Ultimate Guide to Bicycle Safety

Someone sent me this really nice bicycle safety guide with tons of uplifting statistics and fabulous graphic design.  Click here to see the whole awesome thing. 

It's pretty NYC-focused, but most of this works for most anywhere. 

Slightly Awkward Bike Outfits

These pants look much better (they're high-waist flares) without the ankle straps pinning them around so they don't get caught in my bike chain.




Helmets don't always look the coolest, but who cares! Brain injuries aren't usually sexy either.


Ooh! I got The Laundress fabric fresh spray to fight my paranoia that I smell like a tail pipe.

Bike Tip - Tight Rolled Jeans Can Save Your Life

Lately I've worn flare leg jeans and I brought back a tight roll on the fly to keep 'em out of the chain.
Tight rolls can literally save your life.


My big leg jeans didn't really get caught in the chain of my Schwinn, R.I.P, but the Linus tried to chew up my jeans as soon as we took off that day! Kate Middleton is hungry. 

Bike Style Tips for Cooler Temps

Just in case you didn't know me last winter - We are going to ride this bitch all 12 months.
We may not ride when the snow is falling, but we will ride when the temps get crazy low.

Last winter I could not believe myself when I discovered my threshold for cold. I basically don't have one. I have faux furs, scarves, gloves, clear glasses, etc.
I do draw the line for cold + wind or cold + condensation falling.

But as long as it's DRY I can ride because I'm prepared.

Let me give details because my winter bike accessories are pretty affordable.
Clear glasses from Vans and many others from Claire's Boutique. -Yes, the Claire's for 12 year old girls. And me.
My driving gloves are also from Claire's.

30 Days of Biking - April 1st

I need material for this blog am doing this: 30 Days of Biking.

It rained Thursday and Friday so I took bus & subway to work, but Friday night it got clear! 

I got this new red light coat at Forever 21 in DC the other day on sale for $8.99. A hot bicycle safety investment! 

I rode my bicycle to the Lower East Side (I live UES) to meet Sheryl, I feel weird referring to her as Bitch Cakes now that I've met her. I went to meet her at this show way downtown, and I didn't realize I forgot my lock until I had established a lock-up spot. Shucks! 


We stood in the street for a few minutes talking bike shop. -Like how awesome clips like this are so you can keep your keys and lights all togehter in your purse, so you don't have to rifle around while supporting your bike with your hip AND you can clip your keys to your basket while you ride.

She got a pic of both of us with our bikes that I will steal and post all over because I'm so happy I met her and we're gonna be lady-biker friends. Matching pink jackets could be in our future! Some super nice girls stopped to take our pic and even asked for approval before they kept walking. I hope those girls had an amazing Friday night! 


Since I suffered an epic fail in forgetting my lock, I just took a really long, thoughtful time riding home.

Empire State was lit up blue for Autism Speaks, which is the philanthropic focus of a sorority a bunch of my favorite ladies from college were in (and that was my 2nd choice after Delta Zeta - I'm a DZ.) 



This is 6th Ave. which I use most days on my commute home and it is bat-shit wild and full of rush hour traffic when I do that so it was eery to see it totally empty like this. This is also a nod to why you should go to Top of the Rock and Empire State Building late at night. No one's there!



I've been meaning to check out these flower sculptures - I've seen them from a taxi. I wish they were staying forever. They're on several blocks going up Park Avenue.



This guy has his head open. He's being assembled. I can't wait to see him all put-together! He's really tall & big. He's on Park across the street from Lever House.


This coat has me feeling high on The Mary Poppins Effect. Tell me it's not a safety investment!


Springtime is here!!!

Super-Girly Bicycle Visibility Tactics

It's still cold. This morning the CNN Clock told me it was 21º Boo!!!
This hair was crushed and ruined after bicycle helmet-


And though it was that cold, the most uncomfortable part of riding was my ear-warmer/head-band thing pressing these rhinestone earrings' backs into my skull.


I'm still extremely pleased with myself for purchasing this Roxy Briiight Piiink Puffer Coat. It's excellent for Bicycle Visibility. This was the most clever aspect of my outfit today- Polka Dots with Metallic Silver/Black stripe belt. J Brand cigarette leg jeans. God, these gloves are miserable to see here.


Neeeeew Yooork!






Here's my ingenius idea to use a Lady Gaga concert glow braclet for bicycle safety. I think it'll be better when I don't have to dress like the Goodyear Blimp. I'm still totally in-love and high on Lady Gaga today. I read the Vogue article. A little surprised she eats meat...


After work and totally un-bicycle or fashion related - Bonnie and I were photographed outside of Sotheby's on our evening walk by an Associated Press reporter. I hope the pics get used somewhere!
She asked me to spell both of our names and she verified Bonnie's sex and breed.

They were/are installing the sphere that carried the first dog ever to go into space. Laika was her name. I think we were snapped as we walked in between the building and the sphere as it was being un-crated and brought in through the front doors. I hope Bonnie gets her picture in the news!

...Even though now I've read that that ball that carried Laika was really her tomb. Sad! Dogs don't like airports and they don't give a hell about space!

Pink Puffer Bicycle Style Ridin' All the Miles...

I was able to safely and confidently commute today and it felt awesome!

I love my new Roxy puffer. It's so bright and cozy and I could feel the powerful electric pink repelling cars from driving too close to me.


Yep, Gold Reeboks!


I also had an amazing hair day. I got the vented brush Gwynne told me to get and I used the brush & blow-dry technique she just taught me.


