Category Archives: Biking

Forecast: Scorching with a side of biking

Meet the forecast for the coming weekend.  The weekend when I’ll be outside on a bicycle all day Saturday and Sunday for the Cycling Savvy Instructor training.  Gulp!

As if being 34 weeks pregnant weren’t enough, let’s throw some scorching temps into the mix.

I’m trying to think positive thoughts, and I will be listening to my body and taking breaks as necessary, but I’m feeling a bit anxious about the whole thing.  I would totally be up for an unexpected cold front sweeping  through between now and Saturday.

Or we could do the vampire version of the course.  Instead of 8am to 6pm, make it 8pm to 6am 😉

Working with media to correct bicycling misperceptions

At the end of April, our local NBC affiliate station ran a short segment answering the viewer question, “Can cyclists ride in the middle of the road*?”

Unfortunately, the answer, provided by a local bike shop owner and the reporter, Heidi, did nothing but create more confusion for ALL road users and perpetuate the myth that bicyclists are somehow second class road users by reinforcing the wrong and dangerous belief held by most road users, motorists and bicyclists alike, that the driver of a motor vehicle somehow has more right to the road than the driver of a bicycle**.

Matthew and I, along with some other local bicyclists, wrote to Heidi asking for a correction.  She responded, inviting us to be part of the new segment.  On Tuesday morning, we met Heidi and the cameraman, and taped some footage.

The segment, which aired this morning, includes Matthew explaining the door zone, and both of us giving an on-bike demonstration.

Click here to watch!

*As Matthew pointed out, the question, as phrased, is a bit ambiguous.  In many cases, a bicyclist can and should be operating his/her vehicle in the middle of the LANE, which paints a much different mental picture than a cyclist riding down the middle of the ROAD.

** Click here if you want to see the cringe-inducing original.

Finally Bike Somewhere Day

Well, this week (May 16-20) was Bike-to-Work Week and today was Bike-to-Work Day.  Since I am usually off on Fridays, I celebrated this day last year by biking to work with Matthew, with a stop at one of Trailnet’s refueling stations.

No such luck this year, which found me headed to work (in the car) at the crack of dawn.  In fact, I spent an inordinate amount of time driving to and for work this week, a grand total of 368 miles.  Ugh.  (My normal baseline, of commuting to/from work four days a week with no extra driving is 128 miles.)

Exhausted from the marathon of a week, I seriously considered taking the bus to meet Matthew and his dad for lunch today.  The midday sun and heat, and threat of rain, weren’t making biking any more appealing, but I pulled BUB out anyway, and we had a lovely little ride.  BUB snuggled with Matt’s bike while we ate lunch at Gokul, a vegetarian Indian restaurant (their new location in The Loop).  It was not as good as the Indian restaurant in Rome*, but not bad, and I managed to avoid overdoing it and making myself uncomfortable (it’s a buffet).

On the way home, I swung by City Greens (which would have been much less convenient sans bike) and picked up some eggs for the week, as well as some ‘shrooms.  They had lots of various lettuces for sale, too, but we have tons of that in our garden now.  The eggs made it home safe and sound, at which point I enjoyed a much needed nap!  One challenging week down, one challenging weekend to go (but not this one, thankfully).

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*Hmm, I was going to link to my post where I mentioned the restaurant in Rome, but apparently that post doesn’t exist.  Trip coverage here has been woefully inadequate 😦

Back in the saddle

The bike saddle, that is 🙂  My chondromalacia (AKA runner’s knee) mostly resolved itself, no medical attention necessary.

How did I know I had chondromalacia without visiting the doctor?  Well, I’m a bit of an expert in self-diagnosis.  Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve also diagnosed myself with an ectopic pregnancy (based on no symptoms whatsoever), spinal meningitis, and appendicitis.  Being an expert doesn’t always mean you’re right 😉  If I had any interest in visiting the doctor or the ER, I would be a burden to the medical system, but instead I usually take my chances and let things run their course.

Anyway, chondromalacia is an overuse injury that is — SURPRISE! — made better by rest.  Rest is a four-letter word around here, but I was desperate, picturing weeks of pain, weeks without biking (and by the time I returned being too big and off-balance to bike safely), and not being able to get in many of the positions that help with a natural labor.  Basically, my knee would be injured forever and the world would stop turning.  The end.

Sometimes things spiral a bit out-of-control in my head.

Fortunately, a few weeks of taking it relatively easy — almost no biking, going down the stairs by placing both feet on each step, and reduced walking — did the trick.  I put my knee to the test last weekend, and this weekend I’ve been back to normal.

Yesterday I ran a number of errands by bike, including returning a few items of maternity clothes to JCPenney, which means I can say that, other than the belly bands (which I could have done without), I’ve only bought one NEW maternity clothing item.

This morning I biked to the season opener at Tower Grove Farmers’ Market, where strawberries, asparagus, and rhubarb greeted me — welcome back, friends!  After a quick stop to drop my purchases off at home, I was out again, headed to prenatal yoga at the Y.  (I credit the yoga, as well as other general leg muscle stretching, with helping my knee as much as the resting.)

There’s nothing like sickness or injury to make me appreciate my relative good state of health, something that I often take for granted.