Thanksgiving ride

High fashion on a Montana Thanksgiving. Please note Sam's awesome alpaca coat (far R).

10 a.m. Snow-packed Bozeman streets. Me, biking. Magnificent.

I didn't really expect to be pedaling behind four guys in 8 degree weather on Thanksgiving Day, but there I was, hoping I could keep up on what was billed as a leisurely ride on downtown streets and trails. An hour or so later, I was home with numb toes, chattering on to Hot Husband and house guests about how amazing it was to get out and ride that morning.

Winter came slamming in after a glorious fall this year, and I hadn't gotten my courage up to try biking the roads, even though HH put my (OK, his) studded snow tires on my bike. Sam's invitation to get out for the third annual ThanksCrank ride was perfect. I'd get out of the house, get some exercise and have a perfect excuse to get over my reluctance to bike in snow again.

It was a great reminder to just get out and try. I got to talk to smart bike people and watched how they handle winter riding. I saw two Xtracycle FreeRadicals in action, and I'm pretty much sold. I rode in places that I probably would have assumed were beyond my skill level. I did a test run of my winter layering system.

Best of all, I was inspired to get out for a winter ride more often. The rush I got from generating my own heat on a freezing day was exhilarating. No other word for it.

I think Dottie from the fantastic blog Let's Go Ride a Bike said it best.
" . . . Everything about riding in the winter makes me feel alive in a way that sweating during the summer does not."

Please forgive the shoddy pics. My regular camera refused to work in the cold, and I had to resort to my camera phone.

Cargo bike questions

The 2010 Xtracycle Radish

Hey, all you Xtracycle folks out there! Give me a couple of minutes of your time?

As you know from my exquisite oversharing (here, here, here), I'm on a quest for a wonderful commuter bike. As a mom of three young dudes who lives and bikes in a hilly, non-urban area, I have a few specific needs.

• A bike that can haul. Kids, gear, kids' gear, groceries, etc.
• A bike that has gears. Because I have to handle hills and four seasons. And wind.
• A bike that's tough. I'm known for choosing quality but being hard on things. (Yep, Hot Husband too, unfortunately.) It's gotta be durable to deal with my life.
• A bike with style. Given that I'm the only female in my household, apart from the critters, I need stuff that has a feminine flair. I'm sick of making do with boys' stuff.
• A bike that's upright. In traffic, I need my head up and my ride steady. Being hunched over straight handlebars with my weight forward doesn't help.

I've been looking at vintage mixtes 'cuz they're so good looking, but they lack the gears that I need, plus I'd have to spend a lot of time and coin getting a decent cargo configuration on them. My ancient Jamis Durango is tough and has the gears, but has straight handlebars and no panniers or baskets. To haul Monkey Boy and anything we need for the day, I've had to hook the bike trailer to his Trail-a-Bike. It mostly works.

After I tweeted about this cool concept bike on Bicycle Design, an online biking friend responded that her Xtracycle was her station wagon. I've passed on the Xtracycles in the past because they just looked like brawny mountain bikes--neither upright nor stylish--and I was worried about pedaling a heavy frame with a load up hills.

Then I saw the Radish. Upright. Ugly color (Orange and brown? Really?), but good looking bones. Lotsa space for stuff. Pannier options. Fenders. Room for a kid to ride if he got a flat. Hmmm . . .

Now to the questions: How do the Xtracycles handle? Can the gearing handle hills? How do they deal with winter? And how do you like the panniers? I've been worried that the cargo systems wouldn't be flexible enough for all the stuff I would have to carry, from heavy library books to groceries to bulky towels for swimming. I just don't want to spend a lot of time fussing to get the load just right or freaking out as I try to keep the bike balanced.

Riding should be fun. Bliss, even.

Please post your comments below or email me at bikeblisschick@gmail.com.

Rethinking bike helmets

Spot the helmet? It's there. Photo from Hövding.

Holy smokes!

Check out the helmet alternative from Hövding that designers Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin spent six years developing so chic cyclists wouldn't have to choose between safety and beautiful hair. Definitely goes beyond the usual design parameters, including a black box that records ten seconds of information in case of an accident. Don't miss the crash test video at the end.

There's always a price for fashion, however. This technology will set you back a cool $446, but it's not yet available.

Can't wait to hear what the anti-helmet faction thinks of this innovation.

Thanks to Amusing Planet for the story.

As the mixte turns . . .

Pretty. Not mine.

Ah, the drama of choosing a bike!

As Elle will tell you, I tend to throw myself at projects, burn a lot of energy, and then walk away before the details are wrapped up. I guess I could call it part of my charm, but I'm not in that much denial.

