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Category : Bikes

I’ve been on bikes from a very young age but my passion exploded in 2004 when I got swept away in Portland’s burgeoning cycling scene and cyclocross racing. I raced for a few years, went on several long tours, and built an independent business around my passion: Little Package Cycling Caps. In my opinion, bikes are freedom and bikes are fun. I hope you ride one!

Driving to Toulouse

Today we woke up in Cap d’Agde on the Méditérranean and drove all day to Toulouse. It’s Easter Sunday. The roads were pretty quiet and it was rainy. Only in one town did we see anything that looked like an Easter celebration. Mostly just quiet, narrow roads. And grape vine after vine after vine growing on roadside plantations. I now really understand how everyone in the world is able to enjoy wine with practically every dinner. Until you have driven through the south of France, it might not be conceivable, but once you have driven through the south of France, it all makes sense. The entire countryside is planted with grapevine, maybe like the midwest is planted with corn. It’s… continue reading

Thomas Voekler Contador etc Col d'Aubisque

Col d’Aubisque

Our drive today, from Pau to Bagnères-du-Luchon, France: View Larger Map Long day in the car. Probably the most incredible mountain car trip I’ve ever taken, and that’s saying a lot, given I’ve driven in northern Norway and through Alaska. Average 7.2% grade, 1190 meters up. Except for our huge detour back up around Lourdes, it will be a hors-catégorie climb stage in the Tour de France on the 18ème Juillet 2012. Wild. We missed driving the Tourmalet, but feel satisfied anyway. A bottle of wine later, a cute hotel, things are parfait!

Me on the Circulus

Circulus

Ugh. So hung over. Last night was a bit crazy. I finally got to ride the Circulus. Not just ride it, but race it. Yeah, I went straight from test-riding it (crash!) to organizing a spontaneous women’s race (thanks to Stevil and Murph), to winning said race (crash!). Racers were not allowed to drink, but since I wasn’t a racer until I set up the impromptu race (6 women volunteered, I think), there was by then a lot of beer in my system. So of course I ate shit. And it was captured on video. That’s me handily catching up to my opponent and crashing as soon as the win bell is rung. Good fun. More about all that here:… continue reading

How (Not) To Lock Your Bicycle

Just like the old hammered iron puzzles and such used to grab my attention as a child, now the impossibly stupid ways people manage to (not) lock up their bikes fascinates me. I realized other people like to take pictures of this phenomenon as well, so I started a Flickr group. Do you have any humorous or sad photos you can add?

Parkway Scenery I

Down the Blue Ridge Parkway

Today we mostly rode downhill for about 40 miles, and camped on a stone ledge at Chestoa View. I suggested open air camping because the ledge was pretty and I was lazy about pitching a tent but this back-fired when something bit my lip while I slept. I woke up with Angelina Jolie lips — on ONE side of my face. But for the record, I slept like a baby. It was a super yoga spot, though, aside from the faint piss smell and all the flies in the morning. Also, we had to hang out quite a while in the evening doing nothing and pretending like we were just there to enjoy the view, not camp. We ruined the… continue reading

All Aboard Amtrak Express!

The other day at City Bikes I mentioned I was shipping bikes and the really affable long hair redhead guy with black goggles alerted me of Amtrak Express. I’m so glad he mentioned it! Just having gotten back from the gorgeous Portland train station (aren’t all American train stations fairly well-kept quaint relics of rail travel?) I can say: so far so good. I’m a bit nervous, but I did take out $5500 of insurance (ha). At $180 for two bikes and a 45lb. Bob Ibex manufacturer’s box packed with touring gear, with all that insurance, it’s an affordable alternative to FedEx and UPS for shipping bicycles, and having said it will take 5-7 days (days, not business days), it’s… continue reading

Track Lessons

Wednesdays this summer, Alpenrose hosts fairly informal $5 track cycling lessons. I recommend them! Tonight was my first time on a fixed gear (track) bike for any substantial length of time. The fluidity of rolling your legs is lulling, and zen-like (“I am pedaling, I am pedaling, I am peda…”), and immediately nearly anybody could fall in love with riding up and down, around and around. I see why people go ga-ga over track. I crashed my mountain bike on Sandy Blvd. on Saturday night, banging up my right side and destroying my suspension fork. It struck a little fear into my heart! So the first few minutes back on my bike after two weeks of light riding were tentative,… continue reading

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