Hope you are enjoying the steamy, sunny weather -- le temps idéal pour un faire du vélo. Enjoy!
Hope you are enjoying the steamy, sunny weather -- le temps idéal pour un faire du vélo. Enjoy!
I love Chinatown. I love manoeuvering on the sidewalk with the streetside vendors and parents with strollers. I love passing the elderly qui font leur marche, souvent en velo! I love love love fried rice, pho and bbq pork. And I'm lucky enough to live in a city with not just one, but two Chinatowns intra-muros.
There are days however, when I crave a different type of Chinatown. Sunday was one of these days. SerialJay and I hopped in the car and drove (*gasp* yes) up to Super-Mega Chinatown. It goes without saying that this Super-Mega Chinatown is in suburbia, aka the Kingdom of the Car.
Imagine our surprise to see not 1 or 2, but several bike racks plein a craquer! I'd never seen so many bikes here before, or at any mall for that matter, so I had to take some pix for proof!
Most of the bikes were of the typical household mountain bike variety, but there were a few vintage Raleighs poking about. There were other, more ingenious bikes as well...
Hmmm.
While it was inspiring to see so many bikes being ridden in the Kingdom of the Car, the way the bikes were locked up left a lot to be desired. If these same bikes were locked like this downtown, they would be ripe for picking! It's not enough to lock only your front wheel to the rack with a flimsy plastic chain! Don't believe me? Go see what Hal has to say.
Et parce que c'est lundi, and because we agree that cheese is delicious, cliquer ici.
My commute takes me from my east-side 'hood, through the trendy furniture district, which turns into the Financial district, before ending up in the so-called Clubland. SerialJay goes a bit further, into what I call Condoland.
On the first part of my journey, I'm pretty much a lone cyclist except for the rare velos heading in the opposite direction along King.
Once I hit the Financial District, I usually run into a group of gentlemen I like to call the "Cycling Suits". They invariably wear slacks (with ankle straps), dress shoes, checkered shirts and sporty helmets. And the cycle hard, like it's the Tour de France. Sometimes this brings a case of the giggles (especially when an empty child seat is involved), but in general I enjoy riding with them. Riding, not racing gents!
Once they all stop off at their respective office towers, I'm alone again, only now I'm in hipster territory. Fixies and vintage bicycles galore!
These are the people in my velohood, the people that I meet each day. So you can imagine my surprise when I passed this gentleman yesterday morning. A unicyclist commuting to work with a coffee in his hand. I'm sure you'll agree --he deserved a pic:)
Bon samedi!
I have a decision to make and I'm giving you, faithful reader, the chance to make it for me.
I like to name things. Not all things, but some things. Je n'y suis pour rien, il y a des choses qui me parlent. Like Murdoch. I knew his name even before we got him, and it just fit. There was no debate, he was Murdoch.
Which brings me to my own bicycle. You'll noticed that she hasn't been formally introduced. This is because we can't decide on her name.
I like Hibou, because she's small, silver and she flies!
But SerialJay thinks that I should call her La Push because
a) I'm cheesey
b) I like to say it (see above). It cracks me up. This qualifies as La Push and so does this. Using this logic I could also call my bike Taco Fettuccini Linguini Martini Bikini (pas besoin de lien pour ceux qui connaissent cette phrase ;).
So I'll let you decide. What do you think I should call my bike? Vote :)
I like to name things. Not all things, but some things. Je n'y suis pour rien, il y a des choses qui me parlent. Like Murdoch. I knew his name even before we got him, and it just fit. There was no debate, he was Murdoch.
Which brings me to my own bicycle. You'll noticed that she hasn't been formally introduced. This is because we can't decide on her name.
I like Hibou, because she's small, silver and she flies!
But SerialJay thinks that I should call her La Push because
a) I'm cheesey
b) I like to say it (see above). It cracks me up. This qualifies as La Push and so does this. Using this logic I could also call my bike Taco Fettuccini Linguini Martini Bikini (pas besoin de lien pour ceux qui connaissent cette phrase ;).
So I'll let you decide. What do you think I should call my bike? Vote :)
J'adore les jupes et les robes (comme la plupart des femmes). I'm also a big fan of my bike. However, I was a bit apprehensive about getting on the Hibou in anything without pant legs. I'm not the only one who feels this way. At first, I rode around with leggings underneath my outfit and then would take them off take them off at my destination (read: work). But when our short summer finally arrived and it was time to ditch the leggings!
For me, the key is finding the right skirt/dress to ride in. I don't have skirt guards, so the skirt can't be too long. Too short is obviously not an option. The material should have some weight to it, so it won't be easily blown upwards and create a "parachute" effect. Fluidity in the fabric is nice too, for comfort. The girls over at Let's Go Ride a Bike have some great tips too.
Vélo Cité
About Us
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C'est simple, on fait du vélo dans la ville. Conquering little a's fear of streetcar lines, one bike ride at a time. Casques vélo pas obligatoires pour les expatriés.
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