Longest ride to date!

Hello everyone!  Hubs and I went on my longest ride today!  We rode 40 miles!  (His longest is 100).  We went back to Witch Creek Winery, and joined their wine-o club!  They have amazing wine, if you're into that kind of thing.  They have $5 wine tasting and you get a decent sample of 5 different varietals!  Super nom.  After gettin' our drink on we kept riding to Leucadia and had a late lunch.  The chef hooked us up with some extra lil' things to nom on.  The place is called Hapifish I think.  It's a wee on the expensive side (considering their typical roll is only 6 pieces) but the flavors are to die for.  The ride home was kinda rough.  We didn't stop for food/bathroom/flats/mechanicals.  The only stop we made was to satisfy the cat lover in me!  There was a cute little orange and white kitty named Pumpkin that just needed me to pet him!  He lives at a little beach shop in C-bad, you should go visit him.  Anyway, the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees from C-bad to O'side, and the sun set, and the marine layer rolled in making everything nice and wet!  My headlight was about as bright as RJ3's future will be after this Alamo bowl game, which was annoying as hell!  It was a wannabe strobe light, oy. (If you would like to contribute to the new-headlight-fund please note the "donate" button to the right of the page!)  Wouldn't have been so bad if there were lights on the O'side trail.  We made it home with time to spare before the game, which made my Husky lovin' hubs a happy camper.  My parts hurt, my wrists hurt, but I feel great and some masochistic part of me wants to go ride in the morning! 

My advice to newbie riders: always have a reliable headlight and tail light, if you aren't 100% sure what time you'll be home, pack somethign WARM, and buy some shot bloks, they're super yummy and really help with energy! 

Thanks all for following me!  Much love ( :  HAPPY CYCLING!

-Christie

Gettin' our drink on...

Revisiting our wedding site <3

Catalina Island!

My dear followers... I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this in a million years.  My hubs and I have been really busy with getting married (again), buying a house, transitioning from military life to civilian life, school, everything!  But, I still should have at least posted SOMETHING.  I am sorry!  Please forgive me, and still follow my shizzy. 

Hubs and I went to Catalina Island for his birthday and we took our bikes!  Btw, it's $30-something each way on the Catalina Express and only $6 to bring a bike!  It was so much fun.  We didn't do all the fancy expensive tours... We made our own tour!  We wode our bikes around Avalon, explored some ancient ruins (which look like an old beat up chicken coop), went rock climbing in a cave (less than 15 feet above the road), and visited Mr. Wrigley's memorial and botanical gardens.  We wouldn't have been able to go to all those places without the bikes! 

One cool part of the trip was the fact that the LA Sheriff department was to make their press conference speechy thing that day regarding the Natalie Wood case being reopened.  It was kind of neat being on the island during that.  We got to hear from a couple of the locals about their version of the story, or their parents' version!  One of the locals, Memo (sorry if I spelled your name wrong!) from the Catalina Cantina hooked us up with an amazing drink that's only made on the island, Buffalo Milk.  So good.  I highly recommend it.  Their tequila selection isn't so bad either, if that's your kind of thing! 

We loved the island so much we decided to go back for our honeymoon! ( :  And of course, we will bring our bikes. 

Happy Cycling ( : 

Stone Brewery Trip

At Witch Creek Winery

Weekend rides are the best!

Aaron and I went on a 25+ mile ride yesterday.  It was a lot of fun!  We stopped for lunch and some coffee... Starbucks actually was out of coffee, and tea.  Pretty lame!  On the ride back home Aaron's bike broke.  A couple of his spokes decided their time had come and they popped outta place.  Super rad!  Luckily, the spokes broke right in front of Hooters, so he and his bum bike got to go have a beer while I rode home to get the car ( ;  It's okay though.  I needed the extra exercise.  I'm training for a sprint triathlon that's in a couple weeks and I need ALL THE HELP I CAN GET.  Those who know me, know I'm not an athlete at all, but for some reason I like to try and I sign up for races that I know I will get my ass handed to me at.  But, it's going to be fun!  I'm not too worried about the swim part, or the bike, it's the run that's going to be the end of me.  Thank goodness for shot blocks! 

