Change Your Life. Ride A Bike!

friday fun times: oakland's clitoral mass ride is tomorrow!

2013-05-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

and to celebrate the ride (12pm in oakland, details here) we're gonna kick off this three day weekend with a trailer from one of the BADASS inspirations of the event, las ovarian psycos! they are doing community and bikes RIGHT.

The Ovarian Psycos (Official Trailer) - A feature documentary from ovarianpsycosmovie@gmail.com on Vimeo.

have a great weekend everyone. i'm sure i'll take a ton of pics on saturday. hope to see you there!

Arthursday: marie desbons

2013-05-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

marie desbons is a french illustrator i found via pinterest. i spent some time looking at her work and i found it very fun, sort of a lighter hearted jamie zollars, or at least zollar's style of a few years ago.

desbons' light hearted color palette and whimsical scenes immediately draw you into her fantasy world, where you can lose yourself in her imagination for awhile.

i also like how the bike rider seems to be a recurring character.

you can see more for yourself on her blog (en français) or on facebook.

we kept the theme with a female artist as a slight nod to the clitoral mass rides that are happening this weekend in oakland and LA. there'll be more information about them tomorrow.

guest post: FAST - biking for change

2013-05-21T11:41:00.003-07:00

the fine folks over at FAST - biking for change reached out to us and asked us if they could be a guest poster. we're never ones to say no to that, so here we go.

it's been awhile since we've heard of some animal activism other than my explanation to my new coworkers of why i've been vegetarian for 20 years every time we go out to lunch. here's for the next generation keeping that tradition strong of changing lives through biking.

FAST, or Five Activists Standing Together is a bicycle touring team that aims to bring the message of animal rights to the entire world through our advocacy tours. We distribute literature that brings light to the hidden horrors of modern day animal agriculture, and the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

Periodically during our travels, we hold a small street exhibit called “Change 4 Change”. Change 4 Change will explain our mission and hopefully help us acquire donations to fund our trips (i.e literature and food).
The team consists of five people: Kevin Cooney, John Jungenberg, Mary Jungenberg, Rachel Shippee and Jamie Jungenberg. The five friends decided to form FAST because they all share the same love of biking and activism.

We have completed one tour so far-we traveled from our homes in Northern Illinois, to Madison, Wisconsin, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and back. This trip was a tremendous success, and we were able to distribute 7,000 leaflets that promote veganism.

People may ask us, "Why do you do all this just to save farmed animals?" Farmed animals are some of the most oppressed beings on the planet. Ten billion are killed each year for the meat, egg and dairy industries alone. They live in hellish conditions, forced into cages so small they can't even turn around, separated from their families, and deprived of everything that makes life worth living. We know that their lives are worth something, that they have the right to live peacefully and freely and to do as they wish. We have the utmost respect for all species of life.

Thanks to FAST for reaching out. Good luck and safe times on your travels. Be sure to check out their facebook page for more information.

Arthursday: Dr. Sketchy's 5th Annual Cute Girls on Bicycles

2013-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

last week our friends over at dr. sketchy's SF version of their anti-art school had their 5(!!) annual cute girls on bicycles. dr. sketchy's hosts monthly events where they have a really fun themed live drawing get together. the month before this one featured luchadores. need i say any more?

all images link back to where i found them, via the individual artist. go forth and find out more about them!

bike to work day 2013

2013-05-09T16:10:00.001-07:00

took some photos on the way to work today. energizer stations and bike counters oh my!

this guy recognized me from my organizing with SF bike party.

wrenching.

intersection of market and van ness

through the foggy (non-purple) haze, you can see SF's very own new bicycle counter.

this guy just wanted to be number 1000, but he was really one of the cheerleaders near the bike counter.

from standing near the bike counter, public bikes' dan and i both noticed that the counter seemed not to be very good at counting when groups of riders passed by the counter. it also doesn't count them if they are NOT in the bike lane. the sensor is just near the bike counter.

baby steps but BIG baby steps for SF's very own bicycle counter! happy bike to work day everyone.

video: bike to work week and oak street improvements

2013-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

as i wrote on fb yesterday, there are some big changes on three mere blocks of san francisco's 7x7 slice of earth.

