Bicycle Handlebar Map Holder Review

This little accessory has made both my mountain and road rides so much better.

I'm still getting to know the area I'm living in-- both on and off-road. So, okay-- the basic thing to do would be stuff a map in my jersey pocket or Camelbak. But what if you REALLY don't know the area? And have to stop a LOT? When mountain biking, I can stop as frequently as every half-mile to check which way to go at an intersection. When road riding, I can keep turn-by-turn directions readily available and check the map less frequently.

This is what it looks like when folded up. The small clear panel on the front is perfect for brief turn-by-turn directions. Unfortunately, it is just big enough that the lower corners brush my legs when I stand up to pedal.

Unfold it once to reveal the perfect spot for a phone or some cash.

Unfold again to reveal your 8.5 x 11 inch map.

I pretty much love this map holder.

The only downsides:

• The placement and size cause the corners of the bag to brush my legs when I stand up to pedal.
• Not totally waterproof. I was on a wet ride when water basically soaked through the bottom in a few spots. I'll spray it with some waterproofing liquid and it should be good.

Available:

• Online at Adventure Cycling's online store, or
• At Gregg's Cycle in Seattle, Bellevue or Lynnwood, WA. (I work at the Bellevue location).

Bike Mirror Review

This is the best bike mirror in the world.

Didn't know that one could be so passionate about a mirror, did you? Well-- I've been through a number of mirrors and THIS is the one I took on my summer tour (across the U.S.) and this is the one I will put on every bike that needs a mirror.

Initially I ended up with this mirror because it was pretty much the only one that would work with drop handlebars with bar-end shifters. I also liked how the mirror extended away from the bike. I've found that mirrors that are too close to the bike make me squirm on my bike in order to see what I want to see-- and what I get to see isn't that much in the first place, because the mirror is tryin' to be all small-like so that I don't ram into it with my knees.. which I manage to do anyway. That said, I've met people who swear by the road bar-end mirror (see photo, right).

I've also tried one of those super sexy mirrors that you stick to your helmet. In all fairness, I did not gi

ve it much of a chance before tearing it off my head. It's like-- if you were watching tv, and it's your favorite program-- but there is this GIANT BEETLE crawling all over it! AHH!! GET OFF! GO AWAY! I'M TRYING TO WATCH 30 ROCK! Except the tv program is your bike ride, of course. That said, I know people 

who swear by this little guy too (see photo, left). I just don't like tilting my head all funny like that gold robot guy from Star Wars, changing my focus and well, looking geeky. 

I can't say that I've ever tried the mirror-inside-the-sunglass thing-- but I've pretty much ruled it out, as I don't always wear my sunglasses (or the same lenses, anyway) on my bike. And again-- bug on the tv screen. No, thank you.

And recently, I've even tried this guy on my road bike with STI shifters (common modern shifter; the shifting is integrated into the

 brake lever unit, instead of being on the bar-end like on my touring bike). Initially, I was pretty stoked-- because I thought I'd be able to take the mirror on and off fairly easily for s

witching between commuter and race mode. While that bit may have been true-- what I hadn't anticipated is that the mirror rattles like mad! AHHH! Maybe it's because it's on a bike with 23mm tires (skinny!) running at least 100psi (hard!). But that's my set up on that bike-- so this mirror became a dud. Drats!

So back to the best mirror in the world. Great things about the mirror:

• It's big enough to actually see something.
• It mounts away from the bike, so all you have to do is glance (not squirm or tilt your head) to see what you want to see.
• It is mountable on top of bar tape, so it does not rattle and make your view blurry.
• It is always there-- doesn't rely on wearing a certain helmet or pair of sunglasses.
• Compatible with just about any bike set up.

Only downsides:

• This summer, while on tour, we did find that we had to continually retighten the clamp as it would slowly loosen and move around. However, I've had it for several months on fresh bar tape (not two layers of bar tape like this summer) and have never had to reset it.

Other tips:

• I have my mirror mounted at the very end of my bar. It doesn't really get in my way and I like the view it gives me. My touring buddy ended up moving hers further up the bar and liked the view better and didn't find that it got in her way too badly. So play around with your mounting spot.