It's a really good thing Aaron and I each have two bikes.  Both of our cars are outta commission.  His is awaiting a new catalytic converter, and mine is awaiting a trip to the car hospital to see what's wrong with her.  Her check engine light came on yesterday and she was driving pretty sluggishly.  So, we are both really excited about this financial hit we're about to take, but also thankful for the two-wheeled, human powered vehicles we have! 

Well, I haven't taken many pictures lately, but when I do I will start posting them.  Thanks for following my bloggity blog ( :

Happy Cycling!

Ridin' in San Fran...

I did it!

I rode my darn tootin' bike to work finally!  It's been well over two months since I last did it.  The ride is so nice.  It was mostly quiet because it's so early.  It was overcast which I really like.  The less sun there is, the less energy it can suck out of me!  Heat really drains me... Also, there was this little stretch, no more than a quarter mile, of jasmine flowers!  It smelled so yummy.  It was a great ride!  Some other perks: I saved $3.16 in gas, and I prevented 16.67 lbs. of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere.  And that's just the ride TO work!  Here and back is: $6.38/33.35lbs.  Pretty impressive. 

If everyone that works within ten miles of their job traded one car day with a bicycle day, you could save about $157/year and keep 823 lbs. of gunk from being released into the air for everyone to breathe.  Think about that! 

Happy Cycling ( : 

Great ride yesterday!

I finally got back on my bike yesterday and it was so much fun!  Aaron and I rode the entire bike trail in O'Side which is really neat.  I love the miniature traffic signs!  So cute.  We stopped for some yummy ice cream and looked at some precions puppies and kittehs.  It was hard not to take the eight baby orange tabbies home!  The entire ride was just shy of 30 miles and I didn't complain once!  This is a major breakthrough. 

Here are some lessons that I learned:

• Put sunscreen on about 10-15 minutes BEFORE you go outside.
• Ride WITH traffic when you're on a bicycle, no matter how easy it is for you to get on the bike trail from the wrong side.  Jerks.
• Get your bike chain and lock!  Always have it with you.

Yesterday was the perfect ride to jumpstart my return to my bike!  Now I just gotta follow through and ride that thing to work!!!! 

Until next time...  HAPPY CYCLING!

Tomorrow, I ride!

Tell me where I should go!  I'm thinking about having lunch with my hubby, but I'm also thinking about visiting Ma, or just going someplace I've never been!  Any suggestions?  Also, I'm gonna post some long overdue pictures from our past cycling adventures ( : 

This was the cutest thing!  We were at Bull Taco (btw, they painted over the Banksy mouse) and some little kid parked his bike in front of ours. 

Back from Mars

I realize that I have fallen off the face of the planet, and I'm sorry.  It's kind of tough to go from being unemployed to working again, while maintaining the same balance!  Unfortunately, my biking, and blogging, have had to take the back burner for a little while.  Let me update you faithful followers on what's been going on lately! 

Work is going really well, and I thoroughly enjoy receiving a paycheck every two weeks!  It's a very nice change of pace from those damn unemployment checks.  In my month and a half of work I've only had the energy/drive to ride my bike twice... Which I'm hoping to change as the weeks and months go on.  There are showers at work which makes it very easy and convenient for me to ride and not stink.  On a positive and Earth saving note, Aaron and I carpool to work almost every day!  I say almost because he rides his bike at least two days a week.  Go, Aaron!  Maybe he should be blogging and not me!  I kid.  I kid.  I've started some online classes so I can get my Bachelor's degree!  Here's my current educational plan: get an(other) Associate's degree while working on my Bachelor's in Professional Aeronautics, then get my Master of Project Management, maybe a Master of Aeronautical Science degree while I'm at it, then eventually get my Doctor of Philosophy in Aviation.  Now we're talking DECADES down the road before I'm "Doctor cb", but hey, a girl can dream, right?  Hopefully in the coming years my school will have some options for classes or degrees in more "green" fields, like environmental protection, renewable energy, bicycles, that kind of thing!  Btw, the Wright Brothers owned a bicycle shop well before they were flying airplanes! 

