This bicycle is a work of art,
a thing of beauty,
a way in which to transport thyself.
Winter Installment 11
I am not adverse to riding my beauty in cold weather.
Look at us together...
so happy.
I in my mitts, scarf, and hat,
She in her basket, lights, fenders, and skirt guard.
What I am adverse to,
is taking my beauty out in a Minnesota winter once it hits.
This is my car.
Note that it is completely covered in salt and icky snow melting chemicals.
This is Minnesota in winter.
Sometimes you drive down the roads after they have finally dried off and the chemicals they have put on the road are now dried and blowing around like white fog, still covering everything and easily inhaled.
Yuck!
I do not want all this stuff on my beautiful bicycle that I paid quite a bit of money for and can not afford to replace.
There, I said it.
Lame, but true.
Yes, she has internal components, but let's be honest, this stuff is brutal and it is going to work it's way in.
I'm not only concerned with the exterior of my bike being covered in corroding chemicals, but with the interior of my bike being covered with corroding chemicals. These icky things will move their way inside and eventually cause problems in addition to rusting out the Pash from the inside out.
There certainly is a part of me that says you got the thing to ride her, take her out and what will be will be. It is made to be used, not sit idle.
But the part of me that respects the Pash and my bank account can not with lightness of heart do that.
And so, we are content to gaze at each other,
she as she rests in the livingroom for the winter,
and I as I do a few other things to keep myself happy in this toughest of months...
What I do do is...
Ride the Trek on her trainer.
I addressed this here and here last year.
I actually do not mind doing this (once I give in to starting it),
I need exercise when it is -17F and this is one of the ways I do it.
It keeps me sane and happy,
gives me that much needed time on a bicycle,
and allows me time to watch pbs and movies I do not normally have time to watch.
I also do Bikram yoga ~ which I also mentioned here last year.
Bikram is key exercise for me in the winter,
and also creates those zen meditative moments I need so much.Plus, it is SO great to be hot and sweaty in the dead of winter!
Shared paths are common in the winter...
Greenway to my left... Greenway to my right...
Here they come... There they go...
In the winter I am still out on the bike paths,
but for now propelling myself with my feet...The other thing I do a lot of is walking.
I have found one of the best things to do is just get outside.
It also keeps me sane.
In the winter I feel really isolated,
you rarely see people out and about,
and I miss that.
So I head down to my favorite lake,
get a little water time,
get a little people watching time,
commune with nature,
get fresh air,
and feel like I am part of my world.
Walking is a vital part of my winter routine.
For more on being part of your winter environment,
suggested reading: On My Swedish Island, referenced here.
I encourage everyone to get out and be part of their surroundings.
Maybe like me you do not want to take your beauty out in the harsh environs,
and maybe like me you can not yet afford a winter bicycle or converting your old one.
Do not let these things be obstacles, take advantage of winter's pause
and enjoy the change to your routine.
Doing the same thing day after day is stale,
finding ways to enjoy the everyday,
definitely not.
Happy Saturday Everyone!
I am off for a walk...
road...bike
Winter Installment 10
Fall back,
go back,
way back...
oh wait,
that's from my yoga class... *Caution Lots and lots of lycra talk below
I believe in having the right equipment
and no, you don't need all this if you are just hopping on your bicycle to work,
but if you want to wear it, I say go for it!
Okay...shall we proceed?Back in November
I was sailing along on the Trek.
Refer to the picture above and my new found freedom road.
I had mostly geared up,
but in the 11th hour
I was missing a few key pieces.
I have a habit of living in complete denial
of winter.
I really got away with that in California,
but here it does not work so well.
This year it has done me NO good,
and robbed me of finishing the season
4 miles short of 1400 miles!!!!
4 miles
all because my feet got cold!
The lesson here?
1. Living in denial never does anyone any good.
2. Giving in to reality doesn't mean you are ignorant of it
3. Being prepared helps you enjoy things instead of missing out
4. If you think you need something and it is bicycle related ~ you do. Winter is really freakin' expensive,
especially when you move from a moderate climate to a very cold climate,
very cold...
