Roll Models: Sarah W. of Nashville

As part of the new LGRAB, every Tuesday we will profile an inspiring everyday cyclist—a weekly series called “Roll Models.”  

This week’s roll model is my friend Sarah W. Despite being a relatively new cyclist, Sarah is unafraid to plunge into group rides and is a loyal attendee of our monthly bike brunches. I admire her positive attitude, her adventurous spirit and her incredible knitting skills. Read on for Sarah’s take on Nashville cycling.

Sarah and her Raleigh

Describe your bicycling style in three words.
Slow, upright, regal (last one according to my husband, Paul).

How long have you been riding a bike?
I rode a bit as a kid and teenager, took a long hiatus, and then started again in November 2011. I feel like a new cyclist!

How does bicycling fit into and/or shape your life?
Biking is something I look forward to in the short-term, what I’m doing in the new few weeks, and also in the long-term, because I plan on pursuing it wherever I live in the future. I currently ride mostly on weekends and to my Tuesday night knitting group, which consists primarily of me and Lauren, who also rides. I live in an older part of Nashville that has quiet residential streets and some bike lanes. My husband saw how much fun I was having, and we got him a bike about a month after I started. He loves riding too!

Sarah cycling in Venice Beach last month

What inspires you to keep bicycling?
I ride for enjoyment, but I do have some loose goals: to better my handling and endurance, for example. I am inspired by the many Nashville biking women I know, and I enjoy bike blogs, like Let’s Go Ride a Bike and Lovely Bicycle. I love soaking in my surroundings at a leisurely pace and feeling the wind as I ride–that seems pretty universal!

In your experience, does the general bicycling world—shops, outreach, group rides, etc.—feel welcoming for you as a woman?
So far, so good. I know a lot of women who ride. The shop I frequent most often makes me feel welcome and like I can pull up a stool and chat.

What is your take on the “gender gap” in cycling, including media attention on how to get more women to bicycle?
I’m not sure I have a great answer to the “woman problem.” I do think more women would ride if they felt safe on the roads and there was adequate bike parking where they wanted to go.

Sarah's Raleigh parked at the Frist Center in Nashville

If you could magically change one thing to improve bicycling in your city, what would it be?
I’d make drivers alert and cautious around bikers. Also, I’d like slightly elevated bike lanes everywhere like in Copenhagen, and separate intersection lights for bikes. And flat streets. Magic!

Do you feel optimistic about the future of bicycling?
Yes! I think it’s growing so much and even if biking is not for everyone, I know my friends who do not bike now have cyclists on their minds: one friend told me she now checks the bike lane before making turns so she doesn’t accidentally turn in front of a cyclist. Yay!

Sarah and her beach cruiser at the start of the Rhinestone Cowboy Ride

Any advice for people, especially women, who want to start cycling?
Here’s what worked for me: I bought an inexpensive used bike and took baby steps. First, I walked the bike to an empty church parking lot down the street and rode around. Then I rode down a little street and back one day—wow. Soon I had found a short neighborhood route, which I still like. I use Google Maps’s biking directions sometimes. They are pretty good. I’ve also read many books about biking, which were educational and inspiring.

Final words?
I started biking because I saw a gorgeous bike on craigslist that I had to have—all other bikes left me cold. I also was feeling like a big couch potato. I do a lot of crafting, but my hands began to hurt. When I stopped crafting altogether, I felt like I was doing nothing on the weekends. I needed to get out of the house, but driving to and shopping at the mall wasn’t the answer. I’d been reading a fitness/weight loss blog whose writer bikes everywhere around Brooklyn and Manhattan—she looked so cool and like she was having fun. If you’re thinking about biking, go for it!

{Thanks, Sarah! See you at the next bike brunch. }

East Nashville Ride

My ride to East Nashville added up to more than a sunburn. I’m the worst when it comes to taking photos—especially when one has to pause to take them under the broiling noonday sun—but I did manage to capture a few images from my ride with Whitney and Raleigh a couple of weeks back.

First of all, her Raleigh and Le Peug are now serious buds. Don’t they look great together?

Like all the best bike rides, the point was the journey. It was Mother’s Day, so we avoided the more traditional brunch spots and had salads and a drink at Beyond the Edge, followed by a delicious ice cream cone at Pied Piper Creamery.

By that point the Nashville Bicycle Lounge was open, and we swung by to check it out and chat with owner Dan, who was in the midst of building up this sweet ride. In his words, “If Lizzie Borden rode a bike, this [custom Surly] would be it.”

The Bicycle Lounge is a really cool spot—it’s one of the only places in Nashville with a selection of transportation bicycles like Surly and Linus. Dan said he has trouble keeping the Linus bikes in particular in stock.

 

 

 

As soon as Whitney and I walked in, Dan greeted us. His first words were compliments on our vintage rides. Saying nice things about my bike is on the top 10 list of ways to my heart (other items on the list: cooking dinner, an affinity for Lionel Shriver novels, laughing at my jokes, foreign accents) so things were on the right track to begin with.

After ordering a couple of parts and purchasing some new brake pads for the Raleigh, we were heading back in the full heat of the day. Since going back home from East Nashville contained a few more uphill runs than the way there, we paused in a parking lot. Being dehydrated and sweaty did not make contemplating the soul who discarded a chicken bone, a grape jelly packet and the butt of a Swisher Sweet in the parking lot any more appetizing (let’s hope he or she did not eat them all at once).

 

Anyone else visited a new bike shop lately, or gone somewhere else a bit off the beaten path? I have to say that this ride whetted my appetite for some longer rides. Nothing like the sense of excitement that comes from conquering another part of town by bike.

A New-Old Bike

Last Sunday I went with my friend Whitney to take  a look at a vintage bike.

After a few saddle and stem adjustments, this 1972 Raleigh 3-speed was a perfect fit—a lighter, sportier complement to Whitney’s Jamis that should be able to cope with Nashville’s hills. This was my first time seeing/riding a Raleigh and I was amazed at how light and quick it was.

Whitney and her Raleigh

We celebrated with a brief vintage bike ride — brief because of intermittent rain and looming evening plans. Raleigh and Le Peug were a good match! Probably because they’re about the same age.

Vintage bike buddies

In other vintage bike news, I’ve suddenly become obsessed with getting an Ideale saddle for Le Peug. They seem to be very hard to come by—anyone have any tips?