We are a sassy social cycling club that meet every Tuesday to cycle our city. We keep a steady pace and aren’t afraid to work up a sweat. But we don’t race, we just ride, and we look pretty cute doing it. If you’re keen, here’s the lowdown:
WHEN: Every Tuesday, leaving from Taylor Square at 6:50pm WHERE: Alternate weeks of Centennial Park laps and routes out of the city limits (Mascot, Marrickville, Bondi etc) BRING: Lights, helmets, water, coins for pick ‘n’ mix pit stops, and your favourite cycling gear (wear your lycra – especially if it’s of the fruity 80s variety!)
On the first Tuesday of each month we have a special group dinner after riding, somewhere cheap and cheerful in the Surry Hills region.
Be prepared to have a shit load of fun, look and feel great, and hang with like-minded babes who love cycling as much as you do.
Highlights from ‘Hell’s Belles, Vol 1′ – London’s first ladies (majority) bike polo tournament. Shot on a Canon 60D over 2 days, October 15th and 16th, 2011. Played on two courts at Newington Gardens, SE1, London.
early stage of our camp build with the headless unicorn bike
A month ago I did a little post about the bike I was planning to take to Burning Man and the heap of bikes in a dust lot in Reno that I picked it out of. I never did get to ride that red Specialized because the friends who took it up to the event early sent me a text saying that it had a totally busted tire and to just grab another one from the lot. So I did. They gave Big Red away. There’s a lot of gift giving going on at Burning Man. So, I picked out another bike, a beautiful silver cruiser. I didn’t have much luck with bike number two either. It turned out that under Silver Lightning’s sparkly coat was a bright lime green finish, meaning that she was a “yellow bike”, a shared community bike, and I got busted by the crusty yellow bike police. While the loss of this second bike nearly broke my heart, I knew that she had community duties fulfill.
The thing that people say about absolutely NEEDING to have a bike at Burning Man is totally true. Black Rock City, the town that exists for just one week of the year in the Black Rock Desert, is a big place and a bike comes in handy for getting around to all the many things you want to see and do, plus when everyone else has a bike and you don’t it just sucks. It was a great pleasure to just cruise around in the open desert at night all lit up on a bike, avoiding pedestrians, other cyclists, and art cars, and trying not to get lost from my friends. I learned that when going to the massive parties in the club districts at either end of the city, it is imperative that you leave your lights and EL wire on and blinking or you will spend a good chunk of time looking for your ride.
So, on that sad sad morning when Silver Lightning left me, what did I do? After a few moments of feeling sorry for myself, I remembered that Susan, the lovely lady from Reno who had let me pick my first two bikes out of that pile had had the smarts to pack an extra bike in her RV, just in case. At the time back in Reno, I thought she was crazy, but I was blessing her that day out in the desert. I just walked over to her camp and picked up the spare bike and took the opportunity to borrow her kids trailer and hauled some water back to my camp. Bike problem solved and hydration provided! I even inherited some EL wire to light up that last bike, I’ll call her Lucky. So, I rode Lucky through the potholes and fluffy patches of dust for the rest of the week. I cruised around with new friends to the perimeter fence and airport, to various bars, parties, and burns. I checked out art and participated in Critical Tits, the largest group ride at Burning Man with around 5,000 riders, women only, tops off.
Third try's a charm. Me and Lucky hauling some water.
out by the perimeter fence with little planes landing and taking off just behind it
Me and some camp mates all set for Critical Tits with the Man behind us
Dude taking pics of all the tits. Expectedly, still sadly there were many like him.
looks like some sort of Critical Pink is about to happen...I was just passing by in the wrong colour
It was such an amazing week that was filled to overflowing. If you haven’t been to Burning Man and you have friends who have and they don’t stop talking about it, just forgive them a little. There’s just so much going on and it’s tough to describe. I was so into experiencing it that I didn’t take many photos. There were tons of crazy bikes lit up in crazy ways, some super tall, others with antlers, or unicorn heads and ponytails. I did however document the parking lot at the casino hotel I went to after the event. There were cars with crazy dusty bikes all over.
Good ole Lucky served me well and is now is storage in Reno. Hopefully I’ll get to ride her again, perhaps even next year.
September 2nd, 2011 · Nimzi - Honolulu · No Comments
Local bikeshop the Kickstand et al created a mean roller sprints setup! They hosted their 2nd event and I think it was pretty successful. The best part was that enough ladies entered to have a girls tournament! Here’s some photos of the girls from the night:
Pam and Yvonne kick off the tournament
Pam killin it!
Yvonne looking intense
Annie racing hard
Ivy’s spinning fast
Merliza rolling in heels!
Tricia looking fabulous
I think I’m drunk and spinning in more ways than one..
And winner of the tournament: Molly! She’s new to Hawaii and already making impressions
Ladies posing with the awesome prizes from the Kickstand and the charismatic hosts Cyrus and Nikki
What an awesome event!!!! Thanks all! Can’t wait till the next one….
If any of you spend much time in the Seattle cycling community, you probably know Sylvie Janecek. She has organized/volunteered at many Seattle bike events, from the Seattle Bicycle Music Festival to the 2010 Seattle Tweed Ride, and is an incredibly awesome human being. I have had the honor of calling her a dear friend for some years.
Her bike was stolen last night (this morning?). She received this bike as part of her insurance payment after being hit by a car, and it is incredibly dear to her. Please keep an eye out for it? Description below.
Oh, and a reward? I’ll buy you a beer and some nachos at the Elysian!
XO,
Nova
———- Forwarded message from Sylvie ———-
Here’s a better description of the stolen bike and her photo. Please disseminate widely. And please help me search Craigslist and all other places people might try to re-sell the bike. Will file a police report in the morning.
My bike / means of transportation / favorite thing ever was stolen tonight out from in front of my friend Colleen’s house tonight. She was U-locked to a pole, on Belmont & Howell, between 7:30pm – 11:30 pm.
She’s a maroon Masi (brand) Randonneur (model) with cream decals, 2009, tan handlebar tape, leather saddle, toe cages on the pedals, a sticker that says “The Youth Die Young” on the frame by the headset and several spoke cards in the wheels, drop bars with bar-end shifters, 56 cm frame, rear rack with a trailer attached to the frame. Serial #380909167.
Please keep an eye out for her. If you see her, please lock her to something or confiscate her (if you can), and call me or the police. My number’s 619-861-7011.
Shittiest feeling ever. Sucks balls.
Crap.
– Sylvie
–
“I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a bicycle…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” –Susan B. Anthony
“The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community.” — Ann Strong, Minneapolis Tribune, 1895
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.
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