Not long after we moved to Olympia I discovered the town has a poet laureate program, which is simply delightful. Sady Sparks, poet laureate 2019-2020, created poetry “maps” to guide people to various locations around town where they could find…Continue Reading

Photo of a short segment of faded red fence with Mardi Gras beads in bright colors hanging on it like garland. Behind it, a leafy green hedge and a light green house.

Riding Always Makes Me Happy. Yes, Always.

Be honest. If you drive regularly for transportation, how often do you get wherever you’re going and say, “Wow, that was such a great drive! It made me so happy! I had so much fun!” Sure, you might be glad…Continue Reading

We showcase our assumptions, biases, and default settings every day with the words we choose and the choices we present to others. Sometimes we can’t see it when we’re looking straight at it. Here, for example, is how not to wrap…Continue Reading

An earlier version of this post compared my transportation experiences in Spokane. After living in a much larger population and a more urbanized environment for over five years, I wanted to revisit the topic of why you might find biking…Continue Reading

Rolling Right Along: Weeks 2-3, #30DaysOfBiking

When I started riding my bike for transportation it took a while for it to become a daily habit. Once it did, my mindset was no longer that of a person who drives without thinking about it. If I didn’t…Continue Reading

Bike parked in bike rack made of bike parts at Kaffee Klatsch, Lake City Way, Seattle, WA

Every Bike Picture Tells a Story

On any given day your bike and accessories tell some kind of story about you, your riding, and your community. Here’s one snapshot. This fun bike rack is in the street (taking up–gasp!–a car parking spot!) in front of Kaffee…Continue Reading

Betsy Lawrence on a bike in Austria, March 2012

Cycling in Austria: A Betsy Post

I have seen several cycling friends come home from a vacation in Europe with this crazed gleam in their eyes as they begin talking about their trips: “No one wears helmets in Europe” and “There are bikes everywhere in Europe”…Continue Reading

My first view of biking in New York City came through the window of the SuperShuttle from LaGuardia: A young white guy in tan shorts wearing a helmet, clipped in on a road bike, blinky on his backpack, taking the…Continue Reading

Seeing with New Eyes

Taking up biking for transportation has given me the same experience that becoming a mother did. No, not endless anxiety, sleepless nights, and sh**—well, at least not too much of the latter—but rather the experience of learning just how much…Continue Reading

Grocery Run: Impossible!

The media jumped all over recent findings about how easily the nation could lose a few pounds, save billions of dollars, live longer, and clean the air, by . . . wait for it . . . riding a bike.…Continue Reading