Saving the World with My Free Spirit and my Diamondback!

Saving the World with My Free Spirit and my Diamondback!

March 27, 2011

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!

March 25, 2011

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!

March 23, 2011

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!

March 21, 2011

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!

March 18, 2011

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!

March 17, 2011

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 ( : 

March 16, 2011

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!

March 15, 2011

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.

March 14, 2011

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
    

March 13, 2011

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

March 11, 2011

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!

March 10, 2011

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!

March 9, 2011

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..."

March 8, 2011

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 ( :