Fashion Friday: Straw Hats On for Spring

As the Northern Hemisphere rolls past the Spring Equinox and Americans roll our clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time, the annual debate continues. When can we wear warm-weather fashions: white shoes, searsucker suits and straw hats? Yankees insist on Memorial Day, in the Deep South it’s Easter, and in California anything goes. So it’s hat’s on for Spring for me, but no white shoes until Easter.

Popular in the early 20th century, the close-fitting cloche hat is usually made with felt. But it works in straw too.

The wave-print knit dress flows easily and comfortably on the bike.

Kimono touches: surplice bodice, cropped flared sleeves and an obi-inspired waistband.

Wide straps keep this shoe anchored closely to the foot and look sharp too.

About Fashion Friday: Inspired by a 2011 Bike to Work Day challenge sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, this series highlights the broad range of “dress for the destination” bicycling fashions.

 

Bike Commute Diaries: Time for Plan B

Given my office is surrounded by freeways, airports, rivers and railroad tracks, I’m lucky to have found an easy, bike-friendly route. And today, when a train stopped cold on rarely-used tracks I was glad I had a Plan B.

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.

 

Fashion Weekend: Gold Rush Tough Classics

The only things tougher than the 49ers of the California Gold Rush were the leather boots, heavyweight denim jeans and other natural fibers they wore. What worked then works today for those headed to the hills, albeit at higher speeds on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, another tough American classic.

Clasic denim jeans made tougher by a space-age kevlar lining by Sliders.

Dick’s motorcycle jacket is made of hemp canvas by Joe Rocket.

A cobbler added a leather patch on his Ariat Roper boots for the bike’s shifter.

About Fashion Friday: Inspired by a 2011 Bike to Work Day challenge sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, this series highlights the broad range of “dress for the destination” bicycling fashions.

 

Bike Commute Diaries: Lighter Than Air

When you trade the sturdy city bike you ride to work every day for a road bike you ride after work, you feel like you’re soaring into flight, right from that first pedal stroke. And maybe you are. Happy Daylight Saving Time!

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.

 

A Closer Look: 2008 Lemond Poprad Cyclocross Bike

Way back in 2007 I was a triathlete, century rider and mountain biker who heard about this thing called cyclocross and was intrigued. Cyclocross is the steeplechase of bike racing, with barricades where you dismount and run, steep run-ups where you shoulder your bike, and loose corners, sand pits, and soul-sucking grass to keep you on the ragged edge. And in our local scene, doing all this in costume for bragging rights.

I had both skinny tire and basic dirt skills, I could run (not fast) and loved costumes and the irreverent attitude that comes with it. Races are 30-45 minutes of all-out effort I felt I could manage since the pain may be intense, but it’s mercifully short. So I bought a steel Lemond Poprad cyclocross bike and raced it. It was a blast.

The Poprad was replaced by a lighter steed who stole her drivetrain and her place at the starting line. Retired from racing and outfitted with low gears, she has been reborn as Liberty, the ultimate all-terrain touring machine.

Faster than my mountain bike but hardier than my road bike, Liberty is made for the dirt trails and gravel roads that criss-cross the hills around San Francisco Bay. She’s no stranger to off-road rides and has hauled overnight gear, but I have yet to fully test her strength. Where should we go? How deep into the wild can she take me?

Unlike most cyclocross bikes of her vintage, her disc brakes were standard.

No racing gears here. It’s all about low gears for long climbs: 46-36-26×12-36.

I was lucky to find a set of 9-speed road levers. They’re out of production.

The super lightweight rack doesn’t need eyelets for mounting.

It mounts directly on the rear skewer.

The carbon fork absorbs the bumps.

The in-line brake levers are handy when you’re riding the top of the bars on unpredictable dirt.

I stole this saddle from Dick’s unused parts box. Narrow profile, a little cush for the dirt.

The chain keeper means no chain dropping even under rough shifting conditions.

Configuring the gearing on this bike was no easy task since I wanted low mountain bike gears with road levers. So I took it to Charles at Passion Trail Bikes. He and his staff found the right front derailer (Tiagra, no less) that would shift properly for this unconventional setup. Thanks, Charles, for doing what Sheldon said was impossible!

 

Fashion Holiday Edition: World Naked Bike Ride

Adam and Eve were happily naked in the Garden of Eden until they broke their sacred promise. Their bite of the forbidden fruit means that I, their descendent, am far too modest to ride my bike naked like the people who rode the World Naked Bike Ride in San Francisco today. But with a little photo editing, I’m there in spirit.

About Fashion Friday: Inspired by a 2011 Bike to Work Day challenge sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, this series highlights the broad range of “dress for the destination” bicycling fashions.

 

Bike Path SUCCESS! Bollard Be Gone

A round of applause for the City of San Jose! In less than a week after reporting this bike path hazard, poof! the bollard is gone. Kudos go to Yves Zsutty and his San Jose parks team who manage the city’s extensive trail network. They investigated it immediately, determined the bollard wasn’t needed, sent a removal crew out quickly and kept us informed at every step through twitter. That’s service! (And it’s not the first time either)

First you see it.

Now you don’t.

Thank you, City of San Jose, for the quick response!

Location: Guadalupe River Trail at Hwy 880, San Jose, California, USA.

 

Bike Commute Diaries: Drowned Rat in 2 Min Flat

The morning forecast said 70% chance of rain by 6 o’clock in the evening. But after a couple of false alarms with storms that fizzled more than drizzled, I grabbed my red trench coat instead of my rain burka. At 6 o’clock I walked out of the office. Pah, it wasn’t even sprinkling! I rolled down the trail with a little smile on my face.

Just as I reached the train station, the sky opened up and rain poured down. My face tells the rest of the story.

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.

 

Fashion Friday: A Bolder Blazer in Bouclé

The nubby weave of bouclé fabric elevates a classic double-breasted blazer to another dimension. Coco Chanel may have made bouclé famous with her timeless suits, but it’s the slim-cut jeans, swing top and stacked heel booties that make my cropped jacket perfect for a casual dinner out with the girls.

The rubber soles on these cropped riding boots stay put on my reversible SPD + flat pedals.

The jacket was a lucky find at a second-hand clothing store on ritzy Burlingame Avenue.

My faux wicker bag drew admiring glances from the ladies on the Avenue.

About Fashion Friday: Inspired by a 2011 Bike to Work Day challenge sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, this series highlights the broad range of “dress for the destination” bicycling fashions.

 

Bike Path FAIL: Oh, Bollards!

They stand like sentries at trail entrances, guarding paths dedicated to people on foot or on bikes from the intrusion of motor vehicles. But bollards can be a hazard to more than cars when placed improperly, like this one that mysteriously appeared on the Guadalupe River Trail at the Hwy 880 undercrossing. Woe to the unsuspecting bicyclist rolling along at full speed who hits this iron guard standing in his or her path!

Why did they install that single bollard anyway? There’s a full set of bollards at the trail entrance 100 feet away.

As darkness falls, the yellow bollard fades into the yellow center line.

Even when you get close, the post is still hard to see. And where are the reflectors for night?

Location: Guadalupe River Trail at Hwy 880, San Jose, California, USA.