Kthxbai.

Started working again!

One day I will get back in the groove of blogging daily.  I started my new job last week and so far I love it!  I get to carpool with Aaron which is amazing because I like to save gas and money wherever possible.  I haven't ridden my bike to work yet, and I was going to try this week, but I'm sick.  Yay.  Hopefully I'll be better soon so I can ride on W or Th!  Thanks to those who follow my shizzy!  I will get more inspired and motivated soon!  Just send healthy vibes my way please.  Much thanks.

Happy Cycling!

Keeping the momentum

     Right when I was starting to lose faith and "oomph" for my bicycle riding lifestyle, I saw the prices at my local gas station go up again.  Jumped six cents overnight.  Also, my ride to my new work place yesterday wasn't nearly as painful as before, and my recovery time has shortened drastically!  Right now, I'm thinking I will be able to bike two days a week to start out, then progress to three!  I was able to make it halfway up a hill in 2nd gear (on both shifters) instead of my "peewee herman" gear (1st on both shifter things), when I would usually be walking!  That's a happy. 

     I can't wait until California decides to be California again and get rid of this rain!  I'm not at the point in my cycling life where I look forward to getting dressed and ready to go get drenched.  Maybe someday, but not anytime soon. 

     Here's a group on f-book I just joined!  You should take a look at it and give it some thought. 

  Until next time... Happy Cycling!

Frustrating ride today...

     I am very sad to report that I had to walk about half of my ride today.  There are just so many STEEP hills and I'm not quite in the physical shape required to make it up without walking.  I need to improve my "out of the saddle" technique.  That will help a lot.  Right now I just feel so uncoordinated when I stand, plus I don't like my bike wriggling from side to side.  It freaks me out.  I'll get there though.  Soon hopefully, as I start my new job next Monday!!

     There are a couple issues I had (other than hills) with my ride/walk today.  First, it is illegal to park on the sidewalk!  So, don't park there.  Please.  And, make sure your scary, barky, bitey-looking dog is locked up so I don't have to illegally and scarily cross the street to avoid getting bitten.  I'm sure there's laws against having loose dogs running around, too.  One more thing, totally unrelated to biking or saving the world... When you go and walk your dog and take little plastic baggies to pick up the poop, the point is to take the baggie with you after it is filled with said excrement, and dispose of it at your home.  Not on the side of the road.  Follow through, that's all.  I passed three ominous looking plastic baggies!  Come on people.  Take a little more pride in your planet, okay?

     I've got quite a bit of riding, recovering and strengthening to do this week before I start next week.  My idea is to drive M and F, and ride T-Th.  That way I can drive my clothes and toiletries to work on M, ride and get gross and sweaty T-Th, then drive my clothes home on F.  Then again traffic is terrible on F.  So, maybe I'll change it up.  Ride M, W-F, and drive T.  We shall see.  Sorry you just had to read me thinking "out loud"!  I think that is all for now.  Thank you to my loyal followers!

Happy Cycling ( :

Holy crap

     So I thought it would be a fantastic idea to ride my bike to my new workplace (also where Aaron works) to get a feel for the ride.  Well, to keep it semi-PG, F that S.  It was the ultimate test of my strength to keep on riding my bike.  My rear end hurts, even in areas that I don't actually sit on, my index finger repeatedly went numb, I always hit red lights and lost a LOT of momentum to get me up a hill, I have red lobster legs, I have a cute little red stripe on my arm where my sleeve shifted... It was a GREAT TIME.  But, I do have good news.  On my final stretch, the last turn before my apartment complex, is a gas station.  It was up to $4.13, up four cents from yesterday.  So, although I looked gross, smelled like sunscreen and sweat, felt like I'd been hit by a semi, all the good stuff, I wasn't paying that much for gas!  I got a very awesome app for my phone that calculates my distance, speed, calorie burn, and it maps out my route.  It's very awesome.  I rode over 33 miles today, and burned over 1,000 calories.  I think the ride will be a LOT easier when I'm doing it earlier/later in the day, and I'll have 8 hours in between rides instead of an hour and a half.  I crashed when I got home. 

