I did it!

 

 I live almost an hour's drive north of Seattle and work just east of it, which has made biking to work a bit more of a puzzle than when I lived in Walla Walla, a town about 5 miles in breadth-- and FLAT. I am so pleased to announce that I finally FIGURED IT OUT!

First, I had to figure out the transit system. All I had to do was pick up a few schedule books and draw myself a map of connecting routes. Route maps are available, but I found it easier to understand the schedule if I narrowed it down to only the routes I was interested in and included extra data like "runs weekdays only" all in one place. Using this map, I quickly discovered that an "express" bus traveled the majority of my route! Perfect!

Next, I had to figure out how to ride my bike to the transit center. Fortunately, the local bus system has published a terrific bike map of my area. I did a "reconnaissance" mission on the weekend and was very glad I did. There is a direct, beautiful and interesting bike trail that travels beneath a major highway-- but you have to look past the "WRONG WAY!" "ONE WAY ONLY!!" signs to see the "oh, except for bikes and pedestrians who can use this path over here" sign. Ah-ha. I've found it. 

So now my commute to work involves an hour bike ride and an hour bus ride. In rush hour traffic, I would be in the car for 90 minutes; but riding my bike and reading a book-- those are things I would do in my FREE TIME-- driving a car in rush hour traffic.. is not. :)

Ryan and I are commuting to Thanksgiving. Approximately 50 miles, one way. I'm so going for seconds.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Bike Shops

Many people, when they are new to biking, don't give a thought to the bike shop they use.  They figure, "I'll get the bike I want at the best price, so what does it matter where I buy it?  At most, I may need some help choosing the right bike, and after that I'll be done."  I think I can understand that.  Some do their own research, and buy bikes on-line or at a big box store, figuring that they'll get the best deal that way.  I can understand that too, especially if they're handy with bikes (or know someone that is).  Some others, like me, have a soft spot for small shops, and like the personal attention you get when you really know a shop (no matter what that shop sells).  I like it when salespeople know me by name (and I know their name), and we can have a friendly conversation.  Those are the people who will be able to get the right product for me, since they know who I am and what I'm about.  So I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive about a new bike shop where I would be starting from scratch.

Riding for Charity

 

"Trek 100", 2009 turned out to be a cold and windy day in Wisconsin (unusual in June) but it was the 20th Anniversary of riding for a very special charity, the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancers).  So inspite of the weather many smiling faces were "ready to ride".  The sunny side of the 2009 event was the venue:  it was hosted at Trek World Headquarters in Waterloo, WI.  How special was that?  VERY!   

On the other hand, 2008 started out to be a perfectly sunny day and ended with a BANG - thunder, lightening and threats of tornados - riders had to be sagged off the course if they were at the tail end of their ride at the end of the day.  So what was special in '08?  Lance led the pack!  He's in yellow and black in this photo and cheerleading the MACC Fund, Trek and all the riders that were ready to roll! 

Trek 100 attracts around 2500 - 2800 riders from around the world, literally, 39 foreign countries were represented in 2009; along with riders from over 25 states.  Were you there, were you one of us?  If not, put it on your calendar for June 12, 2010!  It's a happening - bikes, brats and beer.  After all, it's Wisconsin.

Meals on Wheels

Last weekend I participated in Cranksgiving. It's not a new concept but we've only been doing it for a few years. Basically, it's a scavenger hunt for food items, which are then donated to the local Food Bank. We're given the list 5 minutes before we start, with the restrictions that we have to get the 10 items from ten different stores.The categories are men geared/SS, women geared/SS, trailer. New this year was if we brought a turkey back, we were entered into a drawing to win a sweet Chrome messenger bag. My buddy won it. Like idiots, we bought our turkeys from the most farthest away point and had to haul them back. I had mine in my pack but Martin (that's him above and me next to him) had to carry his in a bag. To fit it all, we had to tape the family pack of TP to our packs. I was lugging at least 50#. I was really hoping my carbon stem wouldn't suddenly break. But it all worked out. I got 3rd in the WG category and received a super cool spray painted crank arm. It was so bling, yo. 