Buy it:

• You can buy this mirror online at Adventure Cycling's online store, or
• Buy it at Gregg's Cycle in Seattle, Bellevue or Lynnwood, WA. (I work at the Bellevue location.)

Easter Egg Jerseys-- a Debate?

Just because I'm a girl..

Doesn't mean that I want to look like an EASTER EGG when I ride my bike.

I pointed out this sentiment to one of my bosses at the shop and he pointed out that these are the colors that "sell."

Are they? REALLY? Or are they the only color that's ever available?

I have yet to meet a woman who is happy about being made to look like a 7-year-old. And yes, I mean SEVEN YEAR OLD. Here's a comparison chart of women's jerseys and girls' tops (ages 4-15):

click to enlarge

This is not an anti-pink manifesto. While I was on the Whitman College Cycling Team, the women had a tradition of sporting matching "serious pink" bar tape or hot pink socks for Nationals. Pink is AWESOME! 

After the road race at nationals. Pink bar tape!

Pink socks on the podium!

And the girls are STILL having fun today-- 

Being all "serious" before a team time trial.

So pink, or crazy patterns, are used for fun-- but I don't know any women who get really excited about lavender flowers.

What do you think?

Do you think that men feel "threatened" by women participating in a "men's sport," that women have to main their "gender role" while participating in order to make it "okay"?

Is my point of view skewed due to my racing background? 

I just want to be treated like a grown woman-- not a little girl.

To Feel Like Me

Today at Wallace Falls

The short hike to and from the falls

Today I rummaged through my cycling accessory drawer, looking for the arm warmers I wanted to wear on my ride. I came across my short-fingered cycling gloves that I hadn't worn since finishing my bike tour across the country. I slipped them on and held them to my face. They still smell like the tour. The fabric on the backside is no longer black, but more of a brown-blue. The mesh is deteriorating where my knuckles push at it. And the leather has been in traumatic cycles between thick with grease to crackled dry. 

When I pull my gloves on-- I feel like the most accurate version of myself. It's like pulling my own skin back on. 

Count the Ways

Count the ways you can commute!

My cyclocross bike, turned road, turned commuter.

Working at Gregg's Bellevue Cycle, I meet customers who are looking for a commuter bike. Before leading them to a bike that is marketed as a "commuter bike," I first ask, "how do you want to commute?" because the truth is-- there are so many ways to commute! 

• How far do you want to commute? No more than a few miles? Or 30 miles a day, round-trip?
  
• Are you commuting only to and from work or for other errands as well?
  
• Do you want to be able to carry anything? How much? 
  
• Is your commute long or hard enough to warrant cycling specific clothing?
  
• Will you combo your commute with public transit?
  
• Will you be an all-weather or fair-weather rider?
• Do you prefer to take your time or get there as fast as you can?

Only after answering these sorts of questions, do we begin our tour of various bikes suited for commuting-- because really, you can commute on anything! 

While I lived in Walla Walla, WA, a small town in Eastern Washington, I commuted primarily on my Xtracycle. My job and lifestyle often required transporting "stuff," whether it be bicycles or groceries-- and the Xtracycle did it all. But I never had to go very far, nor take public transit.

Now that I live north of Seattle, WA and work in the city-- my bike commute involves 50 minutes of bicycling and 50 minutes on a bus. Sadly, I don't interact with the town I live in very much, nor do my own grocery shopping, so I haven't used my Xtracycle since living here. It also doesn't fit on the bus. If I lived closer to my place of work, I'd likely be riding it every day-- as it's fun to ride and will hold whatever I care to toss in it. 

The bikes that I have been riding since I adopted this new commute are my touring bike, cyclocross bike and folding bike. 

My TREK 520 touring bike is outfitted like a "traditional" (stereotypical?) commuter. It sports a rack and panniers; wide, fast and comfy flat-resistant tires; full fenders; a comfortable, efficient and stable geometry; a saddle that feels good with khakis or bike shorts; various reflective stickers; a safety triangle; serious lighting to the front rear and side; and 'flip-flop' pedals-- one side platform, one side SPD (clipless). This bike is ready to commute!

