> January 2011 | CITY GIRL RIDES

weekend rain ride

1/31/2011

it unexpectedly rained this weekend here in the bay area and this time i was prepared! rain boots, oil cloth panniers, rain coat, and glasses for a dry ride. i have an issue with the weather gods where they like to do a rain dance whenever i'm riding but to my disappointment the day i was actually prepared, it didn't rain. the jokes on me. oh well, i'll be ready for it next time. yet, it looks like there's going to be dry rides and clear skies for the rest of the week. yippie! this calls for lots of good rides including a  second sf bike par-tay! (stay tuned). hope you all had a lovely weekend!

inspiration & finds to ride along with

1/30/2011

this beautiful skirt guard found on Etsy shop JustDo, if i wasn't so horrible at knitting and crocheting i would probably make my own.
Miriam's new bike
this classic photo of vintage ladies on beautiful vintage bikes found on tumblr
Simple oval earrings made using recycled bicycle inner tubes with an elegant white lace overlay. Everything but the hooks and the jump rings are recycled. 
All earrings are hand cut, painted and assembled by Girl on Bike in Oakland, California.
these beehive knit finglerless gloves sold through Public Bikes
Melissa and Ignazio are a (husband and wife) duo dedicated to the things they  - design and bikes.  They are also the engine behind Molletta Design and the Biciband! found through fortheloveofbikes.
love these Dosun J-1 Safety Light Up Pedals by Public Bikes.
I have a tendency to get stuck in the rain on my rides and i think this Basil Rosa-Rain Hood made of waterproof material would be a great remedy to curing a dripping helmet from soaking my face.

hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and your sunday is splendid. i wanted to start a little weekend post of bicycle finds that get sent to me by readers, friends, and sights that i like to look at. every now and then i like to shop for my bike and always end up finding some pretty awesome things that are useful for riding, sometimes i just like to browse and find vintage photos of bikes, and other times, i find ladies who ride having new adventures on bike. these are the things that inspire me to find ways to manage riding. what kinds of things inspire you to ride?

baby's got a new rack...

1/28/2011


lately i've been on the search of a new bike back rack. i had a dilemna with my old rack as it was too small to hold my panniers and not as sturdy as i would like it to be. it even snapped on me from so much friction on road, not very safe. for me this is a commuting problem because i carry heavy school books, groceries, shopping finds, and other items every day. yesterday i made a quick stop to my favorite neighborhood bike shop Homespun where my friends Jesse and Ami fixed me up with this adorable used rack, even has a light reflector, very handy. since the new semester requires more items to carry on bike, i am super stoked to have a reliable rack that can hold EVERYTHING i need to carry on a daily basis. thanks jesse and ami!

bay area weekend events & love

 It meets at Pee Wee Herman Plaza (foot of Market Street) at 5:30 on the last Friday of every month
more info at SF Critical Mass
Wrenching for Health Services! A Benefit for Lyon Martin
Friday, January 28 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm
650H Florida between 18th & 19th, San Francisco

Brakes Workshop 6-8 PM January 30th at Homespun 494 Wesley Ave, Oakland
Spokeland will be running a workshop at Homespun this coming Sunday covering brakes.  The first hour of the workshop will be a class on brakes taught by mechanics. The second hour will be time for questions and answers, as well as helping you diagnose and fix any problems with your brakes.This event is free, but donations are always encouraged! 

i have to share this again but if you have nothing else to do over the weekend and just want to ride away, look up  5 great bike rides in Oakland and discover another side of the bay area.

if you feel like getting all crafty with your bike over the weekend, make a bicycle skirt guard!

hope this inspires you to get out and ride! i plan on doing some fun d.i.y. projects with my bike so i hope to bring you some fun post this next week. happy friday and with all the lovely weather and bicycle rides, have a great weekend!


love

1/26/2011



- super stoked about our Bay Area weather forecast for the week, sorry winter riders, much love to you but this means bike riding all day long for us Cali kids!

- i'm loving these features of creative bicycle blogger women on my hyggelig. crafty bike chicks galore, who knew?!

-much anticipated book Wheels of Change: How Women Rode The Bicycle To Freedom was just published by National Geographic, i need to get my hungry reading eyes on it. more on the book here.

- my girl Christie from the City Birds Nest was featured in Crafted Love  today with some great tips on how to shop for a bike, good stuff to know. Girl's got some Bike Chic/Bike Chick Tips on her Wednesday posts too. 

- someone finally thought of me in my new city and thought i would appreciate 5 great bike rides in Oakland. thank you! now i'm itching for rides all over this place!