     Happy Cycling!

Wine tasting and lunch!

     Aaron and I went for a very fun ride yesterday!  Our original plan was to ride down to Enci but we saw a cute little winery in Carlsbad and decided to do some tasting!  They had a LOT of wines that I've never even heard of.  For $5.00 you get to sample a white, four reds, and one dessert wine.  It's a pretty sweet deal!  I suggest the viognier, aglianico, and the muscat love.  All very tasty!  And we supported a local business! 

     After our tasting we headed to a yummy taco shop.  It's a little on the pricey side, but still good.  I recommend the veggie burrito with a lil' guac on it!  The best part about the restaurant isn't the food, but the art work on the outside.  That graffiti has been on there for some time now and they haven't painted over it! 

     Before heading home we did a little thrift store shopping.  We found a couple cycling jerseys and some shorts for me so I don't have to ride in denim all the time!  We got some good deals!  We got "lost" on the way home, although we were far from actually being lost.  Aaron got his first flat, thanks to a staple.  Luckily it wasn't the super bad kind that can't hold any air. 

     We've got to head out now, but I'll post some pictures when we get home!  Hope you're all having a great weekend and thinking hard about becoming a cycle commuter!

Happy Cycling!

Good ride last night!

     I'm really not enjoying this rain.  I have errands I need to run today and I do not want to drive, or ride my bike in the rain. 

     Anyway, last night Aaron and I rode our bikes to dinner.  It was super yummy!  Not only were we preventing CO2 from being added to the atmosphere, but we were also supporting local farmers and a great small business!  It was pretty darn chilly, so next time I don't plan on wearing shorts.  Silly cb.  I'll also need to wear full gloves and not the hobo length gloves.  My lil' finners were ice cubes by the time I came home. 

    Well, nothing else exciting to report.  Hopefully I'll get a longer ride in this weekend and I'll have some good stories ( : 

Happy Cycling!

Riding in the rain

     I've been doing horribly at posting daily!  I'm sorry!  I will get better at this.  So, riding after the rain is a pretty challenging task.  It's a good thing I'd read about it a little bit because had I not, I would probably have eaten it going through a puddle!  For those of you who plan on riding after (or during) the rain, avoid the puddles!  You can't tell how deep the pothole is.  I also played a really fun game of Dodge Stick in the bike lane in various parts of town.  So, beware the things that are blown out of trees during a storm.  Lots of twigs and spikey balls.  Also, make sure you are wearing chapstick so you don't have to lick your lips a lot.  And try to breath through your nose.  The reason being, you WILL get splashed by large vehicles going through puddles.  I learned a little bit about riding IN the rain.  Pedal faster.  That's pretty much it.  There's no point in wiping the water off your face, trying to dry your hands, or keeping your bike dry.  Just deal with the water, hold on tighter, and wipe your bike off with a cloth when you get home.  Invest in some grippy gloves before your next wet ride.  I sure as hell am! 

     I learned recently that one of my faithful followers just purchased a helmet!  That's a step in the right direction.  Congrats, Cat!  ( ;  Well that is all for now folks. 

Happy Cycling!

Happy Monday

     Hello my faithful followers!  I hope you all had an awesome weekend.  My apologies for the lack of posting over the weekend.  I didn't have anything fun or educational to post...  I actually have some bad news to report.  I drove my car on Friday!  Not because I wanted to, but because I don't think my body is ready for a 70+ mile bike ride.  I'll get there someday!  But I'm not there yet.  I drove down to S.D. to see my bestie, Tara!  We had a junk food binge blasty blast and OD'd on bead shopping.  It was great!

