March 26th, 2011 · Caitlin - Kansas City · No Comments
Happy Friday, y’all! Can I get a ROCK CHALK??!?!?!?! Quick shout out to by boys in crimson and blue, good luck tonight Jayhawks!
Morris Twins
Since March Morris Madness is in a full swing, I will regrettably be missing out on Critical Mass tonight. Meeting at Sunfresh Market most likely leaving around 7. After you ride to the river, come back up the hill forKCSprints at Buzzard Beach! Pedal 500 meters as fast you can, if you don’t puke you aren’t trying hard enough!
Me @ last KCSprints @ Buzzard
Tomorrow night is the first Battle of Roanoke series sponsored by the BBG! We’ll be starting at where the cobblestone road ends in Roanoke Park racing down to the BLVD. ::Hopefully we don’t get that 1-3 inches of snow, I saw predicted:: Compete head to head with your sickest ride for BRAGGIN’ RIGHTS, PRIZES and also a chance to win a “WILDCARD” to use for the upcoming BATTLECAT 2 Oct 1st* 2011!!! Only $5 dollars to race!
poster credit: Matt Urlaub
Hopefully I see you kids out at one or more of these events! Despite the cold front, spring is just around the corner!!
What’s the bike scene like in New York for females?
Women outnumber men three-to-one in New York City, so it stands to reason that ladies are a big part of the cycling community here (especially in Brooklyn). I know ladies that own their own bike shops, delivery companies, and by-female-for-female high-end cycling wear designers (like http://www.nonavarnado.com). Classes are opening up all the time for female-only bike maintenance (run by women) to encourage more ladies to take charge of their bikes. There are bad-ass chicks that race, as well as female messengers and tons of rad girls that commute all year, rain, snow or shine! All of my best friends ride, in varying capacities–and the numbers are growing all the time.
What’s your favourite ride right now?
My Gran Royale Lurker is above and beyond my favorite; it’s the first brand-new bike I’ve ever owned, it’s the bike I’ve travelled with the most, and the first bike on which I’ve commuted through every kind of weather.
Where’s your favourite place to ride?
Riding in Brooklyn can’t be beat, especially in the summer down by the water–it’s such a beautiful, breezy, sunny ride! My daily commute to the tattoo shop is a pretty great ride; I travel through a few different neighborhoods and always see friends I know out riding along the way.
Favourite riding outfit:
When it’s warm: my d’emploi tank top, leggings, Chuck Taylors–and my helmet, of course.
When it’s cold: whatever layers work…. I usually end up looking like an overweight, poofed-up ninja, but it keeps me warm and dry!
Favourite food: Anything brunch-related, arepas, burritos, and ‘falizza’–a falafel sandwich on a pizza!
Favourite movie: Happiness, Donnie Darko, Amelie, Battle Royale, Memento, The Proposition, Boondock Saints, Old Boy.
Favourite book: The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick.
What makes you laugh? Most of Comedy Central’s line-up, especially South Park. I not-so-secretly have a 12-year-old’s sense of humor.
What makes you angry? Road rage, narrow-minded people, watching the nightly political news.
What are you listening to on your I-pod?
It changes all the time, but lately it’s been a lot of stoner and black metal.
Do you have any pets?
For the first time in my life, no–but I want to adopt a dog really badly!
Anything else you’d like to add?
Riding started for me out of convenience/commuting necessity, but has since developed into a full-blown love affair. I love being able to take my bike to different cities and explore new places, I love the community of cyclists I’ve met who #BikeNYC, and I love the feel of perfect summer sunsets in Brooklyn riding hands-free with the wind whooshing through my hair.
What’s the bike scene like in Richmond, VA for females?
It’s growing! There are a ton of ladies in the city that ride bikes for fun and as a mode of transportation. I feel that more females are getting involved in the riding and racing community than ever before. Cycling can often be intimidating for women because it is male-dominated sport, but the ladies are sticking together and carving their own place in the RVA bike scene.
