A Little Harlem Crit

Harlem Crit aka the Harlem Skyscraper Classic, is a bike race in Harlem that spins tidily around Marcus Garvey Park. I took my LadyBiker self up there to check it out! I was there for a men's division and a the ladies division. I did get a feeling of "Dang, I want a fast bike! I want to be in that race!" But don't count on that happening. I always think when I'm going fast on my single-speed cruiser "This is how fast my skin could be smeared down this pavement" so I slow down a little bit.


A gentleman named Brian took this photo after he gave me this cute flier about the Bicycle Film Festival that's coming up this week. I like their chalkboard paint truck!


That white thing in the trees is a tank top on a guy. I don't know what this stuff is properly called. Bike tricksters? Bike rampers? I don't know, but it's cool!

People were crowded on their stoops watching the racers.


The route of the race was pretty short, just going around that small park, so you didn't have to wait long to see them come back around.


My third day riding on my new tires and my first light-enough basket load to see them from my riding view!


I have a wild allergy/sinus infection-type illness, but I refuse to let that steal my NYC gorgeous weather weekends! And eaves-dropping on people's convos in Harlem cannot be beat!

WahWee Summer Fun!

We will run out of clean clothes very soon, our dog is overdue for a bath, and our apartment is a mess, but we are tearing it up with festivities because it's finally summer. -Even though my 1st bike got killed- we still had a big, fun weekend.

Saturday I got up and was devastated to be relegated to riding the subway in gorgeous weather. I had to find new wheels fast. At least the subway cars had on a cute outfit for me.



I went to Target to look at their Schwinns. Bad news bears. I thought this fender was dented and damaged, but it's just shaped like this. Yucks.


I always try to explain to people that the selection at the Target in Harlem often leaves something to be desired. This was a good example - So many empty slots in the bike section.

Help me, Mary, please.


I got on the subway and rode forever and ever (to me, I'm spoiled with biking) down to SoHo. I kind-of can't believe I bought a new bike in SoHo. I'm typically more of a bargain-driven shopper. I went somewhere that has a really good reputation but am not in love with my experience.

Waiting. Waiting.  Pretty Covers at a deli.


I finally checked the color of the new bike by taking a peek into the box I waited to see- and said "Build it! Build it Fast!"
Then I headed back uptown to get ready super-quickly to go to this LSU Alumni event all you can eat Crawfish Boil thing that Matt was amped about.



I didn't cut-up and reconstruct his HSU shirt like I did mine. He wore a Duke hat to represent all of his schools.

We didn't go to LSU. Apparently, a lot of southern schools share NYC alumni events and we kind of heard about this second-hand. We had a real LSU alum in our party. It was at The Boat Basin Cafe and it was a cool outdoor venue on the Hudson River.

We drank tons of beer and took a nap in preparation of going out late on Saturday night. I rarely go out clubbing or dancing late-night, but this was an especially attractive lineup.

I got ready. Still working' my summer coral lipgloss!


I realized I had a dress that matched the invitation, so I wore that.



We had to see the performance by Narcissister. She's my favorite performance artist/dancer.
We saw her back in December and Peaches and Debbie Harry were there, and I told Peaches that I was a fan like a total dork. Peaches was really tiny in person. Debbie H. is kind of out & about but it's still special to see her! (Peaches & Debbie were at the Narcissister performance back in Dec. -just to be clear.) 

Her body is perfection and I love that when she came into the venue, totally separate from going on-stage, she was wearing a big, baggy, prairie-style dress. It's so intriguing that she covers up her amazing body with a big frump-dress. I fell even deeper in love.



Ladyfag, the hostess, with her hot legs.


Matt went out after midnight! We literally left the house after midnight. I do that maybe twice a year. I don't think we've ever gone out together like that in our almost 10-year relationship. And Matt was on-call and had 2 pagers on him.



