Biker Chicks Of West Chester
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Ladies - Get a bike that fits, please
Biggest mistake ladies make when buying a bike - buying an ill fitting bike. Happens over and over, even good cyclists buy bad bikes. Rule number one.....
1. NEVER buy a man's bike, ever, ever ever ever, no matter what the guy says in the bike store, always ask if this is a women specific bike or a man's bike
2. DO you homework before going, there is a new thing out, it's called the Internet!!! use it and do your homework
3. See my post on bike gears and get yourself a bike that you will use over and over and over
4. check out a few different bike stores, there is no need to spend a ton of money, a good bike can be had for around $1400, you are saying holy cow, that much, hey do you want this hobby or not, think how much other hobbies cost over a few years time, skiing, golf or a vacation, $1400 is cheap in comparison
5. higher costs for a bike are determined by the quality of gearing, not necessary to buy top of the line
6. frame, wheels etc all go into the cost of the bike
7. NEVER LET THE bike store owner tell you that you do not need easy gearing, trust me, YOU WILL NEED IT
See you on the road!!!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
New Year's Plea for cyclists
So why crank up the old blog now - well when I am out biking by myself, I get a chance to think about lots of things. Mostly biking things. Mostly safety issues when biking. My motto - MAKE YOURSELF SEEN ON THE ROAD, RIDE DEFENSIVELY
So here goes my whining for the New year.........
1. ya just might be an unseen cyclist if you go out in an all black outfit, no one can see you, moron! get some day glo yellow or green, dress like a bumblebee
2. ya just might be an unseen cyclist if you have no light on your bike, get a good light, not some cheap blinkie light - use it day and night, I highly recommend the Dinotte 300R
3. ya might be an unsafe cyclist if you do stuff on your bike that you would not do in your car such as riding up alongside waiting cars at a red light, stay in LINE, be like a car, take your place in line
4. ya might be an unsafe cyclist if you ride in large groups and make yourself one big pain in the neck on road, ever try passing a line of 15 riders on a back road in your car, come on man, split the group or pullover if you have a parade behind you
5. ya might be an obnoxious cyclist if you pass a rider and do not announce yourself, now many of you guilty folks in this regard have never been passed, so you have zero idea how it feels
6. ya might be an unsafe cyclist if you ride in groups and forget to avoid riding down the center of the road, stay alert and stay safe
so my advice, stay safe, make sure the cars see you and know what you are doing and where you are going, use hand signals, get lights, get bright clothes so STAY ALIVE and bike courteously, share the road means just that - share the road, it goes both ways
Monday, March 26, 2012
why i think the standard triple is the best gear for women
I strongly believe the best possible gearing for women who are past 45 and want to bike well into their 70s and 80s, is the standard double with a third chain ring. Size is 52, 39, and 30. Why you ask is this better than a compact double or the new Apex gearing now appearing on many womens' bikes?Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Giant Food Stores in PA SUCKS (off topic)

PO Box 249
Carlisle, PA
March 14, 2012
Attention Mr. Schlicker,
I have been shopping at the Giant Food Store located at 698 Dowingtown Pike, West Chester, PA 19380 since it opened its doors. According to my Quicken information, I have spent close to $60,000 at that store since 2009. That is a lot of money. That is a LOYAL customer.
Imagine my shock when I learned that Giant does indeed use “pink slime” in their ground meat sold in MY Giant. I have been buying this product for at least 3 years with no knowledge of the chemicals and the processing that goes into this product.
I got an email back from Eileen Katz at Consumer Affairs at Giant telling me this is a safe product. She even goes as far as to say “All types of lean finely textured beef are sustainable products because they recover lean meat that would otherwise be wasted. The beef industry is proud to produce beef products that maximize as much lean meat as possible from the cattle we raise. If this beef is not used in fresh ground beef products, approximately 1.5 million additional head of cattle would need to be harvested annually to make up the difference, which is not a good use of natural resources, or modern technology, in a world where red meat consumption is rising and available supply is declining.”
Oh my, Giant is saving the earth with this product. Well then let’s dig in, ammonia and all.
What infuriates me the most is that Giant did this without telling its consumers. I do not care how safe Giant says this product is, it is the sheer fact that if this product is so damn good why not advertise it? Why not make it public to your consumers??
Without your consumers, Giant has nothing except empty stores. This underhanded tactic has caused me to lose complete faith in ALL of your products. What else are you not telling your consumers?
I am disgusted by this action. When I asked my butcher if pink slime was in the ground meat he replied, “NO.” When I asked the manager, he thought no but said he would check into it. I never heard back, Again, why the secrecy, put this fact displayed above the ground meat. See how many of us gobble up that ground meat.
Today I went to Whole Foods and spent $165 on meat and fresh veggies. I stocked my freezer with Whole Foods ground beef. I will never buy Giant ground beef again nor do I feel confident buying other meats in your stores.
I hope Giant discontinues this practice and makes more information available at the stores about where the meat comes from, what is in the meat?
I am one disappointed customer and my lost faith will be hard to regain.
Elizabeth Maxim
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
buying a bike for a woman, holy cow, every bike store has a different story