so excited to see this green paint going up on one of the more precarious streets to bike on in SF. it is basically a one way highway for cars that bring people from the west side of town to downtown and other actually designated freeways. bikes share three blocks of this stretch of road.

one of our "reporters on the scene" took some video during his commute to work. oak street is getting some improvements. the actual ride is a bit precarious due to the construction. but nothing totally out of the complete ordinary on a workday commute.

have you noticed any bikey improvements going on in anticipation of bike to work day? SF's bike to work day is tomorrow, THURSDAY, may 9. when is yours in your town? SF tends to be earlier than normal. other than that in these parts of the interwebs bike to work day is everyday, of course.

friday fun times: biking for worker's rights

2013-05-03T08:13:00.002-07:00

i, unfortunately, was unable to participate in may day festivities/marches/protests this year as i have a new job. ironically. as such, didn't feel comfortable enough to take off. and also had a board meeting that night. one of my infamous 12-hour work days. i hope next year's may day will be different.

anyway, here are some bikey and work type things i saw on may day, which was wednesday.

saw a cyclist on her way back from a civic center demonstration. she gave me permission to take her picture.

over where the work is never done, the new job has quite the bike commuter area.

you could adjust your pedals, or your headset...?

happy friday everyone! we are experiencing some crazy warm weather here in northern california. some people are complaining it might be too hot to bike. NO WAY! hehe.

also... congrats to the golden state warriors for chomping down on some denver nuggets. they advance to the next round in the nba western conference playoffs. we'll have to see how they fare against my san antonio spurs!

Arthursday: dschwen

2013-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

David Schwen is a Minneapolis based designer/illustrator type of person. I've been following him on instagram when I found out about his food pantone parings. And whaddya know? He has done some bikey designs too.

clitoral mass test ride

2013-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

last sunday three of us from SF headed over to oakland to do a test ride for the oakland-clitoral mass ride that is coming up may 25th.

i wont spoil the route as of yet, but here are some pics from the test ride.

pretty day.

behind and over the head. trying to get the meta shot.

we are kid and trailer friendly. her trailer says for drivers to give her 3 feet and that sometimes she rides with a kid or a dog or beer, but just to "please don't hit me."

so ready to see what sort of community decides to show up and support women identified folks on may 25th! there are rumors that the ovarian psycos might come down from LA. that would be a dream come true!

friday fun times: be a bike hero

2013-04-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

was walking around the neighborhood today on an errand...and saw this cuteness happen. i walked past then decided to go back and take a pic.

there was a bike locked up innocently. a tag was hanging from it saying, "thank you, you are a bike hero"

so even though this tag is totally viral marketing, it's cute, so who cares. :) and no need to click through or even scan a QR code. feel free to look them up on twitter.

take a deep breath, smell the wheel grease, and have a great weekend!

Arthursday: blanco y negro

2013-04-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

/Untitled by Thebasstardson, on Flickr
© Eric Albarrán | Photographer based in Mexico City.

KALW: social media helps find stolen bikes

2013-04-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

in all the excitement of losing (via theft) and finding joanie, i thought this would be appropriate to share.

KALW is one local SF public radio station. yes, we have more than one. they recently did a story on how social media can help find stolen bikes. listen to the epic (in the true sense of the word, not the recently overused version of the word) story of how one man found his stolen bike SIX YEARS LATER.

take a listen.

finding joanie

2013-04-22T13:46:00.001-07:00

well, was pretty devastated to be leaving for work on thursday morning to find my bike wasn't in the apartment entryway as it has been on and off for years. my roommate said he noticed the door was propped open, but no one moving anything in or out. that must have been when it happened.

i wrote this and posted it everywhere i could think of on social media. facebook, twitter, google +, flickr, pinterest, stolen bike registry, craigslist, filed a police report. set up an IFTTT.com account and had 5 recipes "spamming" my inbox and texts. i also went old school and took a picture of her to local bike shops. went to flea markets in sf, friends went to east bay flea markets. i looked around homeless encampments for chop shops and random bikes. and then i got numb and started to plan a life without joanie.

and of course i tagged Jenny Oh, that amazing reuniter of stolen bikes. she's basically the 6 degrees of kevin bacon for bike thievery. we had a few false starts out there, but it was awesome to know that eyes are out there and we're keeping a lookout for bikes to return to their rightful owners.

