biking in cold weather

Chicks did about 28 miles today, started out at 39 degrees and rose to 52 degrees. This is not really cold weather but it does take some good gear to survive a ride in these temps.

We all had long tights, thick socks and some type of windstopper or good jacket. A nice headband that covers your ears is necessary as well.

Re-visit the blog page where I discuss winter clothing.

I do plan on TRYING to run a ride every Saturday. As long as it is not snowing and not below 32 degrees, I will try to run a ride. Biking through the winter makes a HUGE difference on your riding next spring and summer.

Hanging the bike up for the winter is just NOT necessary. You miss a good amount of riding and it can be equally fun.

suburbs and country have ZERO bike infrastructure

Here in West Chester, PA, we have nothing in place to support folks biking to work. We have many roads that are narrow with no shoulders, we have no bike lanes and we have no bike to school safely routes either. There seems to be little interest in providing anything for the residents of Chester County. Car is king in the burbs!

We have had the Chester Valley Trail in progress for 20 yrs, when, if ever built, will provide a bike route from WC to King of Prussia. This trail should have been completed years ago. I just hope I am not dead by the time this trail completes.

My boro council should be right now making plans to get a bike lane in place to connect the boro to the Chester Valley Trail. Right now there is no way to get to the trail from the boro except by car. The roads to the trail have NO shoulders at all and carry high speed traffic. This leaves the kids in the boro unable to access the trail. What does my boro council do?? talk about how to keep West Chester historical. Well it is historical alright, good for horse and buggies on the back roads.

The boro streets are jammed with cars and absolutely no places for bikes. No bike racks either.
When PennDOT resurfaces roads, what do they choose out here in Chester County??? tar and chip, the worst surface known to mankind for the cyclist.

Counties with high traffic roads get macadam, we would not want the cars on rough roads. Biking out in the burbs is not for the faint hearted. You must be in good enough shape to cover 15-20 miles, about the average commute to work, you must have a good bike and good bike gear.

If we had some decent bike trails, which tend to be flat, more folks could bike. And more folks could bike with less than great bikes. Biking in my county is a hilly job. Biking in my county requires gears and shifting knowledge. Biking in the burbs is a sport and not for commuting. Too bad!

obscenely healthy holiday food

Nancy's Pumpkin Bars

• 2 omega-3 eggs (or 1 whole egg + 1/3 cup egg whites, or can use all egg whites)
  1 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoons molasses
  1 tablespoon vanilla
  3 scoops Swanson Whey Protein Vanilla Powder
• 1/3 cup Swanson Milled Flaxseed
• 2-3 tablespoons Swanson Organic Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (approximately) of each:
  • Swanson Organic Ground Nutmeg
  • Swanson Organic Ground Ginger
  • Clove
  • All spice
  • Pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon Swanson Himalayan Crystal Salt
• 1 teaspoon NuNaturals More Fiber Baking Blend
• 2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
• 1 cup Swanson Organic Walnuts, toasted
• Swanson Organic Ground Cinnamon, sprinkle to taste
• 
  

Directions:

1. Spray 9 x 9 baking pan with canola oil.

2. Using a 14 cup food processor, blend eggs until creamy.

3. Add cottage cheese, molasses and vanilla to eggs. Blend until thick and creamy (approximately 1 minute).

4. Add one can of pumpkin at a time to the mixture, blending in between.

5. Add remaining ingredients, except nuts, and blend until mixed.

6. Mix in nuts until blended.

7. Taste the batter to check sweetness. Add some stevia or more spices according to your liking.

8. Pour into the sprayed pan and sprinkle cinnamon on the top before baking.

9. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Rotate the pan at 50 minutes to ensure even browning.

10. When the bars are cool, cover with plastic wrap or foil. Cracks will appear on the top and will flatten when the bars cool. Note: Bars must sit overnight for the flavors to meld. They will not taste good right out of the oven.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/health-library/recipes/pumpkin-bars.html?SourceCode=INTE646

Nancy's Inspiration: "I make these healthy treats nearly every week for my trainers at Cressey Performance [training facility] located in Hudson, Massachusetts. They are highly nutritious, packed with fiber and they taste amazing. We often keep the tub of pumpkin bars out for the clients that need a little "extra something" during their workouts. This does the trick."

Makes 16 bars. Serving size 1 bar.

