Brunch & Bike - Date with Katie

Meet Katie!

Since I've got two bikes in my possession right now, I was really happy to make the most of it and invite my friend Katie on a bike & brunch date. Katie is an awesome friend who is also from Arkansas who is also here in NYC trying to live the dream. We both went to the same tiny college and we met through a sorority connection. Katie is younger than me and were not at college at the same time at all, but we always have a lot to talk about.

I had to put the Linus's seat almost all the way down. She's 5'1" I think. The first time I took off on it after this low-seat placement, I had a panic moment thinking my seat was stolen. It was there. Just low-low.



This date was partly a lesson in biking. We took it easy and went up the East Side path to Harlem. Red Rooster was our destination. It's probably my favorite brunch spot. Marcus Samuelson was there. He had on so much cool gear and is a tiny little dude. He is fancy and special. He was the chef of the Obama's first State Dinner and Obama had a fundraiser at Red Rooster. I totally care.

We had drinks, brunch + truffle oil fries + dessert. That is apple cinnamon sorbet.


Then I was like "Can we go to Target?!" And Katie went along with that and kept me straight. I only bought one item astray from my list. We're a good team.



We talked about shoes & outfits that are good for biking, safety concerns, bike accessories, helmets, sunglasses, baskets, carabiners, locks, etc.    
We rode in the street a little bit. We mostly used the river side path.

I recommend people looking to start biking start with small little errands or small, local trips like this, until they're more familiar and comfortable and have their accessory game down pat.

I'm so glad we did this and I'm so glad she agreed to being posted-up on this ol' blog :)



Katie went with around with me on Fashion's Night Out two years ago and we saw Christina H. and we got snapped by a Patrick McMullan photographer. Good night! 

I'm Going to be Fair and Maybe Organized

I'm reviewing a bicycle and I'm reviewing what I wore today.

Here we are on our morning commute. 

Part A. What I wore.
Basic Denim button-up shirt; I feel sloppy in this, so I dress it up with suspenders

And a silk necklace I made.


My faux fur was benched for a while because it smelled so nasty from exhaust. Bastard trucks! 
It was a gray day, so I went with my bright white bern helmet. J Brand jeans, Gap booties, Kate Spade bag has to be worn because I forgot to bring a basket for this bicycle. 


Part B. The Bicycle.
For every negative thought I write here about this bicycle, I'm going to write a positive.
I want to keep everyone in suspense until my official review comes out in Momentum Magazine.

First, the bad news: This front logo thingie is peeling off.


Great news that will be repeated again and again and again because I can't get over it- This guy takes bumps like a freakin' cadillac. I don't really understand why, but when I go over bumps, like that nasty patch in Times Square, this bike feels very comfy and doesn't jar. I have to stand up a little and brace myself on my Linus those bumps are so bad.

This guy is smooth. Yes, I think this bicycle is a guy. A young man, not just a boy.

I also loved putting it in the low gear going around Central Park and passing the heck out of some other bikes.

But I need a basket. The handlebars are too light to carry even this small handbag without being a little loosey goosey.  But it's silly and dangerous to carry your handbag on your handlebars anyway.


Some people have real problems and I'm glad I'm not one of them.

New Fyxation Hot Pink Pedals

I have a sweetie boo boo honey child at Fyxation who sent me these new Hot Pink pedals to go with my outfit bicycle. I love 'em.

I like big pedals. You don't have to pay that much attention to "land" your foot on it. Especially if you have crazy shoes on.

Pussy Bows are all in the news lately and I gave pussy bow and suspenders on Tuesday.
Full force.

I'm in a fitting room, not a bathroom, and I learned that no one bothers you when you shop with your helmet on. 


Jacket - vintage, sweater - sample, jeans - hoochie girl store at the mall that doesn't have a real sign, just a banner, booties - Gap. Polka-dot blouse - H&M, suspenders - Claire's Boutique. 

Boom! Pink - Pink - Pink

Is this getting out of hand? No. Pink grip, pink shoe, pink helmet.I got the Pro Tec helmet from Tactics. 
I wear a Medium in Bern helmets, but I needed a Large in Pro Tec, so... I dunno. Trial & error with different brands, I guess.


Louise is my Grandma. We have slumber parties at the assisted-living. She's my heart. 
She would beat my ass if I didn't wear a helmet. 

Cute Bicycle Helmets - Affordable Ones

Let's talk about cute bicycle helmets.

Bicycle shops don't always have the kind of cute LadyBiker gear I need, so I'm an equal-opportunity sporting goods shopper. I ordered this Pro Tec helmet from a skater store online today. $29.95 made me scramble to the checkout. Glossy, pink, and surely helpful for bike visibility.

I think it's pretty easy to figure out your helmet size. Matt measured around my noggin with a measuring tape. It's 22" around. I wear Medium in Bern brand helmets. I chose Medium in Pro Tec helmets because I used Google calculator(because I have an art degree, not math) to figure out that 22cm translates to 56cm.

My husband also has a 22" head, which is tiny for a grown man. He currently wears this bern helmet.


If I told you I'm 5'8" you could not unravel that lie unless you were able to find out that .25" is missing.

My all white helmet is a Bern watts in gloss white. See it's at a Skater Store. Sports stuff is sports stuff no matter how you're rolling.

For some slight reasons, it doesn't fit as well as my white/black/purple one. My husband originally bought this for himself and I stole it immediately.