It's like take a vented little brush and brush it to one side really drastic and then go the other way...and the back will look nice and smooth like this:


Often I use these benches as a tripod for my self-timer bicycle shots but they were still covered in snow-


Many things are still covered in snow, but the streets were quite clear - They re-enacted parking tickets and the laws about moving your car around, so people had to dig their cars out and this cleared that area where bicyclists ride. That factor and near 40º temps had me high on bicycle life.




I ended up removing the hood because it was distracting in my periferral vision. I still feel super-safe in this hot-ass pink puffer. -With lights at night on my way home of course!

Hair/Buying Stuff/Wearing Stuff

My hair was uncooperative Friday evening, but I didn't want to wash it and start from scratch. It looks much better in these photos than I felt wearing it. I did not fully believe in this hair.



This is MAC Full Fuchsia Lipstick- But it's from a seasonal collection and is now discontinued. I was going to say you can buy Amplified if you need a color just like this, but Amplified appears to be discontinued too.

But wait- my skin looks AMAZING! I've been using Pond's Cold Cream (Seriously and I started using it before it was a story line on Mad Men, so I've been using it for months. My grandmother uses it and I think she's had the same beauty routine since she was 35 and her skin looks great, and she's now 87, so I'm going with her plan.

I don't let "soap" or anything soapy get on my face, and Ponds is like $7 dollars and it's got the goods to dissolve all my crazy mascara and eye-liners. I'm using this Olay Moisturizer with SPF 20. I rarely wash my face at night. Sometimes I moisturize my dirty face at night. Yep, I just admitted that.



So yeah, the hair is all back.

Then today it's all, like, down in the front. I felt more confident with this, but it looks crappier in pics.

Thursday was my last shampoo and Monday will be my next. 


Saturday mornings lately, Matt plays basketball with a motley crew of scientists. This is a great time for me to do whatever I want.

My itinerary went in this order with great success at all points:
1. MoMa - Film Screenings of: Nine from Little Rock, which was awesome because it was 4 years after the big show-down and it showed that they all went to college, Karl Hess: Toward Liberty - It was cool to learn about him and see his cool house he built by himself, and A Year Toward Tomorrow, about the VISTA volunteer program of the sixties.

2. Andy Warhol's Polaroids of Celebrities at Danziger Project.

I went through another small gallery over there in Chelsea, but I didn't notice the name.

3. The MAC Wonder Woman pop-up store.

4. Unplanned SoHo shopping at Roxy/Quiksilver and CB2.

I saw a sale sign at the Quiksilver store. I don't see many girls/ladies wearing Roxy in New York City, but I've loved it for a long time so I do- Even though I've clearly read articles stating that they expect my age group to grow up and start buying the Quiksilver Womens line, but they don't seem to have that at the Quiksilver stores in the city.

I got this Roxy Nick of Time coat for much cheaper than they have it online. I paid $40.  I already have so many coats but I'm able to retire two coats because of what this one does. This one is a CHAMPION Dime Piece because it's going to provide major visibility when I ride my bicycle! I swear I notice drivers being nicer, less aggressive, and more polite when they can clearly see that I'm a girl.

On the Roxy website, the color is called Rose and looks like a demure pink online, but this thing is bright and its going to have me feeling extra safe on the bike.

This awesome GUESS Jeans Sweatshirt marked 1990 is an Arkansas Thrifted/Goodwill piece, that I got on my last/December trip to Arkansas. I'm so happy I did such a great job cutting the neck out of it to make it more girly-sexy style. It's little kids size.

All day through my movie, galleries and shopping I almost always had on all my coat, scarf, etc., so I almost forgot what I had on under there.

I also wore my Sugarbunnies McDonald's Happy Meal watch to show that I'm serious.

Glitter Plaid Tried to Kill Me

Wednesday was the day I couldn't get dressed comfortable. I tried to wear this Roxy strapless dress I wore to that wedding in Raleigh, NC back in Sept.

Self-timer note: Camera is on some tree knots. -Not working well. That marathon stuff messing up my route through Central Park really made me really cranky.


I rode my bike. This is along 5th Ave. around 8:30am.

It's early and I look insane. I feel itchy. And I'm terribly hot.
These tights are not OK with these booties. I went to the drug store and got new tights before I went into work.

I'm not going to crop this or fix the wires & outlet in the photo because it reflects the chaos and struggle of my day in this doomed get-up.
Outfit #2. This is a sweater-dress that's been hanging out in my desk. It was comfortable, but way short. And I'm on a bicycle. I now have footed tights, but they're navy. Everything else is black.


I needed something to put under that Roxy plaid dress because the back panel of elasticized ruching was literally killing me with itchiness. I had a lace-topped stretch dress that I put under the Roxy plaid dress and that seemed pretty cool:


Then I put my coat & gloves, realized it was lipstick time...


I'm working a lot of layers here - lace, studs, glitter plaid, faux leopard fur...


Then I put on some MAC Girl About Town because today, after sorting this dress out, I was a girl about town.


I rode the bicycle up to Bendel's on 5th Ave for another MAC make-up class. I realized my lights were either lost, misplaced, or stolen, so I had to call Matt to bring sneakers and escort me and the bicycle home. He brought Bonnie in a taxi to pick me up. I Love the idea of Bonnie riding in taxis. She gets picked up quickly too because she's so pretty, I'm sure.


I can't ride at night with no lights! That's just not safe. I'm walking the Bonnie and Matt's walking the bike. That was Wednesday and now on Sunday, I still haven't found my (clip-on) lights. I think they must have been stolen from the bike room in our building because I would never leave them on in public. I usually remove them and put them in my purse. I still have some faith that I Just can't find them because they're small.

However - Since it's so dark so early now, I stepped-up my brightness game and Matt installed some brighter lights.