We were home by 2am. Thank goodness! We can't hang like that. I typically use Pond's Cold Cream and enjoy plenty of Beauty Sleep. I have shower caps and a rain bonnet. 2am is foreign.

Today we did Central Park Row Boats for the first time. It's really lovely. We went with one of our favorite couple-friends. We took sandwiches and drinks and made Matt row us around the whole time.


Then Matt went to work and I went to get my new bike! My last stinking subway ride in good weather for what I hope is a very long time.

Good Summertime Weekend!

The Radder the Better

East Harlem has a shopping extravaganza and it's really quick and easy for us to get there using the East River Greenway.

We are busy for the next few weekends with friends/family visitors, so we don't really need groceries. I made this up and I stand by it: We live in New York City - We don't buy groceries, we buy rations.

We both bought clothes on this excursion, I just didn't photograph the stuff he got.

Matt is really bah-humbug about taking pictures. I have to keep him in the distance because he's scowling. His little Nike jacket is precious though and would be very good for bicycle visibility. It also matches his helmet- gray & yellow Bern.

The bicycle parking situation at Target East Harlem is terrible and it looks something like this:
This is just a guard-rail in the parking garage.

I cannot believe they still don't have proper bicycle racks. I wrote them the first time we went and I never got any response.

On to the positive about Target today-

$3.74 bikini top.


Hot pink wrist-watch to keep time on my bicycle commutes and maybe runs/walks. I had a fancier Timex purple watch like this that I lost immediately upon entering the water in Costa Rica 2 summers ago. This one was much cheaper at $19.99

Does my arm look brown? I'm going hardcore with Jergen's gradual self-tanner. 


I really love this country-girl sack dress. It was about $13 and it has pockets! And it matches my bicycle. Aww. 

My dad and his wife are coming to New York City soon. It's their first time here and I need to capture them on video (I think they're terrified of NYC and they both have really country-style accents.) I wanted a Flip cam, but after seeing this website linked from Jesse.Anne.O. I realized I just needed to break this old one out. The only thing we've ever really done with this is when Matt filmed my try-out video for Martha Stewart. (He loves to tell everyone he filmed it in one take - I was just rad and nailed it.)


So it's not new, just seriously delayed in being put to good use! I might do some bicycle videos too. Or Tiger Mom videos.

I hope/believe my other blog, Donkey Fashion Daily is about to get seriously rad due to some generous networking from ladies I met at the Organizing (Obama) for America meeting the other night. I'm scheduled for 2 events this week- Manhattan Young Democrats and OFA Social Networking.

Grocery Saturday!

Saturday we mounted-up on the bikes and took ourselves to DO THE ENTIRE EAST HARLEM SHOPPING COMPLEX of Love and Low-Price Satisfaction.
A to B map. Thank goodness for the East River Greenway thing. It makes doing this a breeze.


We got Bonnie this Martha Stewart for PetSmart collar I've been insisting she needs. I should have gotten it online way back when b/c the store (and now the website) was sold out of the leash that matches. I've been going on and on about her Gold Fall collar and now she doesn't have a matching set and she is pissed.


So PetSmart is at FDR level. Then we went all the way to the top- Marshall's. BUST! We got NOTHING.

Then at Old Navy I got 3 clearance tops for a grand total of $5.45 cents.

Then we just did some usual grocery business at Costco & Target. Yes, it sucks carrying it all around. That's something I try to explain to people about our existence in New York City with no cars. You can't go shopping then throw the stuff you bought in the car and then shop some more. You have to commit to carrying each and every item you purchase around.

We did Target first, and saved Costco for last. We use fabric/cloth grocery bags and we know that when our cloth bags are full, we have to GO HOME. Sacks Full = Stop Shopping!


Matt felt bad that my bicycle had to carry the bulk of the groceries. OK - I actually peer pressured him into getting a rear-rack so he could help out and prevent sweaty back for his daily life. He's a fellow who wears a shirt and tie every.single.day. to work.

