Showing posts with label April. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April. Show all posts
April, W North Ave & N Honore St, Chicago, IL
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| April rides a Trek Belleville step-through she calls Michelle. |
What are you wearing? calf-high, high-heeled leather boots I received for Christmas a couple years ago. I started wearing heels again since taking up riding. As the saying goes, it’s much easier than walking in them...and unlike travel by car or train you can go to door to door on a bike. My coat is a Cambridge Raincoat, which is especially designed for cyclists. It is made of water-proof material and has reflective ribbon on the buttons, cuffs, and belt. Underneath I am wearing a sleeveless turtleneck I created from an oversized button-up sweater I bought it at a thrift store. It’s made from the softest merino wool and has lovely chocolate brown stripes. My legwarmers are from the same sweater. My skirt is felted wool, also from a thrift store.
Make/model color of your bike, and where you got it?
My bike soul mate is a Trek Belleville. I call her Michelle, like the song “Michelle ma belle…” She is cream and blue colored. I bought her off of Craigslist from a couple moving to Portland but she originally came from Turin Bicycles in Evanston.
Where are you going? I am on my way home after attending the Women Who Bike Brunch.
Why ride? -Biking is more than a form of transformation. It’s a philosophy and a lifestyle. I started biking because I wanted an eco-friendly mode of travel, but what I discovered was something so much more. Biking is fun, healthy and free! On a bike the city opens up to you; you can go anywhere without restraints of “L” stops, bus routes, traffic headaches or parking struggles. Suddenly the city is full of wonderful places worth going to. When you travel by bike you feel the wind in your face, you smell food from vendors and flowers; you hear music from street performers and kids playing in parks. The world does not rush you by, insular and behind glass, instead you are smack in the middle experiencing it live and in full color. I am also amazed by the Chicago bicycling community. Thanks to The Chainlink and blogs like Let’s Go Ride A Bike and Bike Fancy (of course) I feel like I’m part of an exclusive fun-loving club.
Favorite ride? I think every ride is my favorite. I do tend to ride east on Wilson pretty frequently. Milwaukee Avenue, especially south of Montrose is fun because it is like a superhighway for bikes. I recently took a contract job in Niles and got to commute on the North Branch Trail. It was so peculiar to be battling the traffic on Milwaukee one minute and then to be speeding down a tranquil path through the woods, over bridges and past grazing deer. It was definitely the most peaceful commute I have experienced. Of course nothing compares to riding the Lake Front Path with the wind in your hair and the lake splashing up beside you. Conclusion: Chicago is a fantastic city for riding!
While riding you …? Think. I work through plot holes in the novel I’m writing, brainstorm post ideas for my blog or compose cover letters for jobs I’m vying for. Surprisingly, this does not keep me from paying attention to where I’m going and enjoying the scenery.
How can Chicago improve bike infrastructure or make Chicago more bike friendly?
Well, I think we are headed in the right direction with the promised 100 miles of protected bike lanes. Anything that can be done to make biking as transportation accessible and appealing to regular people especially Parents and senior citizens is a boon to our city. In addition to building of bicycle infrastructure I would advise reduced speed limits on streets with bike lanes and enforcement of the 3-foot passing distance rule. My neighborhood (Jefferson Park) is populated by many senior citizen cyclists, however the majority do not feel safe riding on the streets and stick to the sidewalks. When Grandma has to “break the law” just to feel safe going to the grocery store, it is a clear indication of a need for change.
I love your legwarmers, where did you get them?
I made them!v It’s really easy to make cozy wool legwarmers from the sleeves of an old sweater. Simply cut them off near the shoulders. Determine how tall you want them to be. Cut straight across the top. Turn them inside out. Measure a length of elastic (available at craft stores) to fit either your shin or thigh depending on how tall you want them. Hand- or machine-stitch it shut so that it creates a circle. Slide this onto the top of the legwarmer about 1-2 inches from the edge. Fold the fabric down to cover the elastic and create a hem. Stretch the legwarmer and the band around something while you pin it, making sure the hem is even. Then, sew all the way around (a zig-zag stitch works nicely on a machine). Turn them right-side out and voila, you’ve got cozy legwarmers!
Make/model color of your bike, and where you got it?
My bike soul mate is a Trek Belleville. I call her Michelle, like the song “Michelle ma belle…” She is cream and blue colored. I bought her off of Craigslist from a couple moving to Portland but she originally came from Turin Bicycles in Evanston.
Where are you going? I am on my way home after attending the Women Who Bike Brunch.
Why ride? -Biking is more than a form of transformation. It’s a philosophy and a lifestyle. I started biking because I wanted an eco-friendly mode of travel, but what I discovered was something so much more. Biking is fun, healthy and free! On a bike the city opens up to you; you can go anywhere without restraints of “L” stops, bus routes, traffic headaches or parking struggles. Suddenly the city is full of wonderful places worth going to. When you travel by bike you feel the wind in your face, you smell food from vendors and flowers; you hear music from street performers and kids playing in parks. The world does not rush you by, insular and behind glass, instead you are smack in the middle experiencing it live and in full color. I am also amazed by the Chicago bicycling community. Thanks to The Chainlink and blogs like Let’s Go Ride A Bike and Bike Fancy (of course) I feel like I’m part of an exclusive fun-loving club.