What’s your favourite ride right now?
That’s a tough question to answer, but I have to say that my favourite bike will always be my track bike, a pink EAI Bareknuckle. It was my daily (and only) ride for over 3 years and although I have several other bikes, I always have so much fun speeding through the city with no brakes!
Where’s your favourite place to ride?
I really enjoy riding off-road whether it’s on a mountain bike or a cyclocross bike. It’s a great escape from city riding and you don’t have to worry about car traffic… just rocks and trees.
Favourite riding outfit: As much as I enjoy wearing spandex, jean shorts and a tank or hoodie work just as well for me.
Favourite food: Almond milk ice cream
Favourite movie: I usually can’t sit still to watch an entire movie, but Breaking Away is a good one.
Favourite books: Crime and Punishment and The Little Prince
What makes you laugh? I usually make myself laugh, although I tend to smile/giggle at just about everything
What makes you angry? It is very hard to make me angry, but I can get irritated when I see people riding bikes with the saddle way too low (or occasionally too high).
What are you listening to on your I-pod? I have an I-pod somewhere… I think?
Do you have any pets? Does a sock monkey count? He’s pink and his name is George
Hey its been ages since i’ve posted here , been soo busy ! sorry ;o
My friend Greg , Richard , Movie and I started the Glasgow Bike shed in july. Its a non profit organization where people donate old or unwanted bikes and we recycle them and their components. We run bike maintenance classes so people can learn how to fix and look after their own bikes and also take on volunteers who will eventually be put through their bike mechanics qualification after a week long course. Anyone can come in and use ours tools and stands to fix their own bike, we also have 2nd hand parts for very cheap that could replace the worn out parts of your bike and if anyone gets stuck we are there to help although we encourage people to do it themselves so they learn. Its great for finding retro/vintage frames and parts and for somewhere to hang out . Its an amazing project ! everyone is very happy there… if your in glasgow fire down !
What’s the bike scenelike in Oakland for females? There’s a pretty big bike scene in Oakland, but it’s still a lot of dudes. There’s a lot of different kinds of folks on bikes, and different reasons for biking- everything from economic necessity to sports to love… and sometimes it’s a mix of all of ‘em, eh? wanna make sure to acknowledge that when talking about the “scene”. There’s a growing number of women on bikes in Oakland who are commuters or sport cyclists, and a lot of the more political bike groups have women strongly involved- its fabulous and inspiring. There is a women and trans bike polo nite that was goin strong and we are gonna start back up!
What’s your favourite ride right now? An old French frame (I think), the “Stella”. My boo rescued it from the garbage when doing a bike donation pick up, and I’ve built it up into a mermaid fixie. It’s stiff with a 52 tooth chain ring in front, so it’s my fast ride but it kinda kills me up in the Oakland hills. Worth it though.
Where’s your favourite place to ride?Mountain biking in the redwoods and oak forests of Joaquin miller park… so fun. Or around mlk shoreline through alameda. Also so fun.
Favourite riding outfit:High heel leather boots, miniskirt with bike shorts underneath, tank top to show off my huge muscles (ha! Workin’ on it), glitter, sweat…
Favourite food: avocados. As often as I can, once a day preferably. They are cheap in California, we pick ‘em in our backyards. I know, jealous?!
Favourite movie: princess mononoke. Absolutely.
Favourite book: right now I am so totally obsessed with the hunger games series. sci-fi with revolutionary subplots- favorite genre ever.
What makes you laugh? My fabulous friends, fast crazy bike rides, the youth we work with at our bike shop. My honey who is ridiculously funny.
What makes you angry? The Oakland police departments’ bullshit. The prison industrial complex locking up all the youth of Oakland. Racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic, people… The crazy conservatives who are behind Arizona SB 1070 and other fucked up anti-immigration movements.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? Don’t have one, still rock a walkman. Don’t listen to it much cuz the only cassettes I have are bad love mixes from ex’s. yikes. Beyonce, Jackson 5, Catpower, Alicia keys, India Aire, Antony and The Johnsons, En Vogue. Diva music of all sorts.