- made buddies with my neighborhood bike shop Homespun. i'm in love with all they do bike and craft, they got classes from learning how to fix your breaks, gardening, and baking pies. i'll be doing a featured post on them soon.


i need to get into the habit of sharing the amazing things i read about bikes on the interwebs. i read so many fascinating articles and interviews daily that they are just too good to not tell you! hope you enjoy reading and pedaling along with them.
*ding ding*

todays reason to bicycle

(thought i'de bring this feature back! it's always fun looking for reasons to pedal everyday.)

todays reason to bicycle: red legs to match Wendy and it's still sunny in Cali.

good morning commute.

1/25/2011

now that school is in session and work is still in sf, i found ways to make my commute across the bay a fun and simple ride. luckily for me i work in the super early mornings so bart is never really an issue to haul my wendy on board. the greatest thing i love about my commute is that i always get that beautiful image of the lake with lots of sunshine to guide the way and some alone time to read a good book and drink my morning coffee. it's a breath of fresh air before i work and study the day away. although there are days when i miss my full thirty minute hectic commute in the city to work. what can i say? i left my hear in san francisco.
what's your favorite thing about your morning commute? do tell!

bicycling into a new semester

1/24/2011

it's been a delightful weekend of good weather and bike rides to pair nicely with it. as the new semester begins i take into account the little time i have left to myself to blog and ride away to wherever i please. i'm okay with that, as long as i get to do the things i love every so often. it's nice knowing that campus is full of bike riders and even has a little fixie crew that hangs in the quad. every now and then i'll get to meet a rider and talk about our greatest loves, our bikes. it's fun learning from each other and later planning a ride to study or hang out over burgers and beer, makes for good rides. but alas, i'm excited to enter a new semester as a double major in both english and urban studies, where the bicycle is greatly adored in both of these departments. i hope to capture the culture of bicycles on campus and perhaps have some really fun conversations over wheels and such. wish me luck!

Tips On Bicycle Style

1/21/2011

One thing i've learned in life is to not let one's passions dictate everything in life, that's why I write about my adventures on bike, because doing and sharing one thing you love can be incorporated into all parts of one's lifestyle but doesn't have to dictate it and it inspires others to do the same.

cali sun and exploration

1/19/2011

with some good weather to guide our rides, the boy and i took a recent lovely spin in our new city to get a dose of vitamin d and some fresh air. the weather was beautiful and there was no need for a sweater or jacket! the lake near by home was filled with walkers, runners, dogs, children, birds, and bikes that it was just perfect to take advantage of any sun we were kissed with. although the bay area is famous for foggy, windy, rainy days around winter time, we have been getting a little luck with dodging the 27 days of constant rain, can't complain! days like these make me more grateful for being a cali girl and it's nice not being stuck in the rain for once too. as i continue to discover the east bay, i'm asking for locals to send some recommendations on neighborhoods and places to visit, eat, drink, shop, ride and hang out at. the boy and i are setting aside an adventure date this weekend, any suggestions? 
xoxo

dear east bay, let's be friends...

1/18/2011


as a new resident in the east bay, i'm looking to build connections out here to help build this blog into something that supports the bike community of the east bay. if anyone out there would like to share an event, a group ride, a new bike shop, local hand made bike products, etc. please do not hesitate to contact me at citygirlrides@gmail.com. i love to support my bicyclists and cities determination on building a bike friendly community. i'm also looking for events to share, rides to tag along, and people to meet and ride with. for now, i'll keep looking for you riders out there.
xoxo

a belated sf bike birthday party recap

as i recap on some things that have been postponed to blog, i bring you a belated post of san francisco 's first bike party on jan 7. happy birthday was the theme and many riders came out to party and ride the night away. being the night before i moved, i went in mind that this night was kind of a moving away party from the city and a riding token to remind me of our riding adventures. i was amazed at the turnout and super honored to meet new friends and bloggy fans on the road. people from the east bay and san jose area came out to party with us and make the night more memorable. as always, i like to bring my favorite date to a party,  Jessica, who always makes a ride magical. the crowd was super enthusiastic, fun, respectful, cautious, positive, and an awesome group to ride with. as hilly, chilly, and silly it was, it was definitely a memorable ride  to date and as busy as i was, i'm glad i made the energy and time to go. as the second sf bike party approaches, i definitely plan to be there to gather more tokens of our adventures and kiss the city streets that raised me on two wheels. see you  next month!

city girl rides new look

1/17/2011

photos: srslyliz

with a new year, in a new city, a new adventure always awaits. as for the blog, i gave it a new look by one of my favorite designers, SRSLY LIZ. last year i had discovered her great love for white space and an overall admired  sense of design. she was the one i wanted to redesign city girl rides above all. as soon as i got in contact with her, i came to find out that she and her boy glen also ride bikes! you see where this is going? a fireworks connection inspired by a mutual adored Dottie Angel took us to this whimsical design. and so, i hope my dear friends, that you will enjoy this new look and the new adventures to go with it. and perhaps you'll want to support and befriend a dear friend to me too, thank you liz!

