Doo doo doo lookin' at my back door

[darkemeralds]

I rode Eleanor O home from work and groceries today, rolled her into her lock-up spot in the back yard, lifted the basket of groceries off her handlebars, and came into the kitchen via my new back door.

I've lived in this house a VERY LONG TIME and have never really been able to come and go by the back door. I can hardly believe what a difference that change makes.

Comments

[rainkatt]

Oh, thanks!! We were at the beach two weekends ago, mostly around Lincoln City. It was so lovely and cool, and my SO is good at photography.

[darkemeralds]

Oh! Is that you in the picture? How elegant!

[rainkatt]

Thanks!

I can be sort of a throwback--I wander around in long dresses, and mostly don't go out in the sun without a hat. I can occasionally be found in long, lightweight dusters, or short kimonos. Or... I wear leggings and sweaters. I am unfashionable, but have my own strange style. ;-)

I'm very interested in getting a bicycle that doesn't require me to wear spandex, so have been following your bike saga closely. Am currently broke, however, will have to wait.

[darkemeralds]

Oh, that's exciting to hear!

When the time comes for you to get a bike, I cannot say enough good things about Clever Cycles on SE Hawthorne at 9th Avenue in Portland. They totally understand the kind of cycling you want to do, and your "own strange style" will be right up their alley. It's a wonderful bike shop, and my only regret is that I didn't go to them first: I could have saved myself a lot of angst in the first days of bike-riding if I had.

Good luck!

[rainkatt]

I've been to their website. If I could trade in an ancient Peugeot, I'd probably be fine, but I fear I'll have to find an enthusiast, if I want to unload it. I've been referred to That Other Store, but was reluctant, because "good at fitting women" doesn't necessarily mean "nice to women of a certain age, Especially if They Have Vision Issues."

Cycling on the road out here in the scary burbs is terrifying, unless you can find a boardwalk or path, which I learned nearly ten years ago; I am currently out of shape, but aching to ride again. Reading your blog has made me think that I could at least get new tires and wobble about on the boardwalk, to get in shape again.

[darkemeralds]

"Good at fitting women," as far as I can tell, means that the shop will gladly a) treat athletic women as true cyclists and b) help them get more speed and comfort out of their touring, road, and racing bikes. And that's fine--my sister, who is such a woman, has benefited a lot from that type of bike shop.

The "Dutch" approach to bikes, which Clever Cycles seems to espouse, is that you get a bike that is generally the right size for your frame and leg length, and then you basically just ride it. Not a hundred miles, just around town. You don't need machine readings and millimeter adjustments to be safe and comfortable on an upright-style town bike.

I haven't had a moment's trouble with my Dutch Workcycles bike, and I go back to Clever Cycles regularly just to say hi (they know me, my name, and my bike there) and check out the new bikes.

As to suburban cycling, I can only imagine. I haven't tried it (I'd have no way to get my bike there!) but I hear that drivers are less bike-aware in Portland's 'burbs than in its center. Do you have a multi-use path or bikeway? Or at least side streets? I depend heavily on side streets, myself.

[rainkatt]

I'm by the Tualatin river, and there's a boardwalk that goes quite a ways by the river. It wasn't here when we got here, and I thought using the bike lane on Nyberg would be OK, until I realized that cars were whizzing past me at 45 mph, and I could touch them. Argh. Crossing the freeway is challenging, and I would use sidewalks for that. And maybe walk. Traffic is insane here (I lived in southern California, and I know what I'm talking about.) and there aren't really any side streets in the town proper. I walk a lot, though, and make great use of parking lots, where one still has to be very aware. They are making an effort, but I really had to laugh when I first got here, and realized that they were so very proud of how green and friendly they were. Not so much if you're on foot or two wheels...

The people in Mercedes SUVs are completely unaware of pedestrians and bicyclists, and we have more than our share. ::is classist::

[darkemeralds]

Ah yes. The pinnacle of privilege. I suspect that people in that position, if questioned, would swear that they've earned their place in life and really don't have to pay attention to other people.

I won't ride in any bike lane on a really busy, high-speed boulevard, but then I have the choice of one of the parallel streets in Portland's grid pattern. It's prosaic, but it's sure useful--and a real boon to the perpetually disoriented, like me.

[rainkatt]

I love old-fashioned grids. Cul-de-sac neighborhoods give me the creeps.