Do you have any pets? I have plants. Lots of them.
Anything else you’d like to add? Much love to The Bikery and Cycles of Change, the bike org and bike shop I work for. Much love to Red Bike and Green and P.O.K.E.R. rides for building community for folks of color riding bikes. Much love to all Oakland bike movements for all the inspiration, Bikes 4 Life and Scraper Bikes included Oakland is fierce and inspiring with bike love, I appreciate all of you folks out there riding.
What’s the bike scene like in Nagoya for females?
Nagoya girls love riding bicycles in any style. We always want to do unusual and fun things through riding bicycles, and share with lots of people. We believe “you can do anything on your bike.” So, we made bicycle dance team “Gacharinco!”, the 1st fixed gear bike dance team in Japan and Love Wheels Nagoya – 2010 Bicycle Calendar. We thought it would be cool if people saw our bike dance and calendar and thought that Nagoya is a great and fun place to cycle in. Through these stuffs, we want to share with the world all that is cool, exciting and fun about Nagoya Cycling Girls. Here are the fun bike events regularly and hope that many people would get interested to come and ride with us in Nagoya.
♥Girls Keirin Track Race
♥Girls Cyclo Cross Race
♥Girls bike trip (we took 180km ride from Nagoya to Kyoto)
♥Group riding to music camp fes
♥Monthly alleycat race (girls organize tasty race sometimes)
♥Girls café meeting (talking about bikes and boys)
What’s your favourite ride right now?
Coffee and Beer ride makes me happy. I love taking my coffee bike and making my special hand brewed coffee on my bicycle. Call me when you need caffeine, I’ll deliver my happy coffee anywhere I can♥
And I love drinking super cold beer after long riding, cheers!
Where’s your favourite place to ride?
♥Nagoya♥
Spinning around the globe: Sydney, Melbourne, Budapest, Leeds, San Diego, NYC… I love riding the city in different countries to explore & feel the locals and make lots of friends all over the world♥
Favourite riding outfit: Short pants + leggings, sometimes flower patterns skirts♥
What’s the bike scene like in Los Angeles for females?
It gets larger everyday. I usually ride by myself or in a small group of people, but everywhere I look there’s always a couple of girls riding the streets.
What’s your favourite ride right now? My purple Mercier kiloTT and my Motobecane road bike.
Where’s your favourite place to ride? San Gabriel Valley area, a lot of bike riders and a lot less angry drivers its nice to not worry if you’ll get hit or not.
Favourite riding outfit: Jeans, sneakers, v neck or tank and my utility belt!
Favourite food: Vegan Chinese food
Favourite movie: TOMBSTONE! And old westrerns.
Favourite book: Anything that’s Mythology
What makes you laugh? Whenever I eat shit on my bike. I never get embarrassed I just think “damn! I bet I looked stupid!”
What makes you angry? When cars purposely get close to me so ill hit the curb. It’s happened multiple times.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? I made a playlist of all the songs I like to listen to while riding (The Sounds, Tokyo Police Club, Pantera, etc).
Do you have any pets? Yes, a snake, 2 golden retrievers, and 1 gecko. I used to have a rabbit that I would take on bike rides with me.
Current city: Home in Chicago right now, I attend school in Springfield, Missouri so I’m there most of the year.
What’s the bike scene like in Chicago for females?
In Chicago its very spread out but you can always find events to go to. I haven’t really found a group or anything to stick with but on The Chain Link, a local bike forum, it tells you of all the rides coming up so it’s easy to get involved. There are less females than males for sure, but there are a good amount of girls you see out riding. In Springfield, Missouri I ride with a group called the Shiftless Bastards. We do weekly and monthly rides, and there are the regular girls that show up.
What’s your favourite ride right now? My first road bike is my SE Draft 2009 – nothing too special but it’s been great. I’ve had it over a year and I haven’t even had a flat.
