Party Girls: Ciel Bike Shop Grand Opening Party

New York City is so much fun that even my dog, Bonnie, has had plans the last two Friday nights.
Last week she went across town to a house-party hang-out and this week she was my date to the Ciel Bike Shop grand opening party.

Photos from Bitch Cakes NY

Bitch Cakes/Sheryl was the model on the party flier. That's Sheryl, Amanda, Bonnie and Me.

Ciel Bike Shop is a very sleek and clean bicycle shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They are located on 65th street very close to 1st Ave. I told the owner of the shop and the guys of Biria bicycles that the location of this shop is fantastic since the bicycle lane running up 1st Avenue comes so near this shop. It's also not far from the East Side River Path. The Biria founders were there celebrating their 10 year anniversary of business.


I'm still kinda thinking about that cute yellow Biria. Birdie the Biria would be a great name for such a darling yellow bicycle.

The NYC Bike Share that's coming this summer is going to help people who are interested in biking NYC to realize or rule-out whether it's for them. Many people who find that biking is for them will want to invest in their own bicycles. Ciel has some pretty sexy bicycles in stock. 
This shop is smart to have so many great accessories stocked for those who want their own bikes, but also for those who just want to make their bike share experience more comfortable & customized. (With accessories they can wear or remove from the bike share bikes easily, like sleek helmets, bags, etc.)

Ciel has a great selection of my most-favorite bike helmets: Bern brand. I love a little visor.


They also have a Fyxation accessories wall! The hot pink was stocked. Kudos for that.



1. Bonnie & Friend, 2. ECO White Bike, 3. Sexy B&W Fyxation bike, 4. East Side Collage Bike

There are more photos of the party on the Urban Cyclist Worldwide website.

On good bike clothing investments

This post is on good investments and a lesson on not-judging things from online stores called “Leather up” and from Lee, the mom-jeans superstore. Don't judge ugly, un-trendy online stores, K?

I’m super-duper glad that I bought this pink leather motorcycle jacket last July on clearance for $79. I (sit at work and read every fashion magazine and blog) had the foresight to know that dusty pale pink would be a trendy color and this jacket, being from a motorcycle super-store, was the bomb for bike riding. I got caught out in the rain so many times in this jacket that the snaps got a little rusty. And it has amazing pockets inside and out. Having motorcycle people compliment your jacket also makes you feel tough and strong. Good investment.

These jeans are yet another pair of my favorite new Lee brand mom jeans (I have navy, gray and black and that still costed less than jeans I typically buy.)  I am wearing these jeans in a 6, but I think I would be better in a 4 which means they are vanity sized, which is another wonderful element to their greatness. And they're $24.

Vans hemp palisades are slightly on the nautical-boat-shoe trend, but they’re also a comfortable skippie slip-on great for casual times and bicycle riding. And dog-walking. I do a lot of dog-walking. I actually saw an older woman in my neighborhood wearing the gray ones and they looked awesome and that’s why I bought my first pair, the turquoise ones, which are now beat to death. Black ones are fresh for this spring & summer. 

Last year's turquoise vans hemp palisades, back when they were fresh. 

Looks like my Linus was fresh back then too. Aw.

We can’t shut up about this mild winter, but one last word about this mild winter: I got to have my ankles sticking out this whole time. Some trend-related influence (mental illness from working in the garment dist) had me requiring a little bit of ankle-skin to show at all times and this mild winter helped me get through it without catching pneumonia.

Saturday Morning Stuff

Saturday I left early to do an escort volunteer shift at Planned Parenthood. I remembered to use the recently re-opened and renovated East Side Path.

I did a later shift than usual, so it was a different traffic if that makes sense. I was there late enough to see the early-morning protesters pack it up and leave.

It was St. Patrick's Day and I'm superstitious so I had on some green. Matt met me after my shift.


We went to eat breakfast at Peels. It was really good. The biscuit is a whole menu item, but my shrimp & grits weren't huge, so I'm glad I also ordered the biscuit. Matt did the same thing. Order a breakfast + a biscuit.


We checked out some shops. I wanted to go to Madewell and TopShop and in exchange for his patience during that, I agreed to go to REI with him.

What's up with this week

Tuesday bike to work - Probably one of my last warm days for this fall.
Gap booties, Forever 21 skirt, Gap top, bern helmet. 

Matt on the way to dinner. Yep- after dinner we were freeezing!

I saw all these NYPD's on bicycles this morning - strange - and later I heard one of my very polite-bike friends got a red light ticket. I'm eager to hear how much or if he fights it-


Tonight I made this for my little niece's Halloween ensemble and my baby modeled it for me.


Back to Monday - I wore this. Sneakers increase my comfort-quality-of-life so much.