I have spent the last two days helping an older woman get a new bike. She has biked for over 20 yrs on a heavy bike and as she has aged she needs a lighter model with better gearing.
Cannondale Synapse Alloy Women's 6 (Tiagra) = MSRP $1280
" " " " 7 (Sora) = MRRP $1000
www.cannondale.com
Trek Lexa S (Sora - Front/Tiagra - Rear) = MSRP $960
" " SL (Tiagra)
www.trekbikes.com
Specialized Dolce Sport Triple (Sora) = MSRP $1100
www.specialized.com
Fuji Finest 1.0 (Tiagra) = MSRP $1179
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
CARDINAL RULE NUMBER ONE FOR CYCLISTS

Wednesday, November 23, 2011
open letter to older women with kids and families

Today I received an email from a mother of 3, wife and parttime bank teller. She recently went back to horse back riding. She was a talented rider when she was young and in high school. Marriage, 3 kids, husband surviving throat cancer and money woes later, she decided to try horse back riding again. She is in her late 40s.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Living in a state park
Never mind the drafty windows, or the sagging floorboards, or the lilliputian closets, or the frozen pipes, or the bugs that creep in, or the occasional coyote on the porch.
Scattered through the woods and across the meadows of Ridley Creek State Park are 24 of the most coveted rental homes in Delaware County, with a list of 500 applicants vying to time-travel back a couple of centuries.
The wait can be interminable. The hardy band of tenants who occupy the historic abodes tend to stay put, viewing life in the wilds not as an inconvenience but as a gift.
Built in 1771, hers is hardly the oldest of the dwellings that the state has rented out since it bought the land in the late 1960s and fashioned a 2,606-acre park.
Some are remnants of an early-18th-century village that sprang up around a gristmill and a sawmill. They include what were once the town library, the mill office, several workers' homes, and farmhouses - all anointed in 1976 by the National Register of Historic Places.
Tenants pay $500 to $2,000 a month, but one month a year is rent-free. In return for the break, they take on the labor and cost of minor maintenance and repairs, such as fixing broken windowpanes and torn screens. Projects the magnitude of bathroom renovations or new roofs require park approval, and they earn rent credits for those who do the work themselves. Improvements must be done out of necessity, however, not in surrender to modernity.
Warren Graham, a 60-year-old beekeeper, and Cecile Mann, 59, are among the rare newcomers. They moved into their two-story stone home in early 2010, just in time for record snows.
In a rookie mistake, they parked their car near the house, rather than the end of their 100-yard-long driveway. "We couldn't get out for five days," Mann said.
The house had been empty for a few years while a small bridge to the property was repaired. Animals made their way inside and left their scent. So the couple's first year has been spent scrubbing the walls and cleaning.
"The house was quite neglected, but we have begun to resurrect it," said Graham, whose never-ending to-do list includes a refurbished kitchen and floor and a garden.
"You wonder if you're crazy," he said. "But then, on a spring day, it's" - he paused - "wonderful."
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
to PEE or not to PEE, that is the question of the day

You are out on your bike ride with a large group of cyclists. Men and women cruising along enjoying the countryside. The fellows in the group decide it is time for the "pee break". They move off of the road and face the country. Off they go to do what guys do. But lo and behold, their backsides are still visible to those passing by on the road not to mention the women that are along for the ride.
Best ride EVER in Chester County

Where can you be only 40 miles from a large city and be in country so deep you would think you were in New England? The answer in Chester County. The seat of this gorgeous county is West Chester, PA. Google it and take a look. Below is the cue that I recommend if you want to see some of the most exclusive race horse farms in the Northeast.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
why bike??

updated my blog finally!! have not posted for awhile as I have been busy with my oldest's son wedding and all that entails....
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
61 years old - 41 miles and not even tired
I am fortunate to live in the most spectacular county on the East Coast for biking - Chester County. The county is west of Philadelphia. County seat is West Chester. Plus I am lucky enough to have the most talented group of like-minded folks with which to bike. All of us are past 50, some past 60 and we all rock on the bike. Off we go and knock off 30 or more miles without a blink.
