Bike-friendly dresses, jackets, shirts, and other outfits let you bike to work (or wherever you're going) and look professional when you arrive.

Hub and Bespoke: Worth a Bikespedition All Its Own

For someone dedicated to riding a bike and looking pretty much like every other busy, Outlook-calendar-flogged person hustling into a meeting—as opposed to standing out as the sweaty one in Spandex sausage casings—a trip to Hub and Bespoke in the…Continue Reading

Betz Bikes Hallstatt

On my recent trip to Europe, my husband, Steve, and I spent a weekend in the gorgeous town of Hallstatt, Austria. This tiny lake town is over two thousand years old and is the home of the oldest known salt…Continue Reading

First Impressions of Seattle Biking

My bike experience in Seattle is all of 53 hours in duration, following a cross-state move and coinciding with the first few days in a new job, so consider this a series of blurred snapshots—about like what I’m able to…Continue Reading

Betz Bikes Vienna

I just returned from three weeks in Italy and Austria, and I hoped to do lots of biking, but a recent back surgery and scorching hot weather cut biking to just three days. However, they were a great three days, so…Continue Reading

Another excerpt from The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (Volume 54, May-October 1897), “Dangers and Benefits of the Bicycle” by A.L. Benedict, MD (who apparently had quite the fondness for incredibly long paragraphs) EFFECTS ON CLOTHING AND MORALS. The bicycle seems destined to effect…Continue Reading

Women with bike wearing a Ruu-Muu exercise dress for biking, walking, and generally looking cute while you exercise

The Trek FX Gets a Road Test, and I Get Confused

After seeing my informal impressions of Wilma’s Breezer Uptown Infinity, Betsy offered up her Trek FX for comparison. I rode it for my regular commute route three days while she was on a trip. My impressions were a bit colored…Continue Reading

A waterproof cover for your bike saddle from SuLi

Sitting Pretty: Some Solutions for Bike Butt

So a co-worker sidles up to me as I lead a tour of visitors and says in a quiet aside, “Would you want me to tell you if you had spinach in your teeth?” “Yes,” I answer. “Then–” he pauses…Continue Reading

Barb Chamberlain on a road bike with a Donkey Boxx and a helmet cover by Hub and Bespoke.

Bike Helmets: Pro-Cute, Anti-Ugly

The bike helmet debate seemingly engenders more pro/con comments in online postings than an increase in the debt ceiling, gun control, abortion, immigration, gay marriage, and the death penalty combined–and sometimes more vitriol, too. I’m not trying to go there,…Continue Reading

Old illustration of a woman on a bike wearing a full-skirted dress

After the post with a round-up of links to the connections between women and biking, I thought you might enjoy a taste of the writing of those long-ago days. Here’s an excerpt from The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (Volume 54, May-October 1897),…Continue Reading

An old black and white photo showing two Black women and two Black men posing with bicycles. The women are wearing high-collared white blouses with dark mid-calf skirts (or possibly bloomers). The men are wearing dark suits. All four are wearing hats and looking straight at the camera.

The Bicycle and Women’s Independence

I’ve written about how riding a bike gives me a sense of freedom and independence. In celebration of the Fourth of July, here’s a round-up of items on the historical links among women, biking, and independence. First up, a video…Continue Reading

Share the Road license plate supports the Bicycle Alliance of Washington

A New Bend in the Road

Just over a month ago I had absolutely no idea I would be writing this post. My life was pretty full with a job I enjoyed, bike/transportation policy work as a civic volunteer, this blog, Belles and Baskets rides and coffee…Continue Reading