Nutrition Facts:

Per Serving: 140 calories, 9g protein, 7g fat, 9g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 167mg sodium

Banana Bread

BREAD
3/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
splenda or stevia to taste
4 large egg whites
2 cups oat bran
1 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

STREUSEL TOPPING

1/2 cup oats
3 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
stevia or splenda to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 350F, and spray 2 8x4 inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
Make bread batter by beating yogurt and cottage cheese cheese at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy.
Add splenda/stevia and eggs, beating until just blended.
Combine oats, oat bran, baking powder, and baking soda in another bowl. Gradually add this to yogurt/cottage cheese mixture, stirring just until blended.
Stir in bananas and vanilla. Pour batter into pans.
Make streusel by combining the oats, stevia/splenda, and peanut butter in a small bowl. Cut in the peanut butter with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture is well combined and crumbly.
Sprinkle the mixture over the batter, and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If necessary, shield the top with foil for last 15 minutes to prevent browning.
Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes, remove from pan, and allow to cool on a wire rack for another 30 minutes
.

from the Bicycle Coalition of Phila blog

Thousands of stranded SEPTA riders have found a two-wheeled, human-powered solution to their commute. Based on counts conducted by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia yesterday, Day Two of the SEPTA strike saw a 38% increase in bicyclists during rush hour."


http://blog.bicyclecoalition.org/2009/11/bicycling-up-38-during-septa-strike.html

Bike Chic, WHY i hate it

High Fashion

Most folks reading my blog post on Bike Chic misunderstood my stance. What I hate is the fact that bike chic for women TENDS to be women in skirts and spiked heels. And this is true of any fashion chic involving women. I do not care what women wear on their bikes, but I do care that "chic" is skin and sex.

And what prompted my blog post in the first place was the TV show Oprah did on the same issue except it did not involve bikes.

She had her show guests pulling average looking women off of the streets and redoing them. Off came the sneakers, pants and backpacks and on came heels, skirts and expensive purses.

This is what got my blood boiling. And now I see this same thing with women and bikes. IF you want to bike naked, go for it, just don't proliferate the Net with pics of ladies on bikes half naked and call it "chic."

That term needs to be redefined to include lots of ladies on bikes. To me any lady biking, be it in heels or bike gear is a chic lady.

Bike Chic Libby style:motivating women to bike

powerful senior citizen, retired teacher, biking for the last 30yrs

future Biker Chick

Libby and her twin sister circa 1964

we did 50 miles of hills

circa 1972, homemade bike gear, Addidas sneakers, my twin sister

chicks helping chicks

chicks changing tires

my current bike, built in 1978

male bike chic: my son

the most exciting biking pic of all time

RON TARVER / Staff Photographer

Like many dealing with the strike, sisters Napol (front) and Alice Wills get ready for a new way home from Central High School.

The pic above has to be the most exciting biking pic of all time: school kids riding bikes. What can Philadelphia do now to encourage this kind of travel for our city school kids? Obesity among our young is at an all time high. Kids standing on street corners smoking cigarettes and waiting for city buses SHOULD be a thing of the past. The article goes on to tell about a young man walking 8 miles to get to his magnet school. This strike should be a call for all who manage the streets of Philadelphia to get into high gear and start making bike lanes from school to school in Philly.

I live outside of Philadelphia, a small town with ZERO infrastructure for biking. When my youngest son was in grade school, he wanted to bike to school. So we did. We had to bike on a 4 lane highway, navigate very narrow no shoulder roads and finally we got to school. There was no place to lock his bike. Finally we found some metal post around the back of the school. The school janitor saw us at the end of the school day and he said he wondered how the heck my son's bike got there.

Why is it that biking and walking to school is now looked upon as an unsafe activity for kids. Schools do not want to be liable for kids biking to schools. Well yes, the way our stupid roads have been built, I would worry too, but it is HIGH time our communities get into action and make biking and walking to school a reality. Portland, Oregon has some great bike lanes into the city. But for the suburban kids and country kids, there is nothing on the horizon. My county, Chester, is a prime example. We have NOTHING to make biking and walking to school a reality.

Latest research on biking infrastructure. Read all about it.

I am envious

a typical country road in Chester County - while beautiful, not real safe, NO shoulders

My recent blog post has brought out some comments about women and biking, this is great news for us ladies. As April Streeter from Sweden commented, at least women are biking and discussing it as well.