I believe this is now my fourth winter in the woods
and I am still building up my arsenal just to get to work in a car,
let alone admitting to myself I might want to actually ride a bicycle in cold weather.
Baby steps...
I had committed myself this year to riding down to at least 30F,
as long as the roads stayed dry
and until they laid the first evil grains of salt on the roads.
BUT I had not quite committed myself to buying those booties and warmer gloves I had been pondering seriously for a few months and in the end it cost me those 4 cherished miles and a last beautiful Thanksgiving weekend of riding.
It was just a tad too cold for what I had for weeks been getting away with, and I knew it.
It was go time.
Time to order those key missing pieces.
First, what I did order or already had this year:
A Hat
I am going to say right out that you will see a lot of Sugoi here.
I love Sugoi,
not just because it is fun to say,
but because they make really great quality cycling clothes,
and they DO IT RIGHT for the female gender
.
The hat was the best investment I could have made. It is fleece lined, covers my ears, blocks the wind, and kept my head at the perfect temperature.
The hat seemed to be a good choice once the temps dipped into the low 40's.
Highly recommended even for just riding around town ~ great under a helmet!
Important Top Layer
I am also a huge fan of Craft.
I got a smokin' deal on this top this fall and do not know how I lived without it.
Works great with my vest in warmer temps
or under my jacket in cooler temps.
I love how Craft designs for women,
their tops fit so well.
I would wear this anywhere anytime.
My jacket is something I got on sale last year,
I like the white color.
The sleeves zip off for the days it is warmer out then you suspected
and makes a great vest (see pic below).
Leg Appropriate GearLeg warmers are the best.
I've had these for awhile and love them.
For temps in the mid 40's and up these are great,
not so much bulk on the legs, but still warm.
Sugoi Shorts
I wear a shorter inseam short in the summer,
but to wear with leg warmers, I like the 8" inseam.
The warmers stay tucked in and I get more length with the warmer/short combo.
I bought some Evolution Shorts and the padding is supremo on the Trek saddle.
These will also be used for my indoor riding.
Good to have the long inseam in winter also because who cares about the tan line you won't have, right?...
Tights
For cold days I have a pair of Pearl Izumi amFIB tights with wind stop on the front.
These tights are awesome.
Super warm, too warm really if it is above 45.
I do feel less mobile with all my winter gear on, so I hold off on the layers as long as I can,
but once I put these on I am happy as a clam.Things I added...
I was moving along quite well with just my SmartWool socks and road shoes,
but it was quickly becoming apparent I needed those darn booties.
Worth it for just a few rides? You bet!
The booties came after Thanksgiving weekend,
and so did the cold weather and salt on the roads,
so I have not been able to take these for a test ride yet, but H says they are better than his.
Gloves
I was sailing along fine on my REI gloves from about 10 years ago as well,
but deep down I knew it was the end of the road for these.
I guess I would call myself a serious cyclist now and I needed some serious gloves.
With the bootie purchase I dove in and bought some nice quality gloves.
Haven't been able to test ride these yet either, but I know they will be the bomb.
For other purposes I bought SmartWool liner gloves, and I know I can tuck these into my new gloves when the need arises.
So, that's my get up.That's me.
That's how I roll.
I look forward to trying it all out in the Spring
after the first rains have washed the salt off the roads.
Until then,
the Trek and I will be one
in the box
watching movies,
but not eating popcorn...
Winter Prep Installment 9
This is a picture of the time warp we are about to enter...
It is actually a bicyclist on Hennepin Avenue before the snow hit.
Camera's can do magical things can't they?Okay, back to the time warp...
Wowza,
it's been a doozy of a few weeks
here in the woods.
I barely have time to make dinner,
yet alone blog.
Where were we?
Oh yes, winter...
and how to cope with it,
every last bit of it...
But to get to winter,
I think we really need to
Fall Back.But for now sleep awaits me.
Hold tight my friends,
I'm not finished with winter yet...
Trusty black boots on snowy days...
Trusty red shoes make happy days...Winter Prep Installment 8I have a thing for my shoes.
my Camper shoes to be exact.