     Yesterday this awesome lady hooked me up with some FREE bicycle scrapbook paper because it had a couple tiny push-pin holes in it.  Pretty awesome.  I can't wait to start scrappin' once I get some more pictures! 

     Well, it's raining today, so I'm not sure if I'll be out much at all.  Hopefully it clears up so I can get out there!  Either way, I'll try to be better about my daily posts.  Take care, everyone!  Until next time...

Happy Cycling!

Bicycle Commuters

     Well hello there!  I unfortunately have no cycling stories for you today.  Yesterday I walked to my dad's house instead of riding, mainly to give my legs a rest!  They still hurt.  But I am not discouraged! 

     I wanted to inform you of something I recently learned about called the  Bicycle Commuter Benefit Act.  In a nutshell, you tell your employer you're a bicycle commuter, you get $20.00 a month to cover bicycle related expenses.  Now, since it is a federal tax credit, it will more than likely take a while to jump start those payments, but still, it's a start!  Here's a couple links to take a look at that will explain it much better than I did. 
http://www.bikewalk.org/bca.php
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:4:./temp/~c110Kya90g::

     The second one has a lot of legalish jargon, but the content is good and touches on a lot of great points.  This federal tax credit is just another great reason to commute on a bike, and it's great because the government is recognizing it's importance!  $77,000,000,000 annual savings on health care costs?  Sign me up! 

On a completely different note, here is a picture I saw on a bike discussion forum yesterday.  Cracked me up!  I am in no way taking credit for this photo, I did not take it, nor am I in it.  It's just freakin' hilarious and I had to post it!

If you've seen Charlie the Unicorn you can appreciate this.  If you haven't, youtube it right now.  Please.

I hope you all have a great day!  Happy Cycling!

Wasted trip!

     Yesterday's trip was so much fun!  Let me tell ya... I rode 8.3 miles to go fill out an application.  Not to interview, just to fill out a piece of paper.  So I get directions from Google, tape them to my handlebars, and hit the road.  I didn't have to get off and walk on the way there, which I'm super proud to say!  I get to the street where I'm supposed to be, and there's no building with their address number on it.  I'm supposed to be going to a 1064 and this street starts at 1400s and ends at 2200s.  I try to call them (and this is about 15 minutes prior to my scheduled time) and their automated phone message says "No one is available to take your call now" ::click::  Ever heard of an answering machine?  Voicemail?  I tried a few more times.  Same thing.  I bust out my trusty iPhone to see if they have a local number (not 1-800) and they have two!  Both busy.  I cruise up and down the street again, ask a couple people where this place is, nothing.  Tried all three numbers a couple more times.  Nothing.  So I say to myself "eff it" and I started heading home.  How rude is that to not at LEAST have a voicemail?  I didn't want to work there anyway. The whole ride home I'm thinking that this was a total waste of time and energy and bla bla bla.  But I did get some great exercise!  I had to walk up a couple hills, bummer.  But even that is good exercise!  My ride home was 6.3 miles, making my total 14.6!  I saved $3.07, and prevented 15.21 pounds of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere. 

     After my really short 4 mile ride today (84 cents, 4.17 pounds) I'm going to give my legs a rest.  If I need to go somewhere I'll walk... 

     I'd like to take a quick moment to thank my followers, as well as the bike enthusiasts from around the world who read my blog!  Without you guys I don't think I'd have hit 300+ views in a week!  I'm fairly new to this whole blogging thing, but that seems like a lot to me!  So, thank you very much! 

Happy Cycling ( : 

Lots of stats!

While you are all waiting for my next big adventure, take a look at this website!  It is full of statistics on driving, biking, pollution, energy, etc.  I think it's a little dated... 2005 I think.  But the concepts are there... 

Happy Reading, and Happy Cycling!

First night ride!

