When construction prep turned the bike path from hard-packed gravel to a wet mess today, I was so glad I was wearing a dress. Cleaning bare skin and sandals at work is much easier than cleaning long pants.
About the Bike Commute Diaries: Launched in May 2012 for National Bike Month, this series explores the unexpected and surprising things I’ve learned about bicycling for transportation.
This site features a genealogy blog about the Ville Platte Louisiana area African descendant families of Frank, Jason, Denton, Ruben, Leday, Laughtin, Joseph
African Americans in the 19th Century: Slavery, Resistance, Abolition, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and the Nadir
Southern family stories with a dash of spice
Stories About Urbanism, Adaptation, and Resilience
Feminist reflections on fitness, sport, and health
fun.fashion.art and design
The Art and Craft of Blogging
A blog for bike shops
A fine WordPress.com site
Living the urban/bicycle life
Exploring Santa Clara County's urban limits
what's on my mind: food, fashion, marketing, cities, tech & more
Adventures in city cycling
Exploring with kids in the outdoors and in homeschool
How and where to shop by bike in Silicon Valley, California
The blog of the Beautiful You MRKH Foundation www.beautifulyoumrkh.org
One woman. Many bicycles. 
anniebikes
June 27, 2012 at 3:47 am
I’m jonesin for a ride so I’m going to suck it up and ride in the rain this morning, mud or no mud!
ladyfleur
June 27, 2012 at 7:20 am
Go Annie! I hope you’ve got fenders and an easy way to clean up!
Alex
June 27, 2012 at 7:52 am
I am impressed that you rode in those shoes! When I ride to work, I usually leave a pair of heels at the office, and ride in either flats or sneakers.
ladyfleur
June 27, 2012 at 8:31 am
Alex, the shoes are easier to ride in than you would think–and you don’t have to lean the bike over so much at stop signs since you’re on your toes. 🙂
I know other people who leave shoes (or whole outfits) at the office, but I have too many pairs of shoes to leave them all in the office. Plus I need to wear them places other than the office.
fiedlerin
June 27, 2012 at 10:09 am
I bravely took on riding in heels after I found your blog… doing fine, just the Sofft heels I have don’t work. They simply don’t have enough “grip” to stay on the pedals. I slipped off when I wanted to take off at a stop light. I think rubber soles work best.
ladyfleur
June 27, 2012 at 10:20 am
Awesome! I’m glad you tried it, but as you learned you may find some shoes just don’t work–they slip off the pedals or don’t give you a solid connection.
I rarely have trouble on the push off, probably because I almost always lift the pedal up before I take off so I get a good downstroke. That works best for me, except when I rented a bike in Austin with a coaster brake, which won’t let you lift up on the pedal. Drove me nuts until I figured out how to stop leaving the pedals where I wanted them.