Ladies: “Don’t” scandalize yourselves on bikes!

Reader David Pertuz thought LGRAB readers would be particularly interested in a post on the Detroit blog m-bike.org written by Todd Scott, called 1895: Don’ts for women riders.  (Thanks, David!) That’s right – 41 “don’ts” to be exact, from an 1895 article in New York World.  The list is both hilarious and horrifying.  We are lucky to be looking at this from 115 years in the future.

A few of my favorites:

• Don’t be a fright.
• Don’t faint on the road.
• Don’t boast of your long rides.
• Don’t refuse assistance up a hill.
• Don’t imagine everybody is looking at you.
• Don’t ask, “What do you think of my bloomers?
• Don’t go out after dark without a male escort.
• Don’t appear in public until you have learned to ride well.
• Don’t ignore the laws of the road because you are a woman.
• Don’t scream if you meet a cow. If she sees you first, she will run.

In his post, Todd makes a good point:

For those who get nostalgic for that 1890s golden era of cycling, it’s important to realize it wasn’t golden for everyone.  Major Taylor can vouch for that.

Yeah, really. I enjoy Tweed Rides, but there’s no way men would have “let” me join them back in the day for a drinking ride from pub to pub, especially with all my fainting, screaming, and bloomer talk.

Full list of “don’ts” at the original m-bike post.

What’s your favorite “don’t”?

Interpreting Signs

I’ve been puzzling over this alteration to one of the bike warning signs here in Nashville for some time now, and I’ve decided it’s time to turn it over to you readers.

Is this a statement about cycling scofflaws?
Is it meant to convey something along the lines of “bikes rule, cars drool”?
Or is it just random vandalism?

Feel free to vote on my ideas or share yours in the comments. Happy Friday! Happy Halloween!

Past deep thoughts about Nashville’s bike infrastructure.

With videos like this . . .

It’s amazing that cycling didn’t catch on for all kids in the 1990s. :) {Via}

Monday Morning Head-Shaker

Just in case anyone needs a laugh (even a “seriously?!?” one) this Monday afternoon as much as I do, here’s a picture that ran on the website of the leading newspaper of my homestate (The Birmingham News) today.

photo by Hal Yeager, Birmingham News

The caption:

Distinctive new road markings, or “€œsharrows,”€ on 14th Street South between UAB and Southside in Birmingham alert drivers that they are sharing the road with bicycles.

But what about this picture does not fit that caption? Oh yeah, the bicycles riding on the SIDEWALK. Seems an odd choice to put with a story like this one, since it in no way illustrates what the sharrows are. Not to shame those riders for making the choice that makes them feel safe, but this photo sends some mixed messages to say the least.

Dear B’ham News: Please call the women at BikeSkirt the next time you want to take a photo to illustrate a story about cycling.

Bike theft is no joke, but . . .

I couldn’t help but get a kick out of this entry on the Oddly Specific signs blog.

I’m glad the owner found a way to vent their frustration over the loss of that sweet ride and its skull and lightning bolt flag.

Happy Friday!

Alternative Transportation

I want to ride a horse around Chicago!  That would be awesome – no one would mess with me and children would love me.

My new blog, Let’s Go Ride a Horse, would be a runaway hit.  Life on four hooves: simple. stylish. a little smelly.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake has been a hero of mine since girlhood. Must I explain her awesomeness? She rides a bike, has a cat and is always surrounded by sweets!

The newest issue of my favorite magazine, Lula, is Strawberry Shortcake themed – a periodical after my own heart – and features a modern interpretation of Ms. Shortcake on the cover. When I saw this red dress on Friday, I instantly thought of my own modern Strawberry Shortcake interpretation. The fact that the dress is fair trade by Mata, made by a women’s cooperative in India, sealed the deal.

Now I have the dress, but what about that huge cupcakey thing on her head?

No, wait: Better than a strawberry cupcake – my pink Nutcase helmet is eerily perfect! Looks like Trisha’s not the only one who refers back to childhood heros for helmet inspiration.

All I need now are strawberry-shaped wheel spokes.

Happy Monday!  Make it silly :)

Loving Hipster Puppies and Kittens

I’m pretty sure these would still be funny, even without three glasses of Friday night wine.

Hipster Puppy – ari stayed up all night drinking beer and playing old 7”s, so he’s gonna have to sit out this month’s critical mass (photo kari g)

Hipster Kitty – Even Ender’s bike-polo teammates have begun to notice his body odor (photo Sarah VanCamp)

Thanks for the tip, Trisha! You know me too well.