I went to see the premiere of Paradise Lost 3 at the New York Film Festival.
Since I'm from Arkansas, I've been hearing about the West Memphis 3 since the beginning. Damien was witch-hunted because of his tastes and the way he dressed and you could feel that kind of judgement in the air in Arkansas at that time - the early 90's.



They did a little question & answer period after the film and that Jason Baldwin is so inspirational, I swear. His future is so bright and he's so grateful for each day. I'm so impressed with him.

I love what a fancy venue this was.



The end!

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. 

Bike Visibility Tactic: Wear a Flag

I like the idea of having a FLAG on my bike. I love bike visibility tactics.
Instead of finding a bike flag and attaching it I just wore one today. 

I swear to you, if you take vitamins you can have bike-bruise-free ultra-white legs like mine. 

These big sleeves created exciting billowing in the wind and some wind resistance. 

I've adopted the grand plan to buy red/red-orange clothes this fall for bike visibility.
And because red/coral is trending hardcore. 

You Remind Me of Mary Poppins

Someone rolled down their car window at a stoplight to tell me I reminded them of Mary Poppins. All I could say was "It's interesting that you say that." Have you heard of this Mary Poppins effect in biking? Look that shit up. 


It was a good day thanks to: Polka dots, pussy bows, red-orange lipstick, full pleated skirt, bicycle times, 66º this morning, and pop-in visitors at work. 

I had to kill time after work and I went to look for jeans at the Manhattan Mall. I bought some extremely sensible Levi's 515's. I still had time to kill so I explored a really ramshackle-looking store called Square One. I ended up getting 3 great pair of skinny jeans/pants in there on the ultra-cheap. 


I swore I wasn't going to wear jeans again until October, because it's so hot, but I might not be able to help myself. 


*My event tonight was kind of a bust - it was over-crowded and very loud. I was just thinking "I don't want to be in a nightclub anymore. Ever." 


*I was in the Meat Packing District so I got on the West Side Greenway and rode down to the Sno-Ball place. They're in their last week before they close down. 


I'm going to miss Sno-Balls but I'm kind-of happy to wear jeans again. 

Better than any Valentine

I feel so much love. Comments will be disabled from this post because I swear on my Martha Stewart Homekeeping Handbook I can not hear one more dude... bike helmets... I can't... listen... read... can't... go... on... 

I should have stopped at this today- 

- It's a fierce statement and I stand by it. The common denominator in today's foolishness is that it was all dudes.  (Foolishness carried out on twitter and the internets) 

I also felt really happy after work thinking about how girls don't say dumb things to other girls on this matter.  -To helmet or not to helmet. Girls respect each other's decisions. 

This magnificent female really made my evening. Seriously, go read her blog. 

And follow her on Twitter if you're into following good things. 

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!

Modern Day Packing

Skirt is baaaack! Some older gents were watching me un-lock my bike and I was like "oh, boy, here we go"and one of them actually said "That's a great print" talkin' bout this skirt.

Shockingly refreshing commentary from a strange gentleman on the street!

I bought some things after work and I should post them here but I was too busy packing- Or fixing up my entertainment for the travel and making a bomb-ass playlist for me and my girl to jam out to because she has a car and we are going to a place where people drive cars everywhere. It's strange for me to be with people who have their very own car. It's also a little strange for me the first time I ride in the front seat of a car when I've not been out of New York City in some time. I went to Chicago but we rode the subway 100%. March was the last time I rode in a private citizen's vehicle and I sat in the back.


Modern-day packing really means charging and syncing all gadgets & making playlists. 



That awesome tiger shirt is actually baby clothes for a baby I'm going to meet and hang out with this weekend. I can't wait to visit Target in the mid-west. It's heaven. I also look forward to enjoying Sonic.

The crown jewels of this trip to the heartland are seeing my pen-pal and my very first friend ever and seeing the People's Princess exhibit where we will see Princess Diana's wedding dress!

I've got one day of cute commuting and one big night of NYC entertainment as Matt's sister & husband are on their way here. We have plans to jog to Central Park early Friday to try to sneak a peek at the Gaga concert and we will get schooled at MAC make-up and then I will rush myself and my tiny entertaining gadgets to the airport. 

Leopard Lady Bike Nerd

I hope the nerdy look on my face distracted people from the shortness of the dress. It was still a great bicycle dress - ruffles ruffling in the wind!
I need to get some little hot shorts and do a better job of wearing them!

I apologize for the trash cans & sewage drain in the photo. 


This dress is 20 bucks right now at Charlotte Russe. The belt is thrifted from Arkansas. Converse are the best bike shoes! Keds are cuter, but converse are stronger & tougher.

Right before I went out the door this morning. My purse weighs 10 pounds!


Snap! Snap!