if you’re interested in design work please check out her portfolio for samples & rate information.

riding to a new view


hello friends, i'm back! it's been a week sans blogging as i made my big move to the east bay where i must say that i'm just in love! it's absolutely lovely here in every way. since, much of my little free time has been spent setting up house, exploring new parts of my neighborhood, preparing for a new semester, making friends with neighbors, getting puppy sherlock house trained, connecting with local bike shops, and building community around us. luckily it hasn't been hard here, having an outgoing personality helps, and everyone is just so supportive and encouraging here, thank you. after all the hard work, i FINALLY got to get a good ride in  with one of my favorite bike chicks, Christie of City Birds Nest. if you haven't read her blog yet, you'll find that she is a craft making, treasure hunting, owl loving, stylish bike goddess! girls got good taste and skills. on our bicycle adventure we grabbed some coffee, some riding fuel, then took a little ride around Lake Merrit, which has a beautiful landscape, a spacious surrounding bike path, and a sight of wild birds to watch and feed. i'm so lucky to live near this! there are really so many beautiful things about this lake and move that i love and look forward to sharing. with great anticipation, i hope to bring you so many wonderful adventures, treasure finds, and inspiration to get you on that saddle and ride away, you never know what life adventures are waiting for you!

happy friday and farewells!

1/07/2011

farewell san francisco, this weekend is my last of living here for the next two years. i know i'm just across the pond but there is so much to do. i'm going to miss this city and all it's loveliness and weirdness but i'm also looking forward to new beginnings too. due to my schedule and moving, i'm going to take the next couple of days off the blog and organize our new home as well as take some awesome rides, there's a lake literally down the street from my house! i hope everyone has an awesome weekend and when i return i promise to bring you some really wonderful adventures in my new city! happy friday!
 xoxo
cgr

riding to new adventures

1/06/2011

my final days are coming to a close as the days are coming closer to our BIG move! i'll still be riding in sf regardless but it won't be as easy as carrying my bike down three flights of stairs, jumping on my saddle, and riding onto the city streets. regardless, i'm spending my days to the max at my favorite restaurants and cafe's with my best friends. what's better than savoring your favorite treasures with the ones you love?
of course i'll miss the habits of frequenting certain coffee shops, restaurants, produce stores, and lovely sights, but they'll become missions now. and of all things, i'll miss our little community on 30th and church st.
 i love exploring on bike and i cannot wait to start my new adventures in a new city! my heart will always be in San Francisco but no matter where i'm at, life will always hold new adventures to ride to.

s.f. bike party kick off!

SF Bike Party's first ride January 7, 2010!
Meet up at 7:30 PM at Giants Stadium, Willie Mayes Gate and start riding at 8 PM.
Click here for google map route
San Francisco Bike Party is held on the 1st FRIDAY at 8pm every month.
We encourage people to bring POSITIVITY and CONTRIBUTE to good times while being RESPECTFUL to others. The rides are FUN and SAFE with stops to DANCE and SOCIALIZE along the way.
We follow PLANNED ROUTES exploring all different parts of the city each month.
HOW WE RIDE:
- Stay in the right lane
- Stop at red lights
- Leave nothing and nobody behind
- Ride predictably and in control
- Roll past conflict
- When in doubt, “bike party!!”

hope to see you there ready to blow out some candles! *ding ding*

new years goals

1/03/2011

new years goals, i love them! there's the simple act of making lists and checking them off at the end of the year that gives me pleasure in saying i lived this year to the fullest.  i'm excited to share with you some of my goals for the coming year, some are personal and some are for fun and bike related, here it goes... New Bike, preferably a Public A7, hopefully i will be riding it very soon. Wear Red Lipstick Regularly, i love wearing red lipstick and need to bring it back, like, everyday! France Cycle Tour, i will be studying abroad this summer and a cycle tour is in order after my studies. Take a Knit/Sewing Course, i want to learn how to make my own gloves, scarfs, pillows, and alter my vintage dresses without paying an arm and leg to do so. Learn to Bake, our new home has the perfect kitchen to do so and i plan on utilizing it to its full capacity, cupcakes, cookies, pies, and cakes are in order!

what are your new years resolutions? or any exciting plans or adventures you want to have? i can't wait to share with you the plans i have in store for this blog this year to come too. i even made it a point to write my new years goals in the front of my planner and journal to remind myself of the things i hope to achieve and obtain as the year goes by, being more goal and plan oriented was one personal goal too, i know, i'm a real go getter. it's a great way to start the first week of the new year too, hope you make it a great one!
xoxo, cgr.

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