This lovely pattern has been holding for my search for the perfect mixte commuter bike. I've been stopping by the local used sporting goods store every couple of weeks to see what vintage mixtes they have for sale, and there have been quite a few. There was the small white Peugeot that still had all the original parts, the silver Fugi, and probably several others I've now forgotten. I've taken a pass on all of them, mostly because they'd need a bunch of work and partially because I haven't been able to convince myself that I really need another bike.

That doesn't hold back those dreams of me on a mixte with upright handlebars, wearing a skirt, gently pedaling through town.

So there I was again, in front of the store, ogling a cobalt blue Centurion. Already had commuter handlebars. And fenders. And braze-ons for a rear rack. Took it to my favorite local bike shop, and they pronounced it good.

It's staying at the store. I really can't justify getting another bike when some key details of life are up in the air, since it will probably just sit in the garage for at least another 6 months. My dudes need winter boots. Broken light fixtures need to be replaced. Christmas is coming.

But I trust I will be that woman on the mixte someday, because I already am. Having or not having the bike doesn't change that. This was sure was tempting and purty, though.

Bike-iday greetings!

Yep, the happy, bustling spend-o-riffic holidays are heading for us like an SUV on wet asphalt! Looking for a way to spread bike love? Here's a quick collection of bike-themed holiday cards.

Skeese Greets has oodles of awesome designs featuring glitzed-up bike chains. Very cool.

 A letterpressed Yule bike from darlinpress . . .

 Sweet little tree in a basket, though it looks like you might have to request a set if you want more than one.

RobinDezigns' Santa wants you to have a "Flat-Free New Year!"

Scoot on over to bicyclegifts.com and Paper Source for some other lovelies!

If you're a small business and have bike goodies to sell, please contact me at bikeblisschick@gmail.com. LOVE to feature your work in an upcoming post.

I live here.

Light.

This has been an autumn to remember. After last winter that started early (October) and would not give up (May!), we have had warm, gorgeous, perfect days that just keep coming. Got out Sunday for a much-needed 14-miler, and I was reminded how much I love living here.

Sure, we need about 50 additional miles of bike paths here, but given the mountain views, trails close to town and year-round sunshine, I'm not about to complain. The people are fantastic, too. On my ride today I saw at least five other bikers, including a friend and a girl pedaling and clutching a mylar balloon. (Would have love to hear that story!) Cars carefully drove around me, and some drivers waved too, even though I didn't know them.

Great ride, good people, wonderful town.

Color.

Move over, ego!

see more Thom Bahde work here

Head Case needs bike therapy

Looky! Proof I've biked this autumn. (That's me in black in the back row.)

Yeah, it's been a while since I posted. As I mentioned before, fall is crunch time for me. We dive into homeschooling at a time when I'm still clinging to the last gorgeous days of summer, not wanting to give up the carefree days for schedules and appointments.

I have to confess that I've hardly been on my bike during this time. I have this funny little tendency to push away from the things I love (biking, this blog) when I think it will be too complicated to get time with them. Guess I figure it's easier to go cold turkey than try to turn myself inside out in order to get what I crave.

But that hasn't worked so well.

In the midst of this martyr break, Hot Husband and I have finally had to face a big life change. The writing has been on the wall for a while, but now we're finally having to make a game plan or risk having it made for us.

I don't want to whine, since there are so many people in this country who have things far worse than we do, but we've been running a fairly high level of anxiety in the past couple of weeks. While we were discussing our options and stressing over the details for the umpteenth time, Hot Husband turned to me and said, "You know, when you were doing regular workouts last year, your overall anxiety level was about 20 percent of what it's been this fall, even before all this."

Oh.

See, I thought that sacrificing my workouts would give myself some quiet time to read and plan homeschool lessons for the kids, which would make things go more smoothly. I thought that by shelving my need to bike, I would be less selfish and have more time to connect with the dudes.

Turns out that regular exercise that I love keeps my brain in a happy place instead of running the hamster wheel of worry. And when my brain is in that happier place, everything works better.  Over at the very cool blog Bike Skirt,  Elisa discovered the same thing while recovering from surgery recently.

So I'm dusting off the bike trainer, getting the knobbies on my commuter bike, and trying hula hooping (I know!) so I can get in a core workout that feels more like play than a duty.

I can't change what's going to happen in the weeks and months to come, and I can't help that my brain likes to dwell on the scary what ifs. But I can choose to worry later, and get on with the fun of being on two wheels on a gorgeous autumn day.