     Today I rode for 13.8 miles and prevented over 14 pounds of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere!  I also saved $2.90.  I rode to a meeting with my high school band director, and had to get off and walk twice.  I'm not super thrilled about that, but if you saw these hills, and know my bike, it's not that bad.  I will be better able to handle hills once I upgrade to a lighter, newer bike!  No offense to Ruby-Lou!  I'll still use her for short trips and cruising.  My second trip of the day was a lot more flat, though still challenging!  I went to a park for one of my friend Erin's softball games, and the other team no-showed!  Pretty messed up.  So we met up with Aaron at Hennessey's for dinner and then Aaron and I rode home.  It was fun!!!  I love night riding!  The only part that I don't like are stretches of no street lamps.  I really have to rely on my tiny, underpowered headlight. 

     Aaron fixed some parts of my bike that needed some attention, like my SQUEAKY brakes, my squeaky pedals, and my gross chain.  He also raised my seat a little so I can get a little more bang for my buck when I pedal.  Hopefully I will have an easier time getting up hills now!  Thank you, Babe! 

     Well, sorry folks!  No pictures or anything super exciting today.  I will try and take some fun pictures tomorrow.  Until then...


Happy Cycling!

Fun ride yesterday!

     Aaron and I went for a fun little ride downtown yesterday evening.  We stopped by and visited my friend Angela at her work!  Got a little "fuel" for the rest of our trip, in the form of Chai Tea!  Then we cruised around and looked at some fun artwork all over the place!  Vista has some nice murals and sculptures, you should go take a look.  We also bumped into the sales rep from Trek who fitted Aaron's bike!  (He also greased my kickstand for FREE! Great customer service I tell ya!)  He of course had his bike with him.  It was a great little trip!

Here are some pictures...

Old time mural, with a BIKE!

Checking out some birds

Riding off into the sunset...

   
     Before that evening ride I'd done a little solo riding around town.  My main purpose was to hand out some resumes, but I also snuck in a quick thrift shop stop, and bought groceries!  Very productive ride if I do say so myself ( : 


     It has been brought to my attention that my blog is somewhat contradictory.  My blog title is to "Save the world", then on the side I show a picture of gas prices with "This is why".  I should clarify.  I initially gave up on the car driving thing because of gas prices, yes, but once I thought about and researched carless living and how detrimental our car dependency is on the environment and our health, as well as how us continually feeding greedy gas people our money is depleting bank accounts, I realized that yes, while I will be saving money, I will also (try to) be saving the world.  Holy run-on sentence!  Any English majors dare to attempt re-writing that?  Anyway.  That's my story, those are my reasons, and yesterday I prevented 8.34 pounds of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere.  How much did you add?  Check out the Gas & CO2 savings calculator.

Not so defeated after all!

     Yesterday turned out to be good for my cause!  Aaron and I ended up riding around, getting lunch, grocery shopping.  It was great! 

     I am still amazed at how unwilling people are to share the road, RESPECTFULLY, with bicycle riders.  Aaron got cut off by a car who made a right hand turn in front of him, without using a blinker!  And the driver hadn't started merging to the side of the road, they just kinda last minute decided to turn in front of this bicyclist.  I know the reason why California drivers don't typically use their signals.  If you signal that you want to change lanes, the other Cali driver that's in the lane next to and behind you will fight to the death to keep you from being in front of them, so they speed up.  And so was born, the signal-less Cali driver.  Well, I challenge you California (and anywhere else, I just live here and see this on a daily basis) drivers, use your turn signals.  Ok, enough about that. 

     We had a friendly encounter with a driver yesterday!  This is an example of good communication between drivers/riders.  Aaron and I pulled up next to a white pickup truck at a red light, and his window was down.  Aaron confirmed with the driver what his next move would be so we wouldn't get in the way, because we are considerably slower.  The driver was very friendly and even talked about wanting to ride his bike more!  Let's hope he follows through!