Where’s your favourite place to ride? Chicago Downtown / South LoopFavourite riding outfit:
Favourite food: Anything VEGAN!!!
Favourite movie: Just watched Quicksilver, kind of loved it
What are you listening to on your I-pod? Currently a playlist consisting of Matt & Kim, Jukebox the Ghost, The Format, Q-Tip, and A Tribe Called Quest
Nickname: Currently none…perhaps I’m too boring for one? Sigh.
Star sign/Blood type: Libra
Birthday: October 1
Current city: Boston, MA
What’s the bike scene like in Boston for females?
Awesome!! My primary focus is on mountain bikes, but I really think Boston has a lot of resources for women who are just generally into or want to get into bikes of any kind. We have great local education and workshops specifically for women, women’s only biking groups that offer group rides and clinics, as well as dozens of bike clubs that all have a decent showing of women in them. We can always use more ladies in the sport though! I find that primarily at mountain bike races we don’t have enough representation at times to have the appropriate divisions.
What’s your favourite ride right now?
For the East Coast it has to be Kingdom Trails in Vermont, but my favorite trails are out West in Colorado like Monarch Crest, Phil’s World, and Crested Butte.
Favourite riding outfit: Whatever is the most functional…rarely fashionable.
Favourite food: Really good dark chocolate, wine, and sushi…in that order. Oh, did I mention dark chocolate and wine?
Favourite movie: None in particular, but I LOVE big epics.
Favourite book: Many for different reasons, but Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey sticks out in my mind.
What makes you laugh? Pretty much everything in life…it’s the only way to get through it with my sanity in tact.
What makes you angry? People who don’t appreciate and respect what we’ve been given.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? HUGE Variety…whatever fits my mood.
Do you have any pets? Two awesome hounds that I affectionately nickname my “Furks” aka Fur Kids. Riley and Ruger.
Sponsors: Personally none, though I would love a big sponsor! Anyone, Anyone? Cue the crickets.
What’s the bike scene like in Memphis for females?
Unfortunately, Memphis can be a scary place to ride. I can only think of a handful of us that commute regularly, but about 10 or so ladies come together for the group rides, which is definitely safer. There are tons of women here that race and train on the road (I see them rocking the spandex all the time), but I mostly know the girls involved in the fixed gear scene (which is like three, lolz) or associated with the local community bike shop, Revolutions. A lot of the girls here ride because their boyfriends do, but, hey, any girl who wants to ride is awesome by me.
What’s your favourite ride right now? Right now, I only have one complete bike that I ride all the time, my Charge Plug Freestyler. I have it set up for tricks, but I also commute with it. I’d love to build up a junker bike for playing polo; I cringe whenever my Charge takes a hard mallet hit. I can’t afford any other rides at the moment, but I do have a pretty sweet tall bike I made last year, but it has to share wheels with another bike and is not always rideable.
Where’s your favourite place to ride?
The only other city I’ve ever ridden in is New Orleans, which was so much fun! Memphis is nice and flat, but there’s not much to look at. I guess I prefer Memphis just because I know the roads so well and I’m used to the way traffic works here. It’s not necessarily an enjoyable commute, but the friends I ride with here are what make me love it so much!
Favourite riding outfit: I love riding the most when it’s cold outside and I can wear a million layers of clothes. Memphis has very hot summers, so I usually just wear my worn out jean cut-offs and the cleanest t-shirt I can find.
Favourite food: Anything (without meat)
Favourite movie: Brick, Pineapple Express
Favourite book: Anything by Sylvia Plath and Craig Thompson
What makes you laugh? Playing hacky-sack. I don’t why I think it’s so funny, but I do.
What makes you angry? Relying on other people to get things done and they don’t.
What are you listening to on your I-pod? I usually just keep it on random. This is a tough question to answer, but I guess mostly indie and metal.
Do you have any pets? I have a fat cat named Olive who talks a lot.
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