Don’t forget to email us pictures of your cat (or dog, bird, small child, etc.) surfing the internets :)

Reader of the Week

Reader Sila from Jakarta sent this picture of her neighbor’s cat, Lukpi, who popped over one evening to read Let’s Go Ride a Bike with her.

We're big with the Indonesian cat crowd

It reminds me of what I told my mom when she asked me what Dottie and I talked about enough to email several times a day. “I don’t know . . .  books, politics, bikes, feminism, cats—the important things in life.” A quick review of our archives reveals that all of these things (especially the cats!) have popped on our blog, so maybe it’s not so surprising that the site has become popular with members of the feline persuasion.

If anyone else has caught their cat reading LGRAB, consider this an official call for submissions. And hey, if we get more than five over the course of this week, we might have to consider it a contest and offer a prize. Liven up our workdays — email those pics.

Friday Funny: The Bicycle Repairman

In a bid to make you forgive my appalling lack of posts this week, please enjoy this video from the always excellent Monty Python. Bicycle repairmen truly are my heroes. Especially the ones talented enough to change a bike from blue to red with the twist of a wrench!

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I am thankful for family and friends near and far;  the community we’ve found through blogging,  good health  and the good food that will be on the table today . . . etc.

But most of all, I’m thankful that after a year and a half on two wheels, I’ve yet to inspire a highway art installment like this one.

Bike art near Guntersville, Alabama

How about you, friends? And what do you think of this installment? Humorous, or hostile, given that it’s located next to a highway?

And to our American readers — how are you celebrating Thankgiving? I’m spending it away from my family for just the second time in 29 years (yikes). Planned to bring a cake to a friend’s, but a pan extraction incident means I’m making cake balls instead. Something tells me my hosts won’t complain.

(Thanks to Ash & C for the snap!)

Farewell, October!

I was riding home from work today and saw this beautiful leafy scene. My sister and I loved to rake up piles of leaves and jump in them as kids. In honor of playing with leaves, I stopped and had a little too much fun with my camera’s self-timer. I was way too into my leaf-playing to care whether passersby thought I was insane.

On Your Mark...

(3) Days of Oma

Oma is one good-looking bike.

When Graffiti Goes Right

Yesterday, in between thrift store visits, we stopped for lunch at the Earwax Café, where the food was much more delicious than the name might suggest.

Public bathrooms aren’t usually the best photo venues, but I couldn’t resist documenting this piece of graffiti. If you’re going to deface a wall, you might as well say something worth saying. Just one of the reasons I love visiting Chicago!

Graffiti I can agree with.

A Note to Chicago Cyclists

The last time I visited your fair city, there was quite the uproar about parking meters being removed. “Where,” the cyclists fumed, “will we park our bikes?”

As a cyclist in a city without much bike parking, and few parking meters, I have had to make do many a time with the nearest solid (and sometimes not-so-solid) object. So I present to you a gallery of inspiration for your parking-meter-less future. Good luck!

Defunct public phone. Probably more rare than parking meters!

A Blogger’s Life: Behind the Scenes

Happy Saturday! While we prepare for our ride, enjoy this snapshot of a blogger hard at work, muses alongside. A soundtrack of purrs can be very inspiring.

Gratutitous Friday Kitten Post

Walter reads up on DIY projects on Cycling Is Good For You. He obviously fits right into this household!

Happy Friday!

An Open Letter to ActionWipes

Dear ActionWipes,

Good news first: you work! you really work. Better than the old damp paper-towel routine. Better than a washcloth and soap (no need to rinse).

You’re reuseable.

You do your best to make your packaging environmentally friendly.

You’re convenient.

You included a nice little handwritten note on my order slip.

Thank you for all of those things.

But do you have to smell like a hippie eating a cough drop? Herbal, I can live with, but smelling like the herb, I cannot. Can we pretty please have the cleansing and soothing properties of eucalyptus and tea tree with a little less of the scent? Because on all but the hottest days, I find myself opting for the slight BO/Chanel Chance combo instead.

Sincerely,

Trisha

Chicago’s Bike Share Program

There wasn’t enough time for me to scare up a bike between my arrival in Chicago and the start of the Active Trans mixer. I thought I was OK taking the El, until I met the gorgeous Betty Foy and bike withdrawal hit hard.

one bike, two women

Apparently Dottie’s support of a bike-share program only goes so far! Can’t say I blame her.

Stay tuned for more Chicago adventures!

Separated at Birth?

As I’ve mentioned before, Vanderbilt’s campus is THE place to go to spot bikes in Nashville. (A hot second: the Belmont Blvd. bike rack.) Unfortunately Le Peug was not with me when I spotted this guy:

Le Peug's long-lost relative?

Nice to see another Peugeot on the road — or, well, on the rail, anyway.