Favorite ride? I think every ride is my favorite. I do tend to ride east on Wilson pretty frequently. Milwaukee Avenue, especially south of Montrose is fun because it is like a superhighway for bikes. I recently took a contract job in Niles and got to commute on the North Branch Trail. It was so peculiar to be battling the traffic on Milwaukee one minute and then to be speeding down a tranquil path through the woods, over bridges and past grazing deer. It was definitely the most peaceful commute I have experienced. Of course nothing compares to riding the Lake Front Path with the wind in your hair and the lake splashing up beside you. Conclusion: Chicago is a fantastic city for riding!
While riding you …? Think. I work through plot holes in the novel I’m writing, brainstorm post ideas for my blog or compose cover letters for jobs I’m vying for. Surprisingly, this does not keep me from paying attention to where I’m going and enjoying the scenery.
How can Chicago improve bike infrastructure or make Chicago more bike friendly?
Well, I think we are headed in the right direction with the promised 100 miles of protected bike lanes. Anything that can be done to make biking as transportation accessible and appealing to regular people especially Parents and senior citizens is a boon to our city. In addition to building of bicycle infrastructure I would advise reduced speed limits on streets with bike lanes and enforcement of the 3-foot passing distance rule. My neighborhood (Jefferson Park) is populated by many senior citizen cyclists, however the majority do not feel safe riding on the streets and stick to the sidewalks. When Grandma has to “break the law” just to feel safe going to the grocery store, it is a clear indication of a need for change.
I love your legwarmers, where did you get them?
I made them!v It’s really easy to make cozy wool legwarmers from the sleeves of an old sweater. Simply cut them off near the shoulders. Determine how tall you want them to be. Cut straight across the top. Turn them inside out. Measure a length of elastic (available at craft stores) to fit either your shin or thigh depending on how tall you want them. Hand- or machine-stitch it shut so that it creates a circle. Slide this onto the top of the legwarmer about 1-2 inches from the edge. Fold the fabric down to cover the elastic and create a hem. Stretch the legwarmer and the band around something while you pin it, making sure the hem is even. Then, sew all the way around (a zig-zag stitch works nicely on a machine). Turn them right-side out and voila, you’ve got cozy legwarmers!
April, Campbell and Milwaukee, Chicago, IL
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| April rides a Champange colored Pugeot called Jolene |
What are you wearing? I thought I looked pretty ridiculous on my way out today...it was too warm for a jacket but cold enough for Smartwool socks and lobster-claw gloves, apparently. All my clothes are secondhand except for the Tour de Fat hat, comfy knit neckwarmer my lovely friend Julie just made me, Seagull messenger bag, and Aldo (sale shop) shoes. I'm also wearing a Major Taylor button that I made, because he was pretty much a badass. Got these pants from a West Town Bikes women's night clothing swap, by the way, and I think I found this sweatshirt on my friend Jeff's porch? I'm not usually this color-coordinated, but I ALWAYS wear my helmet while riding.
Tell me about your bike? This is Jolene, my mostly-Craigslisted, currently-mustachioed Peugeot. I believe the color would be "champagne". She's sporting a cardboard basket-stache in honor of 826CHI's annual "Mustacheathon" fundraiser. The event has been over for a few weeks now but you can still support my favorite nonprofit's excellent free writing programs for Chicago youth, and see Jolene in her fully mustached glory, at www.826chi.org/moustache.
Where are you going? Home from downtown to pick up my other bike/panniers to go grocery shopping. (the snickerdoodle cupcake in my basket isn't going to cut it)
Why ride? Well...Because it's Fun. It's Exercise. It's good for the Environment. And it's free Transportation. And if you take the first letter from each of those reasons it spells FEET, which is exactly what you use to ride your bike! (Sorry, did I mention I got paid to teach fifth graders that for two years?)
While riding you …? Stick my tongue out a lot to relieve road rage.
Tell me about your bike? This is Jolene, my mostly-Craigslisted, currently-mustachioed Peugeot. I believe the color would be "champagne". She's sporting a cardboard basket-stache in honor of 826CHI's annual "Mustacheathon" fundraiser. The event has been over for a few weeks now but you can still support my favorite nonprofit's excellent free writing programs for Chicago youth, and see Jolene in her fully mustached glory, at www.826chi.org/moustache.
Where are you going? Home from downtown to pick up my other bike/panniers to go grocery shopping. (the snickerdoodle cupcake in my basket isn't going to cut it)
Why ride? Well...Because it's Fun. It's Exercise. It's good for the Environment. And it's free Transportation. And if you take the first letter from each of those reasons it spells FEET, which is exactly what you use to ride your bike! (Sorry, did I mention I got paid to teach fifth graders that for two years?)
While riding you …? Stick my tongue out a lot to relieve road rage.
How can Chicago improve bike infrastructure or make Chicago more bike friendly? More enforced education of bike laws: I honestly wonder why there are signs for every other parking restriction but nothing telling drivers that parking in a bike lane is illegal.
*** Check out April's Homemade buttons on Etsy. She takes custom requests at aprilbuttons@gmail.com
She also has a blog: http://silverfoxter.tumblr.
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