sure enough...someone saw her post on fb and this is what happened:

Well, basically, I woke up in the morning last Thursday and found a red bike in my front yard with the seat post sawed off and immediately said, "FUCK! Some random bike in my front yard, where the hell is mine?!" And mine was gone. Whoever stole hers, traded it out for mine. I think someone definitely scoped me out and knew that I had a bike. My friend Kelsey Simmen reached out to Jenny Oh to post about my bike and on Jenny's page, I saw a picture of Melyssa's bike and said, holy shit! I have that bike! I hope Karma pays me back.

so in order to pass that karma on forward, i'm posting a pic of Meryl's bike. you can contact us here, leave a comment, and i'll get in touch with her.

joanie did not escape unharmed, but she's back. and i can't believe it. power of social media and taking matters into our own hands is incredible!

it does not fix the inherent real issue of inadequate bike parking in apartment buildings, nor does it solve the issue of bike thieving jackholes, but it's something. it's community. and i'll take it.

thank you so much to everyone who retweeted, reposted, commented or just even thought, "wtf, someone stole joanie?!" a special shout out to those who went flea market and division street hunting with me. also to those two that bought me chocolate, it was much appreciated. as last week in america proved there are bad people in this world doing unheard of things (or just being a bike thief), but there are far more good people to counteract those actions.

also, 1/2 of her namesake is joan jett. don't mess with joanie.

STOLEN BIKE ALERT: Calitexican's red Raleigh mixte

2013-04-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

Posting for Calitexican while she files police report.
JOANIE BABY: raleigh mixte stolen from the Lower Haight last night.
Red Raleigh small frame (approx. a 49-51) with basket +Brooks saddle.
Spread the word, keep eyes peeled!

Um, I think someone stole joanie. I want to throw up. Sometime after 10:30 pm last night from my apartment entryway in lower haight.updated: also my bern helmet with reflective and sfbp sticker on back and two ulocks...

Arthursday: Our thoughts+love out to those affected this week

2013-04-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our thoughts and love are with Boston, MA & West, TX +anyone affected by it.

Last night I couldn't sleep.
Decided to do a quick little graphic.

HEAL SOON ♥ by meligrosa

You can download for free any version, fits in a letter size sheet.
Post/print it however/wherever you want, PDF is spokecard-ready. It is yours to share.

Life is so fragile.
xxom

east bay bike ride

2013-04-16T10:39:00.002-07:00

you guys. i LOVE the sequoia. LOVELOVELOVE. i'm so glad we found each other.

we took a ride to the east bay...

i don't know the east bay super well, but i know we met up in oakland, rode through berkeley's campus, and started CLIMBING out of campus until we found the nice grade on grizzly peak blvd that took us up.

this ride was virtually the opposite of the cinderella classic. that was relatively flat and long. this ride was about 25 miles with about 1600+ climbing (got two different numbers from two different methods of recording...which one to trust?).

good news is, looks like this bike and i are ready for marin rides. can't wait to see how she performs out there!

friday fun times: sassy pants

2013-04-12T08:17:00.001-07:00

so after the cinderella classic, there was OMGSHOPPING! and beer. we celebrated being done with an $8 fat tire and walked around a bit. cause, in case you haven't heard, women like to buy things. all these women like bikes. you make the connection.

these shorts were part of the fun stuff that i saw. designed by knights of mo' bay, who appears to be local. i particularly appreciated he was designing stuff for the female cyclist of color.

i decided to forgo the shorts, but walked away with a hat, a snap button jersey and shoe covers.

this weekend holds family time and marin century training ride in oakland. time to take the sequoia up some hills!

where are you going this weekend?

Arthursday: Oana Befort

2013-04-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

/All images by Oana

How adorable are these prints?
Oana Befort is an artist based in Romania.
Her illustrations and watercolors are so charming.