He's got a big box of Greek Yogurt and Soy Milk on his rear-rack. He's got my Old Navy tops and our toiletries from Target in his back-pack.

I can't stand bicycling in a back-pack because I hate sweaty back. I refuse to get any more sweaty than I have to. I'd rather tie my cargo onto the rear.

Maximum Capacity! I had so much weight that I had to remain seated even on hills to prevent my stuff from bouncing. My basket was full and I put a bag on top of that. Yikes.

Saturday Harlem Party

I had these 2 accessories that I've wanted to figure out how to wear -

This red elastic bow belt from H&M for $9.99:

This belt was one of those didn't even think about it - just snatched it right up purchases. It's made from a very casual material if that makes sense. It's like knit elastic.

And this bird is a queztal and he's from Guatemala. My niece & nephews are adopted from there. It was an earring, but I don't really do dangly earrings now with such short hair. I turned him into a pendant. He was down for this party!

I wore this old, reliable dress from Target and my trusty Charlotte Russe bow wedges.


This party was nuts! I drank BLUE ALIZE and didn't remember that I drank blue Alize until this afternoon:


Matt was cutting up and having fun with all his cool ladies he works with.


I can't even tell you what they're laughing about, but it's hilarious. Trust me. And this photo is telling 5,000 words.

Beef with the one I love

Excuse me, Target, we have a problem. Where are the bicycle racks!?

This is really ironic that there is a huge bicycle on the front entrance because there aren't any bike racks.

I had to lift mine onto this rack in front of a parking spot after I waited for the previous person to take their bike down and leave...
I made Matt stand by this to demonstrate how high I had to put it to get it around a bar small enough to work with my Kryptonite lock.


And Matt put his bike on this railing around a staircase that was filled with bicycles.


But otherwise... it's so fantastic. We were able to use the East River Esplanade except for 3 tiny, peaceful, low-traffic blocks in East Harlem near the Target-Costo (& More great things to come) shopping center.



Luckily there is a pedestrian path along and above & beside the FDR. We would surely be killed if we had to ride on the FDR. We could take York & 1st Ave., but the River Path is so nice & safe.


Matt using the bike ramp on the stairs. Most people don't even realize this little metal gutter is for bicycle wheels so they don't bounce up or down the steps. Matt is wearing a tshirt by Claw Money, if you're interested. I love her stuff and I love that he's on board for supporting an independent lady like Claw.


We saw tons of other bikes, fishermen, family barbecues, roller bladers, pretty much everything outdoorsy for a Saturday afternoon.


We rocked-out with my new baby bicycle speaker on the way up. She's in the little black pouch. I'm still working on my great playlist.


Here's what the new East Harlem shopping mecca looks like from the river. It's at 117th St. and we live around 78th. So not too far. Too far to walk. We've previously taken a cab. If I didn't make us stop to take pictures & play with our speaker, it could be a very quick trip.


We saw this crazy line outside of Target/Costco and we were really thankful today that we were not having to wait for car service. It's kind of dirty that it's not Yellow Taxi's waiting to pick people up, but rather "Black cars" Which don't run on the city regulated meter system. (They can charge you out the ass and you're stranded with all your crap so you just have to suck it up and pay.)


I don't know the deal on these shuttles, but I bet they run people back and forth from the 116th street stop on the 6 train.


Here's my Schwinn with all the goods before we took off to head back home. 3 pound bag of coffee! Yay!


The heaviest thing we possibly could have bought was this 3 pack of Soy Milks. We bungeed it onto my rear rack.

My basket got filled with boxes of MorningStar Farms Veggie Sausage & Buffalo Wings. As a rule of thumb, we pretty much don't keep meat in our house. At all.

Matt has no cargo room on his road bike, so he uses his big backpack. He's got a humongous 4lb. bag of dog bones in there.


It was a super-nice ride today. Great weather, good bike path, great groceries!