Question mark road signs, stack of signs with black question mark on yellow diamond road sign

These are not lessons from a bike-touring expert by any stretch of the imagination. As a couple we’ve gone on three multi-day “sheets and showers” bike tours so far: Seattle to Lake Stevens and surrounding area: I planned this four-day…Continue Reading

When I started riding my bike to work I did so only on the days that I deemed “perfect” for bike commuting. Back then in the long-ago, this meant: No rain, no wind, no snow, no fog, no excessive heat, and…Continue Reading

Recovering from last year’s broken elbow and frozen shoulder has been a bit of a haul. About when I thought I could start building some mileage to earn back my strength I took an exciting new job, the one that…Continue Reading

Album Cover "Take It To The Limit" by The Eagles

I needed to heed a piece of advice from The Eagles. “Take it easy, take it easy.Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.” I so very definitively did not take it easy in going from a one-mile…Continue Reading

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

(Re) Learning to Ride a Road Bike

I believe I’ve proven in these pages that I’m perfectly willing to (a) give you a laugh at my expense and (b) prove that I’m not an expert on bikes. My confusion over the Trek’s shifting mechanism when I tried…Continue Reading

Michelle with Sekai women's bike and bike trailer to haul kids.

On a Roll with Michelle S, Olympia

The occasional “On a Roll with” series started with women in Spokane since the blog originally focused on biking in Spokane. Now that I have a statewide role at the Bicycle Alliance of Washington I’ve expanded the geography to feature women from all over the…Continue Reading

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

Just Ride: A Betsy Book Review

As a frequent bike commuter and leader of a woman’s cycling group, I was delighted to read Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike by Grant Peterson. The author has cycled daily for over forty years, raced, sold,…Continue Reading

Bike Seats,Bike Saddles

In Part I of this three-part series we discussed the bike saddle/bike seat debate (we say both sides win–call it what you want to call it). Part II looked at the types of relationships you might have with your bike seat,…Continue Reading

Bike Seats,Bike Saddles

In Part I of our series on how to choose a bike saddle so you might actually feel comfortable riding, the important parallels between life partners and bike saddles or bike seats were explored. Extending the analogy, herewith are the…Continue Reading

Bike Seats,Bike Saddles

In the 1960s, car designers began including something new and rather revolutionary in vehicles:  cup holders. These devices, once considered a luxury, quickly moved from novelty to selling point. Now some car experts claim that the number of cupholders can…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