Watch out, the world's behind you!

It's been a few months since I last made a video while riding my bike, so I thought I'd give it another try on Sunday morning. This time I used the tiny Nikon Coolpix L18 instead of our large, heavy Canon PowerShot S5 IS.

Sunday Morning from BIKE Lite on Vimeo.

I didn't feel quite as comfortable this time, due to the new camera (trying to find the right buttons on the fly), more cars passing us than usual on these normally quiet streets, and trying to maneuver around the melting ice patches and pedestrians. But it did add a little thrill to the ride and made me look forward to trying it again.

Warm Ears and Warm Pretzels

A brief flash of snow flurries inspired my daughter and I to go for a bike ride to test out our new bike helmets with winter lining (removable for summer). The cold weather affects my daughter more than me, since she is legally required to wear a helmet (full of head-cooling vents), while I may opt for a thick knit cap to pull down over my ears. But when there is the threat of icy patches, I'd feel much safer with a helmet. So we found some Bern Berkeley helmets with a removable, faux-shearling lining to keep our ears warm and our skulls dent-free.

Our destination was Pretzel Boy's for some fresh, warm Philadelphia-style soft pretzels.The helmets passed the test, and the pretzels hit the spot.I feel like Penelope Pitstop in my new helmet. (Hmm, where's my other glove?)

Back at home, we transformed into Princess Peach and Baby Peach and hopped onto our motor bikes for some wild rides on Mario Kart Wii. Wii bike, do you?

Rainy Day Remedy

Cloudy with a chance of showers? Don’t forget your shower cap! Even if you forget to put it on your seat before it rains, you can always put it on afterwards. No one likes a soggy bottom. And what a bargain they are – we bought a package of three different colors for about $3 at the pharmacy.

You can even wear one as a lovely rain beret!

If you are a “serious cyclist” (what are you doing here?!), feel free to buy a real seat cover in serious black (Sirius Black!) from REI for about $15.


But if you prefer not to take life so seriously, spend your $15 on these three shower caps instead (only $5 each at drugstore.com):

Raspberry Beret

Little Devil

Frog


And don't forget to wear your swim goggles!

Firsts and Seconds

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging about my second love affair with the bicycle.

Blogging is a completely new sport for me, so please forgive the "training wheels" feel for a little while. Hopefully, a smoother ride (read) will come when I figure out how to work all these gears and get my rusty brain lubed.

If anything can get an adult back onto a bike, it's a child (or a DUI charge). Once your child masters two wheels and takes off down the street to see the world, you'd better grab a bike and be their guide. I hadn't owned a bike since I got my driver's license, so a few years ago I headed to one of the big sporting goods chain stores and picked out a cheap, one-size-fits-all bike. I chose a mountain bike style for its fat, knobby tires. Surely I couldn't wipeout on those tires! I also bought a helmet since I didn't trust myself on a bike without coaster brakes. It took me quite a while to get used to riding a bike again. No, you never do forget how to ride a bike, but you sure can feel nervous. It didn't help my confidence that I could never get the seat height adjusted to a comfortable level or stop the brakes from screaming at the slightest squeeze. But I was able to ride alongside my daughter instead of running behind, and after a few months I began to relax and enjoy our short trips around the neighborhood.

Last summer my daughter discovered the joy of coasting downhill, overcoming her fear of losing control. However, she did not welcome the uphill struggle on her "single-speed" little girl bike. This really limited our route options and made the trip home from school a chore. So at the end of the winter, we decided it was time to move her onto a bigger bike with gears. We came home from the bike shop with not one, but three new bikes, and oh, what a difference it has made! Our daughter now adjusts her pedaling comfort level with the twist of a wrist. My husband and I have solid bikes that fit us perfectly, with tires that roll so smoothly we never want to stop. The joy of riding a bicycle has returned to each of us.