Sir Raleigh and Betty Foy

In celebration of the mild weather, Sir Raleigh and Betty Foy went for a date ride today – chaperoned by me and Mr. Dottie, of course. I think they are a perfect match. (Tip: you can now see a bigger version of each picture by clicking on it.)

Back to Bat

Well, for the day at least! Afraid that continued neglect of my darling Batavus could lead to a pant-snatching incident, á la Oma, I took her out to enjoy one of the last days of fall. Together we posed in front of a scraggly tree that is desperately holding on to its leaves. Keep ‘em up there, little tree — I’m not ready for winter!

Off to work -- I look skeptical of the self-timer feature

After two weeks plus of riding the Flik, my Bat felt . . . heavy. But also — stable! And comfortable. I know you roadies out there will probably say it’s just what you’re used to (and you’ll have a point — to an extent, I have gotten used to craning my neck on the Flik), but an upright riding position is SO much more comfortable than being launched out over the handlebars. The Bat was forgiving of my neglect and my sweater tights made it to work without complications.

Weekend plans include meeting up with Andrew, a local owner of a Bike Friday, during a ride through Shelby Bottoms. And, gulp, a viewing of New Moon. Don’t judge, people. As this spot-on article in the WaPo warns, it could happen to you.

Happy Friday!

One Year Oma-versary!

Oma and Me

Dearest Oma,

I love you.

XO,

Dottie

My Dutch Bicycle Video

Here is the second video for the LGRAB YouTube channel. Clearly, I don’t have a future with broadcast journalism, but I want to share more about Dutch bikes with the public. When I started researching Dutch bikes, there were none in my city to test ride and not much information beyond the manufacturers’ websites. I obsessively googled different bike brands and found frustratingly little on my favorites.

My WorkCycles Azor Oma written review is extensive, so the video can be considered bonus material. Not super interesting, so don’t feel compelled to watch, but I hope this video will help others who are seeking more information about them before ordering one on the internet or driving a far distance to test ride one.

Bikes, Beer and Books in Sevier Park

Though we’ve already penned our odes to fall and tights, and recapped our fun-filled summer, I left work this afternoon to find an overcast morning had brought forth one last glimpse of summer sun. So of course, Le Peug and I headed off to enjoy it. Our destination: Sevier Park, starting point for the  LGRAB Garden Party Ride, home of Sunnyside Manor and less than a mile from my house.

Le Peug, Sunnyside and some very green grass.

The Red Shoes

Yesterday I attended a party at De Fietsfabriek, a Dutch bike shop, to celebrate the fall line of Po Campo stylish bike bags. I wore my lucky red velvet Marc Jacobs shoes and a vintage red bow.

The red shoes are lucky because I wore them when I met Tori Amos and the first thing she said to me was: “I love your shoes!” Then she hugged me. This is the kind of outfit I wear simply because it makes me happy like a little girl. RED BOW!

what's black and white and red all over?

Beautiful Bicycles: My Workcycles Azor Oma

One year ago I purchased a Workcycles Azor Oma, and that decision has changed my life for the better. I already cycled to work daily, but with Oma I was able to integrate cycling more easily and fully into my life. I no longer needed to coordinate my outfits around grease and chains. I was able to cycle through the harsh Chicago winter with no worries about frozen drivetrains. I left behind annoyances such as falling chains, deflating tires, and compromised braking. Now I simply get on my bike and go. It’s really a lovely way to travel.

A New Old Bike in Progress

Not for me, but for Mr. Dottie! Thus far he’s gotten by with his Jamis Coda Sport, but has been saving up for another. Instead of buying a new bike, he’s custom building it himself with a vintage frame.

Greg testing the Raleigh

He started with an early 1970’s Raleigh Gran Sport frame that he bought for a low price on eBay. He’s a practical engineer, building it up with components to make the most utilitarian bike for his purposes, including a lot of winter riding. I’ll have a full write-up when he’s finished, but it includes an internal hub, roller brakes, generator lights, and mustache bars. He still has to adjust the parts for the perfect fit and add accessories, but he was able to take his first test ride today. He’s having fun, learning a lot and soon will have the perfect bike that he deserves!

(3) Days of Oma

Oma is one good-looking bike.

Zen and the art of…oh screw this! Can I ride my bike now?

Some people are into bicycle maintenance. They get a kick out of lubricating derailleurs and messing with thingamabobs. (See ecovelo) These are the same people who spend pretty Saturdays waxing their cars, if they own them. I am decidedly not one of those people. Quite the opposite. I neglect maintenance even when I know it’s wrong.

Sparkling Clean Oma and Betty

Dutch Style Inspiration from Oma

I decided that it is finally time for me to write a review of Oma for our Beautiful Bicycles series. She and I have been together for nearly a year! For the occasion I put together an outfit and hairstyle inspired by her roots. Granted, I know very little about Holland – this is my interpretation of a vintage Dutch look, pulled out of my imagination.

Vintage Fun

Trisha and I are working on a short series about vintage and thrifted style – bicycles and clothing!  In the meantime, here’s a taste of my vintage fun for today. I wore an outfit centered around a vintage ’80’s (yes, ’80’s is now vintage and we are all old) skort I recently acquired. This is the kind of clothing that I love and that my sisters would wrinkle their noses at in disgust and ask why I insist on dressing like mom.  Oh, and I got a haircut – bangs!

