CicLAvia Spring 2011!

CicLAvia is more than just a one-off now. Today was the second CicLAvia event in Los Angeles, with two more to come this year!!! It was another fantastic day. The weather was perfect. Sunny with highs in the 60's. Here a few choice pics from the day.

 The tallest (and most colorful) tall bike I've ever seen!

 My bike twin. Rockin' the Bianchi Milano.

 She went for a basket while I went for the rack and panniers.

 Just a couple of dapper dudes. (Check out the Swiss army bag pannier. Nice.)

 Lissette and Nick enjoying the food along the CicLAvia route.

 Havin' a great day!

 Belly full. Ready to set out.

 Looking a bit like a Swobo spokesperson.

 Cute girl with a Public bike.

 Cute guy and bike twin to my beau! (Riding a Masi Speciale Fixed)

 The sights at Hollenbeck Park - AKA the end of the line.

 Folks resting up after a long ride.

 Cute girl with a vintage Centurion.

 My CicLAvia buddies!

 How awesome is this? He made the frame himself (for $16!). The bike weighs 155 lbs.

 Nick bought himself a Bike Bucket. Nice.

:)

In case you're wondering why I didn't ride the new Pashley - there are a couple of reasons. First, I can't fit that bike in my car. Second, there are some hills on the CicLAvia route that I would not enjoy tackling on the Pashley! The Bianchi is decidedly lighter and zippier.

Beautiful Beach Commute.

Friday evening commute.

I have a feeling that as long as I am this temporary office by the beach and my commute includes this lovely bit of beach bike path, there will be a lot of pictures like this. :)

The sunsets have been so beautiful this past couple of weeks in Los Angeles. The harvest moon on the equinox was just incredible. It's been a lovely time to be out on the bike.

Gratuitous Bianchi Beauty Shot.

Over on Tumblr it's GPOYW - Gratuitous Picture Of Yourself Wednesday. Here it's GPOMBW Gratuitous Picture Of My Bike Wednesday! Enjoy.

Taken on a week day lunch break - Santa Monica bike path.

Test Riding a Vintage Mixte.

In an earlier post I mentioned that I'm looking for a project bike that I can refurbish, build up as a single speed, and basically use as a training ground for how to fix a bike. To that end, I test rode this vintage mixte.

I liked the bike, but I'm not convinced it's the right one for me. Really I'd like to find something that is cheaper and more stripped down since I will most likely be replacing most of the components. It's really the frame that I'm after. This one was going for $260.  The same day on Craigslist a mixte frame that was already re-powder coated was selling for $100 but I just missed it. I think that would have been perfect!

The bike's owner thought I was a bit unstable when I asked him to take a picture of me on the bike. I fibbed and told him it was so I could better gauge the fit of the bike.

After assuring the bike's owner that I could indeed test a ride a bike in platforms, I gave the bike a spin keeping in mind Velouria's tips for what to look for in a vintage mixte. The mixte had really skinny tires and was positively racy compared to my Bianchi Milano. I was a little apprehensive about trying to shift gears since I'm used to an idiot proof internal gear hub and don't have much experience with derailleurs and no experience at all with those downtube shifters. I did manage to shift into a higher gear once and it was kind of thrilling! My overall impression was how much faster this bike goes compared to mine with the same amount of effort. One feature on the bike that I really liked was that it had brake levers in two positions on the drop handle bars. That made me feel a lot more secure riding with such a different style handle bars.

I'm glad I got to try this bike but I will continue to look.

This post is an entry for the "Let's Go Ride a Bike" Summer Games. (Learning Experiences - Test ride a different type of bike than you normally ride.)

Jessica Schroeder is my Bike Twin!

(Photos via What I Wore)

Recently Jessica Schroeder over at her wonderful fashion blog "What I Wore" announced that she just bought a new bike. And that new bike happens to be a Bianchi Milano! Being the style maven that she is, she even managed to accessorize the bike perfectly - finding a basket that actually looks good on it. I've never been able to find the right basket for this bike.


Originally I wandered over to her sight because another bike blog had pointed out her cute vintage bike that she rides around Brooklyn. Well I guess it was finally time to turn that bike in.


Congratulations, Jessica, on your new bike! I hope you enjoy it!


I don't know why it's so fun to spot bike twins.  Do you look for your bike twins around your town and on the internet?

Mar Vista Turkey Ride.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed our first group ride on Thanksgiving morning.  The Mar Vista Turkey Ride includes eight impressive hills.  After conquering them, we felt better about filling our bellies with turkey.

Preparing for the ride.

Topping off the tubes.  My boyfriend's ride: a Masi Speciale Fixed (2009)

The cyclists begin to gather.

Pre-ride chit chat.

Ready to take off!

Here we go.

The finish line.  I got back before my boyfriend (center), but I think may have skipped a hill!

Feeling good after the ride!

We did it!

The reward!

It Came to Me in a Flash.

I’ve had my Bianchi Milano Alfine for about 6 months now and I really like it but…I’ve been dreaming of other bikes.  Something about it is a bit sluggish and heavy.  Part of me wants something zippier, lighter, more efficient.  I stare longingly whenever I see a cool girl coasting by on a single speed or fixie with not a care in the world, nothing but a messenger bag on her back.  I myself am eternally carrying two panniers on my rear rack.  So here’s what came to me:  I need a fast, simple, single speed bike (and a messenger bag) and a slow, comfortable, plush bike that’s good at hauling stuff.  My current bike is somewhere in between and doesn’t really satisfy either need quite well enough.  So what kind of bikes would suit these needs?  Perhaps a Surly Steamroller and a Pashley Princess Sovereign?  I think to have 2 such different bikes would be divine!  The single speed for when I just want a light bike I can jump on and go – a bike that can easily be brought up the stairs at my office or my boyfriend’s house.  And the Pashley for shopping trips, leisure rides, tweed rides, or whenever I just really need gears.  

The dream pair?

Almost Cycle Chic.

Despite the optimistic subtitle of this blog, I'm not all that stylish most of the time when I ride my bike.  Here's one night I got pretty close though.

My ride: A Bianchi Milano Alfine

A Lovely Evening in L.A.