Upon coming across her work, I became an instant fan.
The very quiet magic details is what gets me, look at the necklance, that dress seam-dotted line and her left hand ring – not to mention the ankle booties.
Melt.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did :)

L I N K S
website: oanabefort.com
Oana's etsy store (super cute prints alert)

/All images posted with permission of the artist – thanks!

weekend ride report: cinderella classic 2013

2013-04-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

way too early on saturday i woke up and took bart to the east bay on one of its last destinations: dublin-pleasanton. i was meeting a couple of friends for the short drive from bart to the alameda county fairgrounds where the ride started.

the above shot was taken around 6:30am just before some guy rounded the corner to talk to me. he then determined i must be in law enforcement and walked away from me quickly.

at the fairgrounds it was rather empowering to see all these women of all ages and sizes ready to go on a ride. this event sells out every year at 2500 people, which is an indication that more rides like this are needed elsewhere.

some women were spandex queens ready to go fast. some were ready to have fun with tutus. one woman had one of those fake plastic butts with a diamond encrusted thong over her shorts. (how that was to ride in i don't know....)

some were the enforcers of the rules of the road and constantly shouted at people to PLEASE say on your left when you are passing or SLOWING when you are slowing. nothing wrong with doing those things, but perhaps it was her law enforcement tone. that guy on bart would have certainly changed his mind about me after that.

and more than a fair share of women brought their kids with them. one particular memorable mother had a kid on the back of her bike on a rack supported car seat. she was passing people up hills with that rather heavy load on her back. very impressive. other young girls were on their bikes riding in small packs of moms and kids. adorable and we cheered for them as we saw them.

as you can see, i brought the 1980s sequoia along for the ride. my thought with this bike is that it is going to replace my blue entry-level road bike that i feel i have outgrown. although it has a lot of gears on it, i don't particularly care for the gearing that it has. so i tested out the sequoia. i think it's a strong contender for the replacement. it has less gears than the blue bike, but it is smarter gearing. i push down on the pedals and this bike is ready to GOOOO. vroomvroom. nice.

i was able, for the most part, to keep up with my friend and her modern-day bianchi. for my first ride, i say we did a pretty good job. my little 1980s era avocet bike computer said we were going anywhere from 14-22mph. i'll have to confirm with her garmin. i'll have to figure out how to use the old school one more. or just upgrade, but i like that little thing. it looks identical to the one below.

for the ride itself, it was mostly flat with a few climbs. the 2nd leg was my favorite as far as just pure riding. the third leg included soul crushing winds that were combined with the most climbing. more like marin and SF "speed bumps," but with the wind, i was working more than a little bit. you could tell who was from SF, east bay hills or marin (other than the marin century / marin cyclist jerseys), because they kicked butt in the hills. i have joanie to thank for that since i didn't get a chance to train as much as i wanted to for this ride. she's a good training partner.

overall it was a fun ride. i was pleased with the sequoia's performance. time to take her out more in marin. i would like to do the ride again next year, and hopefully can have some more friends. my friend and i were already planning who we could ask and what our outfits would look like since we were horribly under-costumed for this event. less pink, more black. woot! but of course, whatever the look, they will have to match our bikes!

now that my knee seems to be better...2013 cycling season has begun!

Weekend troopers

2013-04-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

A little foto-moment to say CONGRATS for the big efforts, hard work and preparation to continue to do awesome accomplishments and have super fun while at it, our very own Calitexican and our friend Bill - completing the East Bay Cinderella (100km) and the Inaugural Rock and Roll SF Half Marathon (as well as a Bay swim the day before..)

→ and to all of you who do your personal best, and challenges time after time, whatever your very own goals may be.
ROCKSTARS ♥

friday fun times: sneak peek-a-boo.

2013-04-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

tomorrow is the cinderella classic. as i recall last year, the ride fell on the worst weather day of the year. my house was shaking, rain was pounding on the roof so hard, and the sky looked greenish gray. and the wind.

so, that's sort of what i woke up to last year. some hawdcora people went out, but most of the 2500 riders did not go or, if they went, did not finish the ride.

tomorrow looks to be vastly different. in short, it looks to be a beautiful day for a bike ride!

i'll be riding the 100km on this beauty. sneakpeekaboo.

took her out for a spin in the headlands not long ago. rode realllly nice. i've had a bum knee that's kept me from training as much as i would like, but i didn't want to make things worse. if the knee acts up, so be it. i can always sag out i guess. but looks like a long flat ride. just what i need to get back in the swing of things.

where is your bike taking you this weekend?

