The Church of the Granny Bike

Posted: February 16, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: how to | Tags: | Leave a comment

I stumbled on the Church of the Granny Bike’s blog today–love it! Go check it out! Among other finds is a link to this pledge:

I PLEDGE TO…

*be a safe and considerate bicyclist.

*respect the rights of pedestrians, motorists and fellow bicyclists.

*follow the rules of the road.

*ride my bike on the street and walk my bike on the sidewalk.

*use front and rear lights when bicycling from dusk until dawn.

*not lock my bike to trees.

*be predictable and visible to all road users.

*stay calm and collected in times of traffic conflict.

*follow trail etiquette when riding on multi-use trails.

*not wear headphones or use my cell phone while riding.

*wear a helmet.

*encourage my friends and family to ride more often.

*smile and enjoy my ride.

Watch the I Bike PHL Pledge Video

Happy Velotines Day 2010 from bikergo gal

Posted: February 13, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: bikergo | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Have a Happy Valentines Day! I hope you can go for a bike ride with your sweetheart!

My sweetie can’t ride with me this year, but I will try to go for a ride with our son on his new seafoam green bikergo!

Here are some suggestions of other ways to go “green” this Valentine’s Day:

10 Ways  To Green Your Valentine’s Day Part 1
10 Ways To Green Your Valentine’s Day Part 2

Tweed Ride Rolls On In The Rain: Our Route

Posted: February 5, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: ArtRide, bikergo, First Friday ArtRide, Fun Rides | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Tweed Ride today and Tweed 2 tomorrow will roll even in the rain!

One word for riding in the rain: fenders! I just wish my bikergo had them but inventer Sascher is still working on them!

Meet 5:30pm Ventura Beach Promenade at California Street.

Start our First Friday ArtRide with a visit to the Artists Union Gallery.

Ride off into the sunset about 6pm. Your bike needs lights for this ride! Rain will determine our route.

If it’s not pouring, we’ll take the beach bike path around Surfer’s Point and along the Ventura River to Main. We’ll turn left at Ventura Avenue to visit a swarm of westside galleries if the weather holds.

If it’s raining, we’ll go straight to Bell Arts for “No War Stories – A Soldier Returns to Vietnam” with Moses Mora who will share his perceptions of the country forty years after he was there as a soldier as it is today, post war – a place of peace, progress and development  with photos of Vietnam on display by Raya Hayes-Mora.

Also near Bell Arts is VITA ART CENTER showing “The Games People Play” featuring work by Jennifer Guernsey, Amy Schneider, & Jill Shanbrom who produced a series of collaborative works, each piece based on a childhood game.

From the Westside, we’ll ride back to Main which we will cruise with possible stops at Red Brick and CSUCI galleries, then roll up Main to Ash where those of us who will cycle in Saturday night’s “Saints and Sinners” Fashion and Variety Show will rehearse for our part.

Next we’ll ride to the galleries on Laurel where we will enjoy beer from Anacapa Brewery (bring money to donate and your own cup please!), to hear Dew Wat’s Rite, and attend the closing reception at the Laurel Gallery for A Month with the Karen: A People’s Struggle Told Through the Eyes of a Missionary Photographs by Gordon Griffith.

On the way over there, some of us will stop at Mackenzie’s to pick up fish tacos and other culinary delights–there may even be 2 for 1 or other discounts for those who show in TWEED!

what color bikergo do you like best?

Posted: February 3, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: bikergo, how to | Tags: | 1 Comment

Last year at Burning Man my son’s Trek bike went on its last ride: the pedal broke and it just didn’t make sense for us to fix it when he was due for a new, bigger, geared bike. He’d had this one for nearly 3 years–from age 3 to almost 6.

Of course a month later when I came home with a pink bikergo, he wanted one. But bikergo do not come cheap: the parts are high-end–kevlar tires, chain guard, 9 speed grip shift, great design, original cushy seat, and more.

On the otherhand, since on a bikergo the seat and the handlebars are adjustable, the bike would grow with him–he woudn’t need another bike for a number of years.

We did test ride a number of bikes and he found one he liked at Open Air. Given a choice of that bike right away at Christmas, or waiting for a bikergo, he chose to be patient.

Well, I hate to say it, but here it is February and my son is still being patient. Very patient. If anything, I’m the impatient one–I want to go for bike rides with him like we used to and the trailabike hook-up isn’t on my bike!!

We did spend some time trying to figure out what color he wants for his bikergo and his grips. If you go to the bikergo site, you’ll see the bike comes in mango yellow, sky blue, teal green (pictured), and hot pink. Pink was obviously out. And since the bikergo doesn’t come in red, he went for his second favorite color, green, even though he really admired the sunny golden yellow hue of the mango bike. His grips he wants in a pattern: green on each end with blue then yellow then one green in the middle.

Just writing this makes me want to jump in the old westfalia and drive on up there to finally get him his bike!