But my pic of the hot chick did come from Copenhagen and I must admit, I am beyond jealous of how bike friendly the European cites are for all. Bike lanes, bike racks for locking bikes, and I assume less hostility than we have here in America.

For us lady cyclists in the good ole USA, we have to fight to not get run over while biking. Pick-up trucks buzz us, folks give us the finger and yell out of the windows for us to get off of the roads.

Philadelphia put a bike lane on Spruce Street and guess what they biggest problem is now, folks parking on it, hey they say, now we got free parking!

I see pics of the best biking cities and Copenhagen is always near the top of the list if not the top.

We here in America would kill for some of the biking infrastructure that Europe has. Where I live, we have nothing to support bikers on the roads. No bike lanes and the road shoulders are usually covered with tree debris and holes.

Getting ladies to ride on the roads here in my area is a full time job as most of the time they are afraid of the roads and the traffic. Afraid of the cars, afraid of the hostility. So for most women cyclists, safety is probably their number one issue and way more important than what we wear.

My county has been trying to build one stinking 15 mile bike trail for the last 20 years. No one wants it in their backyard. This trail would connect to the famous Schuylkill River Trail. If this trail ever comes to fruition, I could bike from my little town on the outskirts of Phila, all the way into the Art Museum and never have to use a road.

I am not holding my breath for this trail to be completed. But I do wish there was some way to have a bike infrastructure (that a few USA and many European cities have) here in the suburbs. Just a nice wide shoulder without debris would be a first start.

Bike Chic, I hate it

No matter how hard women try to become equal in the workforce and life in general, I stumble on stupid Bike Chic websites showing women looking sexy on their bikes. Gimme a break!

Not only does this lady look ridiculous, it is just plain unsafe to bike in high heels. What, you put on a sturdy shoe and suddenly you are unchic (not a real word).

What is the difference between these two ladies and the one above. NOTHING! both look stupid and both are at the same place, trying to look good for someone. Only thing separating these ladies is time cuz nothing else does.



Now this is a cyclist. Riding for her pleasure and no one else's.

Oprah spent a full hour yesterday making women get out of their comfortable shoes and clothes and put on high heels. Why, so men will think they look good? Have we made no progress??

I am sick of it and cannot understand why Shoe Chic, Bike Chic and Purse chic is in some way helping women.

Today I was at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I noticed all the ladies, all had sturdy shoes, many carried the purses Oprah made fun of. One lady had a big red tote bag, she pulled kid's toys out of it. hey why not?? she had her daughter with her, she also had on striped knee socks, peasant skirt, and big floppy hat.

But all those Bike Chic websites, do us all a favor and show some real women exercising.

November 7 CHANGE

the Triple Fresh ride will not go this Saturday, my son and I did the ride and it is a long ride, over 45 miles and with the colder weather moving in, the ride needs to be shorter.

So I will resurrect the Donut Ride. Will upload cue to the WCCC ride page. Ride will not start till 10 am and we will stop at Northbrook Orchard for donuts and hot cocoa.

The Donut Ride is about 25 miles which is about all you want to do in cold temps. With all the clothing, and cold breezes, doing 25 miles will be plenty.

Check WCCC ride page for last minute changes.

Nov 7 Saturday morning ride

I am thinking of riding to a farm market called Triple Fresh, on rt 82 and Buck Run Road, total miles will be close to 40 miles, have not yet made the cue but will post it when finished. The market has a simple menu that is cheap and will not take as long as a sit down meal.

But it will be enough to enjoy a meal stop and not spend too much time doing it. The ride will be challenging. We will take our time and give everyone a chance to have a fun time.

Breakfast menu

Go on a Happy Bike Ride and pick up your head, PLEASE, say HI

When I get passed by the elite "A" riders, all I see are heads down, speeding and zooming past the great outdoors. I mean why ride a bike if you have your head down and are mostly concerned about the speed of your ride. Might as well go to your health club or Y and ride a stationary bike.

If you do an outdoor sport, for pete's sake, look at the outdoors. I pass many riders who do not even lift their heads to say hi or to wave to another fellow rider. Again, I just do not get this. Why all the seriousness. You are on a bike, bikes were invented for a FUN way to travel.

To help make your next ride even more fun, order a squeezy bike bell, below are two samples from http://www.jbikes.net/bells-horns-c-60_154.html

Go on, buy a bell