My DAHON SPEED D7 I use when all I need to do is ride two miles into town to catch the bus, meet a friend and toss it in their trunk. Conveniently, it also has (teeny tiny) fenders and a (teeny tiny) rack. I don't wear bike-specific clothing when riding the Dahon (except, perhaps a rain jacket and ankle strap), because I'm not ever riding it very far.

My Jamis Supernova Cyclocross Bike I use when I don't need or want to carry much or anything at all-- and I want to ride FAST. I don full-on cycling gear (Smartwool cycling knickers, jersey, wind jacket, gloves..) because it's comfortable, flexible and it's something to sweat in. Sometimes I wear my CamelBak (Hawg NV) with my work clothes stuffed in it and sometimes I drop off my clothes at work on a day when I drive in, so that I don't have to carry anything at all. I am fortunate that Gregg's supplies a shower and lockers for their employees! 

So you, see-- there are MANY ways to commute. None wrong, all different. What suits you?

Notes from the Tour

I found my stash of cards, notes and addresses from my summer's bike tour. It's just a small sampling of the wonderful people and places we came across.

We got to ride one of these! The ride is A-MAZ-ING. And at the time, sitting on a lawn-chair-style seat sounded MUCH better than our saddles!

Two (married) sergeants touring across the U.S. They each had a child's trailer packed to the brim with gear! We wondered how long it would take for them to shed the excess.

Suggestions written in and torn out of a Moleskine journal.

Her mom, like my touring partner's mom, also rode the TransAm in 1976!

Sami gave me a brown sack full of free donuts. :)

A sweet couple gave us a ride in their truck on a hot, humid day when we were behind schedule. Then they dropped us off (and paid for) a bed and breakfast! WOW!

Then a good friend of mine spotted us another night at a beautiful  bed & breakfast! Perfect timing, we got to rest up before the toughest part of the trip. And it smelled like fruit punch outside. Oh, but the card is from a couple from South Africa that we had dinner with at the B&B. Wonderful folks. They were patient with our story telling. :)

Paul has truly ridden all over the world. Including in the Andes in the heart of winter. Wow. We camped in the same city park that night. He was gone before we woke up in the morning (quick packer, as a skilled touring cyclist would be). We were on his tails for a while, though! We once came within an hour of him-- we knew because we saw his name in a journal that a grocery store kept for touring cyclists to sign. ..but we never caught him. Or maybe we did.

Staying in a Botanical Garden and meeting the amazing people that make it happen was one of the coolest places we got to stay the night!

We could either climb over a 11,500' mountain pass in the middle of a lightening storm.. or stay at Todd and Barb's, have dinner, share stories, do laundry, take a shower and go for the summit (11,500') in the morning. We stayed with Todd.

He's been on the road awhile. I think he was close to (or past?) 10,000 when we met him.

We frog hopped these silly boys for some time.

Our favorite Belgium couple. They were both in their 70's and quite overweight when they began-- but that didn't stop them from riding across the U.S.A! Sure, it took them 5 months instead of 3, but really-- I don't want to hear your excuses.

Gregg's Cycle

I don't know if I've "officially" announced it on this blog, but I work on the sales floor at Gregg's Bellevue Cycle. When I returned from my bike trip across the country, which is one thing I've long wanted to do-- I decided to get a job I've always wanted to have: work the sales floor of a bike shop. Helping people get into cycling is something I do anyway, might as well get paid for it and learn more in the process!

And not only did I land a job in a bike shop, but I landed in a shop that has received a pile of awards on the city, state and national level. 

So if you are in the greater Seattle area (or the Eastside, as we call it) and would like to pick my brain in person about touring, Xtracycles, commuting and more-- come visit me at the shop! I currently work Sunday through Wednesday, excepting Wednesday morning. Come spring, I hope to switch my schedule (Wednesday through Saturday) so that I can pick up mountain bike racing this summer and revisit cyclocross in the fall. 

Adventure Cycling Blog

Well, HEY! Adventure Cycling has a BLOG!

Adventure Cycling, if you didn't know already-- is the non-profit organization that established the route and maps that my friend and I followed this summer on our bike tour across the country.  Click HERE to see a map of all the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) maps. The route we followed was the TransAmerica Trail, established in 1976, the bicentennial of the country.