Not that we're worried right now, but in the bone-chilling winter, I usually wrapped a scarf, bandana or cozy headband around my ears under the helmet to protect my precious little ears.

I have tiny ears.

How I take my self-timer pics

This morning my normal self-timer spot was very busy, so I found a new one on the fly and thought I would show you how I take all these pics of myself all by myself.

I spotted this fountain. It's at a good height to hold my camera.


Then I set the camera on the edge.


Then I go stand in front of that shit.


I've got some new sandals that I got at Walmart in Kansas for $3! THREE DOLLARS.

Sorry about the Buzzard Feet!

The tank is from walmart too. $3.88 -The print is kind of too much for a girl of 31, so I threw on the vest at work so I wouldn't frighten the older people with all this neon leopard on my chest.

Ooh! Here's my new Kate Spade necklace I got through an online sample sale.

This is also what my hair is doing right now. I think this is a pretty good representation of my natural hair color BTW.

See my shiny skin? My make-up boyfriend told me that this summer he doesn't want anyone to wear powder. Don't fight the shine! You can't beat it, so why try? He also said "Lashes not liner" And coral lip.

I put on my helmet this morning then realized the ride would be more pleasant with a coral lip.


And it was!

4 Days in Bike Outfits

-Tuesday-

Today I dressed like a 1960's housewife. People go nuts over this skirt. I've had it for over 4 years and I wore it to my job interview for PF where I faced ultimate fashion judgement from the toughest fashion gays I've ever met. I passed and got hired (4 years ago and I'm now long-gone from my fabulous fashion job.) Thanks, fancy skirt. (This skirt is from H&M and I've spent way more money having this skirt re-hemmed and dry cleaned than I paid for it.) 

I put on tan faux-suede pumps when I got to work. 

-Monday- 

Studious, bitchy white girl look-

-Sunday-

I have this new strategy for this summer- I'm going to use the many hats I own. Last summer I acquired them - this summer I will wear them. 

I ride in my helmet, then switch to a hat at my destination so I don't have to stress about my fucked-up helmet/sweaty hair. 

I'm happy Matt's getting back into the Bike Gang Game.

He felt like his shirt was "too matchy" with his pants. I was like "just go with it." 

We went to a lovely roof-top cook out in Brooklyn. 

-Saturday-

Matt is basically, like, wearing pajamas. He's got on TOMS doing the Big Loop around Central Park. He got his brakes tuned-up and was feeling like a scenic route. 

Sweatshirt on top- Slut-shorts on bottom. 

Tonight I had my awesome Planned Parenthood of NYC Activist Council training and I still absolutely love how I'm about to spend my time working for them. Tonight I sat down by a cool girl I really like then another cool girl I really like sat on the other side. I had a cool-girl row going on then I rode my bike home. Next week we will hear from the different council chairs then decide our area of interest. I've got about 3 areas I want to work in! 

On Cute Bicycle Outfits

Some words on Cute Bicycle Outfits because analytics tells me a lot of people come to my little blog searching for that sort of information. Refer back to my year in Cute Commuting outfits montage.

Or this Bicycle Outfits Flickr set.

You can bike in almost any of your normal clothes/shoes.
I can only think of one or 2 skirts that I don't think I can ride in.
If I want to wear high heels, I ride in comfy skippies (keds) and switch when I get in.
This is no more shameful than walking the NYC sidewalks in your sneakers and switching to heels when you're comfortably in your office/workplace.

Now that I ride so often, I don't buy clothes that I can't ride my bike in. When I shop, and I shop often, the thought of bicycle outfits is in the back of my mind. Sometimes I even get excited when something matches my bicycle!

Now that it's getting warm outside, I will have to 1. Slow down to stay behind my sweat-threshhold and 2. Dress with scandalous Ukranian Hooker flare. I can already tell that I'm getting dressed quicker in the mornings because I'm not having to wear all the winter gear I once did. I'm not having to choose among my faux furs, ear-covers, gloves, etc.

I realized a container of baby-wipes saved my life last summer when I had gritty legs from street-scum or grease on my bare, ultra-pale skin.

Back to today- Just a regular Monday. I actually had a really huge weekend of tourism with Matt and his mom, but I'm going to post that after she posts her photos on Flickr and I can steal them and share here. I am an amazing tour guide!

I ran into Victoria's Secret after work and I mean, ran and scurried around in piles of neatly laid-out panties to get what I needed because I parked my bike on something I was uncertain about. I made it quick!

Then Matt was walking up at the same time I got home so he took my exasperated-looking photos:


Here's one tourist pic from the weekend of Me and Matt-


And this super-cool JEsus that was on a bicycle in Chelsea. I don't know what came first- the Jesus or the Bicycle.

The Right to Bare Arms!

I was stoked to roll out with bare arms this morning! It was the first warm-enough day of 2011. Four Months in, and I can finally ride in a tank & vest!

My morning ride was anxiety riddled due to the threat of rain. The sky looked all gray and scary.
It rained so majorly that I left my bicycle at work and took the subway home.


I think I'm just going to wear a tank-top every day until further notice.

I try on at least a couple sweaters/jackets/top samples every working day, and it's best to just whip the sample on right over a tank. Sometimes I have to go back and forth changing in and out of 2 slightly different versions of one sample over and over while we work out subtle differences. Hotness. I also get really hot trying on things like Jackets. Now that it's spring and we work so far in advance, I began trying on jackets for next fall/winter today.

I found some spring blooms in Central Park this morning. I get very excited about terrific green grass.