The New Bike Shoes

First:  A statement on my state of blogging:  I just never feel the same motivations for blogging as I used to. I also feel pretty private lately.
I used to sit at a desk for most of the day at a full-time job, and I think that gave me anxious fuel to write blog posts. Maybe I'll do better. But don't count on it. 

Here's the bike trainer my husband got us. We love it!
It's so nice to ride in your home and watch TV and pull a small table up near you with your phone and a tall glass of water. And the TV remote.

I love all the bike stuff we have going on in our apartment. People coming over to visit think they can spot our apartment from seeing the bikes in the window. It's funny, but my bike runs much quieter than Matt's on the trainer.

Spring is here in Arkansas! So outdoor biking should commence.

I even got clip-in shoes for my bike and started using them. It's a new, powerful world.

I wish I had some better jokes about how expensive these were and how I can't wear them anywhere fancy... With the exception of some of my knee-high boots, I think they are the most expensive shoes I own. They're the kind with clips and you can walk around on the ground like a normal person.

I am still totally in blind trust with my bike salesman from Chainwheel. That's the shop that nobody thought would be the shop for me. I can't believe how in-deep I am with a shop like this, and I can't believe how much crap/gear/stuff you need for road biking. Jumbo handbags and grocery totes aren't a part of this picture.

I think the road bike community and the commuters are two different communities, but I think one can participate in both, and I think doing this is going to give me better perspectives for both. 
Polite biking will carry on, and I will prove that you can do it in spandex. 

I can not get used to the ginormous maxi pads in bike shorts but you need them! They are so disgusting but necessary. Even riding the trainer in my apartment I have to wear them because my road bike's seat is like a woodpecker's beak. 

Arkansas Sights on Bikes

I used to have all these words and thoughts cooking in my head and blogging here was this outlet, like touching my finger to a socket and the words and thoughts would flow out, but that's not the case these days so here are some pretty photos of sights we saw while on a quick school-night bike ride on the 17 mile Arkansas River Trail in North Little Rock and Little Rock.

A lawn-mover-esque aircraft over hay bales.


My spandex bike look. Pink/Black/White 4ever.


I can never capture Matt smiling on camera - he makes a scowl at my camera but I caught him while biking.




I don't feel that great about this outfit. The butt-pad shorts feel DISGUSTING but it's a must for road bike times.


I'm still not on clips yet and I don't care.
Matt used to obsess about getting a bike-storage situation in our apartment but I actually like them parked by the window like decoration. They stay.

Hubba Hubba

I haven't ridden this one that much yet, but I'll tell you some reasons I love her and even though I've only ridden her about fifty miles, I did sit on her every day for the first entire week she was here. Even if I just sat on her for a second or slowly and gingerly rode her a tiny bit inside the apartment.

The first time I rode this bike, I was five miles out of town before I knew it. It's so light and easy and fast! I had to use the GPS on my phone to find out where I was, got scared, and went home because I had absolutely nothing but my phone. No tools, no lights, nothing.

So I don't have very many informed opinions but I can remark on first impressions.

Fonts. Her fonts are magnificent. The color-scheme too.



It's a speedy road bike that's actually designed for women. And the Trek "Women's specific design" logo is good.

For some of my shopping process, I thought I was going to end up with a men's bike, because they're not actually that different- these treks. This one being so sexy and women's specific design helped me pull the trigger. 

I just love this sticker. It's telling you A helmet is not an option. A helmet is standard operating equipment. The end. 


The thoughtfulness of the designers putting that turquoise on the inside of the fork.


I also love that it weighs about as much as a kitten's eyelash and the mostly-black and white color scheme will help me match my gear and get-ups. 

I've bought some bike clothes from Aerotech Designs. Beware! The website looks dorky at first, but there are some good things in there. They have affordable, Made in USA bicycle clothes and I'm very happy with the items I've bought. 

I also will do a post about the shopping experience for this bike, because it was totally radical and deserves internet broadcast. 

She doesn't have a name

I got a road bike. A fast and furious carbon bike. I rode it about 40 miles in the first 24 hours.

Yes, I rode in this outfit! I didn't even mean to go that far, just a jot around the neighborhood, but before I knew it, I was five miles out of town. Things happen fast on this bike.

Matt's pretty embarrassed for me using the flat pedals, but I think I need to adjust to all these other changes and upgrade the pedals (to clips or dual-clip) in a few weeks.

We did about 16 or so miles on the Arkansas River Trail today. We went from the bridge at the Clinton Library west to the Big Dam Bridge and back through North Little Rock.


The weirdest thing to me, about riding in these conditions is how many miles you can go without stopping at a stop light. I'm used to stop and go NYC traffic. This is free riding for miles, uninterrupted.

It's extremely peaceful and pretty desolate for miles.




This bike is an insanely fast, fancy, and lightweight machine. It's not for living my life; it's for sport and recreation. I even ordered a bike jersey.

I'm going to write a post on the selection process, but I'm too pooped from all the excitement.