     Lunch was really yummy!  Not enough vegetarian options, but, that's okay.  It's my choice and I'm happy with it.  We tried to go to a thrift shop but they were closed!  Blasphemy!  So we went and checked out an international market.  Great selection and prices are good too, so I will probably be shopping there a lot more now!  I'll just put my loot in the awesome blue basket that's on my bike ( :  Ghetto, but it gets the job done.  So, for those of you who "can't" ride because you can't fit everything you need to carry... Get a commuter bike with a rear wheel rack, get a basket or crate, and hit the road! 

     I'm not sure where, or if I'll be riding today... So until next time...

Happy Cycling!

                                               His and her's helmets <3
    

My first shopping trip!

Feeling slightly defeated

I don't have any riding stories for yesterday, because I didn't get to ride.  Not only did I not ride my bike, but I rode in a car.  Chances are pretty high I won't be riding today either.  Super awesome.  So, in the meantime, while you faithful followers wait for something fun to read, take a look at this website.  It's full of different studies that have been done on the environmental and health benefits of riding bicycles and walking.  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/benefits_research.htm

Stay tuned for better posts!

Happy Cycling

My lil' biker

This is Chubs, one of our cats, hanging out under our free spirit bikes.

It doesn't take an athlete...

I know there are some people out there who are thinking that they "can't" ride their bikes to work.  I'm here to tell you you can!  It is possible! (This doesn't apply to people who have kids, work 20+ miles from work, live at sea level and work in Big Bear, etc.) You don't need to be athletic and you don't need a super expensive, brand new bike.  I'm FAR from what one would define an "athlete". I think once I place in a 5K race, or can complete a 10K or larger race then I might try on that title for size.  I have an old, klunky, HEAVY, in-desperate-need-of-a-tune-up, 1980s era Free Spirit and it gets me where I need to go!  Well, I make it get me where I need to go.  I'd be willing to bet that those of you who have a bicycle, have a more modern one than my Free Spirit!  Give it a shot.  Practice in your neighborhood if it's been a while since you've been on the thing.  Learn your shifters and check your brakes.  Then start with short trips.  Need to get something from the store?  Ride your bike!  It's a lot more fun than it looks!  Eventually you can work your way up to riding to work one day a week, then two perhaps.  Live near the coast?  Don't drive to the beach, ride!  You'll get more out of the amazing sea breeze that way. 

I learned another lesson today.  Have a plan!  I decided to ride my bike to a cool performance by the USMC Drum & Bugle Corps (about 10 miles from my place), from there I rode to my mom's house about 8.5 miles away... I don't have a sweater to wear at the concert Aaron, Mom, and I are going to tonight, I don't have a hair tie, and the best part is I don't have a plan to get me and my bike home tonight without riding it, in the dark, through some STEEP hilly areas.  Super smart.  So, plan ahead, folks!  It helps. 

Well, one final thought before I go watch some more news about the quakes and 'namis.  What did you do today to reduce your carbon footprint?

Happy Cycling!

Hand Signals

     Hello again everyone!  Today was a beautiful day for riding, so I did it twice!  Once to deliver cat poop to the vet (no, I'm not kidding) and once to hang out with my friend Angela.  Lessons learned today are to put on MORE sunscreen than I did today, and bring water, even if you don't have a convenient little water bottle holder!  I had to stop at a gas station and grab a cheap bottle.  I was happy though to not be paying $3.85 for gas. Gas went up four cents overnight, bee tee dub. 

     Another lesson learned today (hopefully) was by a lady driving a Hyundai on Aaron's ride home from work.  Let's review some very important things that we are tested on for the issuance of a California Driver License, but that we forget as we pull out of the driveway with our interim license in pocket.  Aaron was cruising along on his way home and needed to get between two car lanes to make a left hand turn with traffic.  He looked over his shoulder, made his left turn hand signal (arm outstretched pointing left), and began to change lanes.  Silly Hyundai lady kept on trucking as if Aaron and his bicycle didn't exist.  Luckily, he was unharmed as they were both moving slowly to a stop-light, and he was able to school her through her passenger window on proper signaling.  So, let's review them to hopefully prevent this from happening again!