All in all it was a great event and we set a new record for food, $ and participants. I loves me bike peeps.

Wahoo! A new bike!

A new bike is always a fun post, and I am very excited about the newest addition to my garage!  My brand spanking new mountain bike arrived last week, and I did an inaugural ride this weekend.  Beware, there's some serious bike geekiness going on in this post, but pictures follow as an incentive to read (even just a tiny bit).  

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that my upcoming birthday would be a good excuse to get a mountain bike.  I wanted something that was going to grow with me; while I have recently been doing some mellow (but fun) riding, I had gotten to be a decent rider before I had kids and I've been feeling ready to up the ante a little bit.  So I headed down to my favorite Trek dealer, Trek of San Jose, to do some test rides.  I was trying to decide between the Fuel EX 9.8 and the Top Fuel WSD.  Tough choice, huh?

A new generation of cyclists

3 pm, November 12.  Twenty third graders burst out of our concrete school building to find a fleet of TREK bikes and helmets awaiting them from Boston Bikes.

For the next hour and a half, they pedal around a baseball field.  Some don't even pedal - they scoot along with their feet and start to balance.  For these four kids, it's their first day on bikes.

Riding a Familiar Trail

Fall Riding on the Centennial Trail from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

A video in appreciation of a local rails-to-trail that I now ride on a regular basis.

When I was a kid, we'd drive to this trail, unload the bikes, and ride ride ride alll the way to Snohomish, where we'd get ICE CREAM at that really cool antiquey-ice cream shop, then we'd ride ride ride back. BOY I thought that was cool. 

Now I'm cruising it on my carbon fiber Trek. Which is also-- VERY COOL.

"The Video" & Sharing

I must address some moonlighting: yes, I have another blog. I love blogging. When presented the opportunity to blog for Trek, to a wider, women-focused audience, my arm jolted straight up into the air, "YES, PLEASE!!" 

But I couldn't abandon my original blog, An Adventure Called Bicycling. It's where I've stored so many ride photos, videos, how-to posts, rants and raves and general inspiration regarding bicycling. I look at Google Analytics (site visit counter) in awe, imagining my collective audience sitting in an auditorium to hear what thoughts, discoveries and news I have to share about bicycling. Sometimes I find that I write not just for the audience-- but for myself. To hold myself accountable to never stop exploring.

The real driving force, though, is that sometimes I receive notes of thanks for particularly inspiring posts that encouraged people to do something they've been putting off, or didn't think they'd ever do. Wow. That feels just amazing.

I bring all this up, because never have I received so many thanks for a post, than for THIS VIDEO. 

What We Saw: TransAmerica Bicycle Tour 2009 from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

While I may be applauding myself and my efforts right now, my point is to encourage ALL OF YOU, readers out there-- to think about how you can share YOUR adventure, whatever it may be. If you're bicycling through the winter for the first time, if you're going to train for a triathlon for the first time, if you're a mother, toting her children to school behind a bicycle instead of an SUV.. you are having a positive impact on your community, but don't stop there! Think about how you can SHARE your experience with more family and friends. Take snap shots of your new bicycling adventure (be it commuting, traveling or training) and make a simple slideshow on iMovie, then invite friends over for drinks and a show.

This is just to say-- you don't have to ride your bike for 3 months in order to be inspiring. Every little adventure-- across the country or to the grocery store-- is an adventure worth sharing.

Go share!!

Ditto on Good Samaratans

Now that we're on a kick listing our best experiences with complete strangers I needed to add my 2 cents worth.  Where to start?  maybe with the fact that over about 10 years we have completed 4 or 5 delightful STP weekend rides- 200 miles in 2 days.  Mt. Rainer on your left, valleys and forests and the best rest stops and sag support you could ask for.  In fact SO good that a rider doesn't  even notice the horrendous traffic and dangerous intersections - that's because the communities and volunteers come together to support the ride; they divert traffic, close off intersections, have police officers directing traffic.  Riders are oblivious to the coordination it takes to move all those bikes and riders, 10,000 strong, from Seattle to Portland safely.   Since we had not been able to do this great ride for a few years - we decided "let's just go out and do that STP route on our own, unsupported". Bad plan!