Arthursday: baseball y basketball

2013-04-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Margaux Rides Her Bicycle by Creature Comforts

Bikey representations of the A's Stomper & Giants' Lou Seal :)

Crafty fair shops in the Pumpkin festival 2012, in Half Moon Bay

Baseball season has started!
We are fans of Bay Area baseball – and Caryl in LA, maybe too :)

SF 2012/ OAK 2013
Last year, I was fortunate to go to the first game of the Giants 2012 opening series. This year I went to the first Oakland A's 2013 opening series game.

Jeff y big papi / SF Giants 2012 Opening Night (First 2 fotos above via my friend Jeff)

Oakland A's opening game 2013 (this week).

It has been a great last few years in Bay Area sports: the 2x World Series champs Giants, 49ers went to the Superbowl, the Oakland A's were AL West champs last year. The San Jose Sharks have also made it a few times into their conference finals. In college sports, this year Stanford women's basketball made it to the Sweet16, CAL men's basketball made it to the NCAA tournament, CAL women's basketball are in the Final Four! and now mi personal favorites, Golden State Warriors with a high possibility of making it to the playoffs(!!) EPIC.

2010 World Series winning game

Ratta y Richie

It is pretty rad that the SF Giants provide bike parking service. The rockstar parking peeps will take care of your ride while you watch the games.

June, 2009

Our very own Calitexican parks bikes in her sleep I'm sure ♥, and she is at the ballpark rather often. I'm sure she'll continue to share her bike parking adventures with us all. Or awesome bike party pictures like the one she took sometime last year:

“Representing the empire” by calitexican

All of us here in SF (Ade, CTX y yo) frequent the Giants as much as we can, and no doubt with KT.. even her cute dog is named after Posey ♥ :)

“Rookie on a walk” Foto via KT

In Oakland, the A's don't have that pimp bike valet parking across the Bay, but they do have $2 Wednesday BART days... make sure you are ready to listen to some metal, lots of drums and fans cheering like it's the World Series any game.

Cheater Crab!

- - -

Día de los Gigantes 2010

Diana's birthday 2010

Mixte Gals at Giants Game via KT, June 2010

2010 World Series winning game

Oakland A's 2012 AL West champs

2012 A's AL West series

A's banjo man

SWEEPSWEEP beer crew

Ratta y Guillermo. Detroit Tigers vs A's post season series.

This hat duo were so loud, super fun. Detroit Tigers vs A's post season series.

The Giants World Series game in 2012 was super mellow fun to celebrate (the city got pretty crazy once again) at a non-alcohol bar eating and enjoying a good time at StreatFood with Ade +fam, CTX +V, and crew. All ages, all good.

Anyways.
There are way more pictures and sports moments I am very glad to say “We were there” and to have shared with my family, friends and fellow fanatics. Good times!

Velcro checks out this season's schedule.

and if you have gotten this far, the above foto is from a decade ago at the Giants :)

For you fellow Dub fans, the WE BELIEVE 2007 Dallas series, my personal fave highlight..
OK that is all for now. GO SPORTS!
xxomeli

// Most fotos mine, a few borrowed from KT, my friend Jeff and this above from the internets/Big Bang Theory.

tandem bike friday!

2013-04-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

i've seen a few, but none with the front rack like that. he also said that it was usually set up for three people (for him and his kids).

if you are reading this, sorry i cut off your head...but no time at the stoplight to move back to get the full picture.

see any crazy fun bikes on your commute today?

oakland was sold out!

2013-04-02T12:32:00.002-07:00

oakland was sold out yesterday for the A's game and for bomba estereo, a band from colombia. what do they both have in common? putting a bike on it. of course.

put a bird on it! scraper bike that is!

put a bike on it en oaxaca...

bomba puts on a great show, saw them in ACL awhile back. last night tho, no bikes. we rented a zipcar since we knew these people like to party and put on a great show. i might be paying for it today, but life's short, right?

then just for fun, bomba estereo also brought on stage oakland's own, panama-bred, los rakas. i did a quick search for them on bikes. hmmph. gotta get them to work on that... ;) on a scraper bike perhaps?

black and white saturday

2013-03-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

happy weekend everyone!