In them I walk,
In them I stand,
In them I ride my bicycle,
In them I walk the streets of Europe,
In them I engage in new conversations,
In them I bring design inspiration to the everyday,
In them I tromp through the snow,In them I have to accept a forecast like this:
Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. Wind chill values between -14 and -23. Blustery
Sometimes, a good trusty pair of shoes are all a gal's got...
Winter Prep Installment 7As I have reported, we had an absolutely lovely November,
but having lived here three years, I new winter was just around the corner.
It dipped into those frigid temps this week and the flurries started to fall,
so off I go to My Box...I will do three posts on My Box
because I will be spending a lot of time here.
First,
the box itself...
When we bought our house
I was so happy to finally have my own space again!
A place to dump my things and no one would complain about it...
A place to leave projects out for weeks and no one would care...
A place to be me, me, me...
my current box set-up...As I was looking for a job when we moved here,
we set about fixing My Box up on a budget.
I was inspired by this table at IKEA.
I wanted a big long multi-purpose work table for
working,
sewing,
cutting,
staring out the window,
and placing our old computer for playing music and watching movies, etc.
We used the leg inspiration for this tableand at the right installed some deep shelving that I made some little curtains for.
Overall I like the look of the table, but it was made of MDF and I cheaped out on the paint, so my conclusions:
MDF is too flexible for sewing on,
and cheep sticky paint just plain sucks (don't use it for many reasons).
As I am tending to sew more and more (my goal),
I am finding that this table is really hard on my back when it comes to laying out patterns and cutting.
detail of wallColor was also really important for me.
I was not willing to dive in with four walls of hot pink,
so I made a focus wall and painted the rest of the walls a 'daisy' yellow.
This room gets great afternoon sun in the winter,
so I wanted to take advantage of that.
I wanted this to by my Hyggelig space on winter days,
and the colors help out with that.
I also chose some fabrics with color in them for my
inspiration boards
and curtains.I love what a few fabrics can do for a room.
sketching...thinking...So I have been working on a bit of a revision plan to My Box.
As I was out of work this summer, budget still must play a roll,
so I will be headed to IKEA to purchase a few items to snaz it up.
I have decided to divide the space into
a work/sewing table zone by making a table out of some IKEA cabinets,
a storage zone by the door with a cute little rolling cart,
Shim and Sonsan ironing zone where I will use Shim and Sons inspiration and recover my ironing board,
a cycling zone where I workout in these darkest of winter months,
and a patterning/cutting zone with an as yet to be determined high work table.
I also plan to make a cover for my old chair
to pretty her up a bit.I am excited about revamping this room.
We initially were trying to make it a multipurpose room to also function as a guest room, but the reality is, not many guests come to Minnesota, so I might as well really just make it my own.
We have limited real estate in our house, so we need to use what we have to it's fullest.
Of course there is a ton of inspiration out there from which to pull ideas.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Uniform Studio
Lotta Jansdotter
Craft & Creativity
Once we set our budget and we get this room more operable,
I will be reporting back.
Until then...
I will be spending countless hours
nesting
in My Little Box...
Winter Prep Installment 6Winter can try the best of folks,
it really tries me.
I do not need a change in seasons
to make me happy,
I need SUN,
I need warmth,
I need fresh air,
I need to be outside.
All things a bit difficult to obtain
in the depth of Winter in Minnesota.
After 15 years in sunny climates,
I have to admit,
living in Minnesota is hard for me.
And I'm not kidding around,
I have officially been tested
for low Vitamin D.
Last year I tried the little gold rays of sun,
but it was not enough.
I refuse to let those grey days get the best of me,
instead, I want them to bring out the best in me...
So...
This year I've ramped it up.
For mornings....
A little ray of blue sunshine
with my coffee
and blogging...and for afternoons...
A little ray of brown sunshine
while hanging
with my boys.
I had hoped to hold off on the double caffination until 40,
but I gave in a wee bit early.
Luckily, I love coffee and all processes involved with making
and drinking it.
All this and a little exercise (more on that to come)...
Finding ways to make myself alert, happier, and more pleasant to be around is not giving in
~ it is improving my quality of life and helping me find those rays from within.
And in a way,
I welcome the challenge...