Outfit for toodling on bike
Vintage '80's skort
H&M t-shirt
Marc Jacobs flats
Marc Jacobs sunglasses
Fairy necklace from Celtic street fair
Nutcase Starburst helmet

I stopped by Haystack Vintage, one of my new favorite shops, and spotted this extensive collection of vintage bikes outside. So cute, but they all look so small!

Cycling Chicago’s North Lakefront Trail

Chicago’s gem is not the Sears Tower and other skyscrapers or the Magnificent Mile and high-end shopping. Rather, it’s the beauty of nature carefully curated by city planners – the Lakefront Trail that runs along Lake Michigan from the north to the south of the city, with downtown in the middle.

Betty and Chicago's Skyline

Beautiful Demo Bikes For Sale

I love a good sale and recently spotted these bikes online. If anyone has been shopping around for a new city bike, here are two demo options that may put these makers’ bikes in your price range.

Rivendell is selling a Betty Foy demo built up for $1400. That is about $800 less than what I paid for mine. This is the smaller frame, which will fit someone around 5′3 to 5′6. They also have a couple of Sam Hillbornes – a 48 inch and 52 inch.

Betty Foy Demo

A.N.T. is selling a Roadster demo for $1900. This bike is gorgeous and will fit someone 5′7 to 5′9.

A.N.T. Roadster Demo

Hey, that’s my size! Too bad I currently have more bikes (2) than jobs (0).

Oma Loves Her Neighborhood

Today Oma got out of the house for a fresh air tour of the neighborhood. I went along for the ride and picked up a fab vintage dress ($15!), cupcakes and beer. This is her travelogue.

Oma loves da Cubs

A Hypothetical Situation

While riding a bicycle through an unfamiliar college campus, on unmarked footpaths, crossing one’s fingers that the rain holds off and trying to avoid having haul a quite heavy bicycle up or down the flights of stairs that seem all too likely to pop up in the path from lunch back to work as the crow flies, one might, against the odds, be glad to see cars. And a parking lot. Especially when that parking lot leads to the street one was hoping to find.

Parking lot leads to road, which means: street signs!

Perhaps getting honked at on 21st isn’t so bad after all. I mean, if such a thing were to happen to a person, she might think that an alternative route clogged with impatient drivers wouldn’t be so bad after all.

A Change of Scenery

Here comes the sun, la de da da...

I had a lovely ride this morning on the lakefront trail and a lovely ride this evening on the city streets. My heart always thumps wildly when I ride in the Loop (the core of downtown Chicago) during rush hour, but that must be good for the cardiovascular system. A special thanks to the SUV that honked at me in a good way – to let me know he was stopping so I could go around the car that nearly ran me over to parallel park.

I took the city streets today because suddenly I was so bored of the lakefront path. The streets I take are busy and have itty bitty bike lanes, so I always have to be 100% on my guard, but the change was nice. I guess I’m pretty lucky to have two drastically different route options. Does anyone else have more than one route they can take and, if so, how do you decide?

My First Bike Ride

Biking with my brother over the Fourth reminded me that our first bike rides ever were taken together. The last time I visited my parents, I dug up some photographic evidence.

These Schwinns were our first bikes ever. We got them for our birthdays (both in April — yes, this is what April looks like in northern Minnesota) in 1985. Charlie was turning 4, and I was turning 5. Training wheels were the way to go back then…

Here I am frowning at the handlebars (this bike stuff was serious business) while Mom adjusts Charlie’s bike and Uncle Bob looks on.

Getting to know you...

Meanwhile, Charlie barely fits on his bike! Moments after Mom let go of the handlebars, he was off…and crashed in the woods since he didn’t know how to brake yet. Oops. I think we may have this on video somewhere.

My brother and his first bike.

How old were you when you took your first ride?

Bike Date – French Restaurant in Lincoln Park

Last night Mr. Dottie and I enjoyed a romantic dinner at a fancy French restaurant. I wanted to wear my new Saja dress, so I wore it. This is not an ideal dress for cycling because of the length. However, when you ride your bike everywhere, it comes down simply to wearing what you want to wear. If I limited my wardrobe because of my bike, I would resent the limitations. If I took a cab to the restaurant instead, I would be incredibly lame. So I threw on some small shorts underneath, put my basket on Oma for the fig leaf effect, and pedaled in a ladylike manner. This was less revealing than a pair of shorts. Actually, the most challenging wardrobe issue was getting Mr. Dottie out of his cargo shorts and “fun in the sun” t-shirt. Turns out, he cleans up quite nicely. :)

Me and Oma in Lincoln Park

Dapper Greg in Lincoln Park

Perfect Weather

Oma on the way home

As much as I love the sun, today’s somewhat stormy and cool weather was perfect for cycling. The storms stopped before my ride home, which meant that the trail was dramatically less crowded than it usually would be (people are easily scared off by the rain) but I did not get wet. The temperature hovered in the low 60’s, which meant that I did not sweat. I had a 16 mph headwind, so I simply popped Oma into 4th gear and took my sweet time. Mmmm, lovely. What is your perfect cycling weather?