Following Adventure Cycling maps easily eliminated half the logistics of planning our tour. That is, if you even able to CHOOSE which of the many routes to go on! For us, choosing the TransAm was easy. We knew that we wanted to cross the entire country and the TransAm is perhaps the most "classic" way to do so-- and, my riding partner's mom had done the route in 1976, the year the route was born. So for us, it was an easy choice.

Now that I have just started saving up for a second tour-- hmm.. I could do the Great Divide.. or the Sierra Cascades.. or maybe a loop in the SouthWest.. how do I choose?! I'll just have to do them all. 

Anyhow-- back to Adventure Cycling. Making maps and establishing routes isn't the only wonderful they do. The ACA also advocates for cyclists in the political arena. They are currently working with the government to establish a U.S. Bicycle Route System. The ACA is also a rich resource of touring information-- in their archived magazine articles, cyclists' yellow pages and now-- their BLOG! Check it out!

Sally Edwards at "Women on Wheels" event!

W.O.W: Women on Wheels

@ Gregg's Greenlake Cycle

Thursday, March 4 

6:30-9:30pm

A night just for the ladies. It's a great chance to come and learn all about cycling. We'll have speakers and clinics about cycling as well as factory reps here to answer any questions that you might have.

This year we're proud to announce that our featured speaker will be Sally Edwards, a Triathlon Hall of Famer and competitor in over 150 triathlons. Sally is a best-selling author with more than 20 books and 500 articles on health and fitness including the popular book Heart Rate Monitor Guidebookand The Complete Book of Triathlons. This professional triathlete is a 16-time Ironman finisher, a member of the Triathlon Hall of Fame, and past winner of the ultra-marathon, the hundred mile Western States Endurance Run.

Also:

• Special Deals
  
• Fashion Show
  
• Beer
  
• Wine
  
• Chocolate
  
• Raffle Prizes
  
• Did I mention great ONE TIME deals
  
• and more...

Invite your friends but remember that this is a ladies only event so leave the guys at home!

RSVP now! There are already 157 confirmed guests and room is running out!

Traffic Scenario

ORANGE HUMMER: "Do do doo.. Hmm, I'm going to turn left after the red hummer passes because I don't see anything behind it."

ORANGE HUMMER: "La la laa.. Hmm, looks like there is something behind that red hummer, because there is a bright white light coming from behind it.. probably a Light & Motion Stella 300 Dual or something.. I think I will wait to turn until I see what it is."

Second most likely cause of car/bike interaction (second to the cyclist riding the wrong way on the street).. driver turning LEFT into the cyclist.

The other day in the bike shop, we met a guy who has been riding around Mercer Island at night with his front light OFF to "preserve his night vision." Okay, guy, I'm sure that DOES improve YOUR night vision.. but not of those cars pulling out of driveways. The guy said he "turns his light back on when there are cars around." What, do you turn it on when you're on their HOOD? b'AAAAHH!!!

Juxtaposition

It was suggested that I juxtapose my two winters on bikes.. :)

Really, who said that winter was a bad time for bicycling? You just gotta adapt to your environment! Do you see a zip-zip road bike with 23mm tires in these pictures? NO, because those bikes are fun in the SUMMER. 

There's a bike for everything, there is.

A bike ride with my mom!

Today-- I went on a bike ride with my mom!

We rode along the Centennial Trail, a Rails to Trail in Snohomish County, WA. I was SO proud of my mom! We didn't go far or fast, but my mom did challenge herself-- that's what matters.

It's been a long, long time since my mom has been on a bike. Riding along the trail required her to practice balance, changing gears, braking/stopping and watching out for other users on the trail. When these things are unfamiliar, they can be overwhelming! She did all that and had a good time doing it. 

Oh, and that's a new GLOBE WOMEN'S VIENNA 2 that she's riding! I really like this bike, because too many comfort bikes are SO upright, the steering is wacky. This bike is upright enough, while maintaining stable steering. It also has a step-through frame, so it's easier for my mom to stop and start. We'll have to get a softer saddle, though. The one it comes with is too hard for even me to ride! I love the whole Globe line.. except that silly Roll and a Carmel wouldn't suit me.. but the Vienna, the Haul and the Live? AWESOME and AFFORDABLE!

I rode my foldy.