Left: Left arm pointed straight out from body to the left.  Upper arm and forearm are parallel to the ground.
Right:  Left upper arm is parallel to the ground and forearm forms a 90 degree angle pointing up. (I've also heard that you can just use your right arm and point it straight out like a left turn, but I don't remember this from the driver's handbook, so don't take this as official advice)
Stop (or slowing down): Similar to the right hand turn, but you point down instead of up!

     Thank you lady in the Hyundai for reminding us that not all drivers know how to share the road with bicyclists.  Ride defensively fellow cyclers!  

Happy cycling!

Nature 'n' Stuff

     Today I realized that a great benefit of riding a bike everywhere is that I enjoy nature more!  When you're driving you're worrying about your speed, changing the station on the radio, yelling at kids in the back seat, trying to figure out how to conceal the fact that you're talking on the phone, and a ton of other things!  When riding a bike there's only a few things to worry about, potholes, and bugs.  Generally speaking, you won't come close to breaking the speed limit, and there's no back seat or radio!  So simple.
  
     While cruising down Oceanside Blvd. today I came upon an area with little development, and I had THE best view of the gorgeous snowcapped mountains!  Chances are fairly high that I'd never have noticed that had I been driving.  I also saw a butterfly dancing by me, and I didn't flip out (if you know me, this is huge).  I just watched it do its thing, and enjoyed it!  Maybe it's all the vegetarian "hippie" stuff I've been into lately, but the more I'm outside, the more I enjoy nature!  Plus, ya can't beat the feeling of the wind in your face while you're coasting down a nice hill.  Nature's own built in AC. 

During my travels, I passed three gas stations.  For the regular stuff, they want $3.81 (sadly, the lowest one I saw), $3.95, and $3.99!  You know what that means for tomorrow.  Buy your bikes now!!  Check out my links below for some local ideas (Performance is nationwide for those who aren't socal!)

On a totally unrelated note, how on Earth does one burn soup?  I just cooked dinner and somehow managed to BURN the soup.  Very sad. 

Day two of making my full rides without the need to get off my bike and walk up hills.  Kudos to me.  Also, my quads and hamstrings don't hurt anymore!  I just gotta keep this up.  And I will.  And hopefully I'll get some others to join in the biking thing.

That is all for tonight, goodnight, and happy cycling! ( : 

Kent's Bike Blog: Barb Chamberlain: Bikes Will Save the World

I just saw this on Kent's Bike Blog and I think it's great! Also, I really love Kent's blog and I'm gonna start following him.

Kent's Bike Blog: Barb Chamberlain: Bikes Will Save the World: "The format of an Ignite presentation is short and simple. Participants are given five minutes to speak on a subject accompanied by 20 sli..."

Meet the Wheels

Here's the bike I'll be starting my endeavors on...  She doesn't have a name, but I'm working on it.  If anyone has some suggestions let's hear 'em!

Starting out!

Hello Everyone!

     I'm just starting out at this blogging thing.  I want to have a place where I can blab about my endeavors to save the world by riding my bicycle!

     I was cruising around in my car listening to the radio when I heard that by May, gas prices could be into the $5 range.  It was then that I decided that my early 1980s Free Spirit (Brittany model) would become my new "car", so I wouldn't fall victim to the gas companies' plot to rape us all.  I also wanted to perhaps inspire others out there who have toyed with the thought of getting around on two wheels but just never took that first step, er, um, pedal. 

     So far I've biked to: Walmart, my old house in Oceanside, Navy Fed and Souplantation in Carlsbad, Souplantation and Target in Vista, Subway, and of course, the bike shop.  It's been fun, painful, but fun!  Yesterday Aaron (my fiance) and I biked to Carlsbad and I got a flat.  A severe flat.  The kind where it deflates less than 30 seconds after filling it.  We ended up taking the city bus home.  That was fun! 

     I'm not feeling super creative at the moment so I will blog more after my next ride.  But, before I do, I'd like to thank the Sears Auto Center and Tri-City Transmission for giving me some air! 

That's all for now!  Happy Cycling ( :