsy, and the web.


PS. That grain of rice is still lodged in my handlebars. Two years and counting.