What manufacturer wouldn’t love to see their product retailing in a Manhattan storefront? The invitation to participate in a shared pop up shop on Manhattan’s lower east side was that exciting. While it’s not the same as having an established shop carrying your line, it’s still a big deal. At least for me it was, and I was determined to make the most of the opportunity.
Maria Boustead, founder and designer behind Po Campo Bike Bags, was the organizer who came up with the idea and brought it to fruition. She brought together 8 different independent brands who all support biking in style, pooled our resources, and rented a storefront in Manhattan’s Lower Eastside/Chinatown area for Bike Week (May 12-21), and called it the Ride In Style Shop.
I wasn’t able to be there until the closing weekend, but I arrived just in time to join the group for a special, one-night pop up in Brooklyn at the Bike Home From Work Party. I went straight from Newark Airport to the Dumbo Triangle in Brooklyn.
Ride In Style Pop Up Shop at Brooklyn’s Bike Home From Work PartySawako Furuno and her beautiful helmetsVespertine NYC makes stylish reflective clothingMaria of Po Campo shows her bike-friendly bagsSuperpedestrian’s Copenhagen WheelTiGr designs gorgeous and super strong bike locksSuper stylish cyclist shows Brooklyn how it’s doneDumbo Arch
It was a great night, and we met a lot of people. It was my first time to see the Dumbo Arch, and I was struck by its architectural beauty.
First thing the next morning, I had to rise and shine and get to the Ride In Style Shop for my turn to staff the store. I was excited to wear my black Bike It Or Not Two Piece Dress with the new Romantic Ruby Bloomers from the Jeweltone Collection, topped off with a gorgeous Japanese silk scarf that had been my mom’s and would look great with the bold red of the shorts. I had just received a few samples of the Jeweltone Bloomers in time for the trip, but then realized I had left them at the shop after the Brooklyn event! This photo shows me in the blue sample shorts that don’t match the scarf, but pair wonderfully with the Citibike!
Bike style meets Citibike The Bikie Girl display at the shop
Sawako HelmetsLimos helmets and TiGr locksThe Copehagen Wheel and Po Campo bagsThe WillaryVespertine NYC
Each brand hosted an event during the pop up shop week, and on Sunday, I hosted a workshop called Bike Commuting Made Easy. My tips for making it easier to incorporate biking into your everyday transportation has been posted on the blog here.
I enjoyed commuting from my friends’ place in the Village to the shop in Chinatown/Lower Eastside. It’s always fun to explore a city’s bike infrastructure. While biking the busy streets of Manhattan can seem intimidating at first, when you realize how slow traffic moves with all the congestion, it’s actually quite easy to take the lane when necessary (which is any street that lacks an available bike lane).
Protected bike lane on AllenTaking my lane, with the taxis
I had a free day in the city before my return to L.A. Although it was rainy, I had fun walking around the Village. I treated myself to a delicious lunch at Lafayette Bakery & Cafe. It was also my first chance to try out the new Shimmering Sapphire Bloomers.
Charming architecture in ManhattanShimmering Sapphire Bloomers under the Hitchable Flounce SkirtTreating myself to a Croque Madame (hidden behind tower of fries), and a cafe au lait, at Lafayette Bakery
That evening, I had to thank my gracious hosts, Alex and Miki, who provided me a place to stay so convenient to the Ride In Style Shop. We went to Robataya, a Japanese place Miki knows nearby that specializes in robata, a Japanese grilling method that I love. It was beautiful inside, and made me feel like we were in Japan. The food was excellent.
Front row seats at Robataya
Kamameshi – a rice dish cooked in an iron pot
Grilled scallops, fish & a meat sampler
Alex & Miki
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. A little crazy, figuring out how to ship my product in advance and plan for a set up that would be implemented by others in my absence, then squeeze in a cross-country trip for the weekend. It all worked out, and I have no regrets!
One of my favorite perks of being a dues-paying member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is the monthly Sunday Funday ride series. The first Sunday of each month, they organize and lead a themed social ride, exploring different parts of the Los Angeles area. So far, I have done the Tour of Historic Street Lights ride, part of a Culver City/West L.A. ride, the Northeast L.A. ride, the Exploring Faith Diversity ride, and just this month, the Street Art Ride. Even when we ride through areas with which I’m quite familiar, I end up discovering delightful new things about my city – treats that were sitting there all along; I just hadn’t known about them.
This ride started from The Crafty Pedal, conveniently only a couple miles from my house. I had no idea this little gem was there, on Valencia, just off of the 7th Street bike lane in the MacArthur Park area. The Crafty Pedal describes itself as “friendly, crafty, cozy and contagious. We are craft, art and pedal pedaler,” and as an “Urbanic” craft boutique that shares an adjacent 1,400 Square foot art gallery where they showcase local emerging artists and host monthly speak easy poetry and comedy nights. I will definitely need to return so I can spend some more time checking this place out.
It’s fun to browse the delightful combination of art pieces and bike gear. The gallery Bikie Girl Jennifer, standing in front of The Crafty Pedal and looking good in the Bike It Or Not Two Piece Dress from Bikie Girl Bloomers Hyeran of LACBC tries to get the riders organized for a group photo before the ride begins.We rode the 7th Street bike lane into downtown, headed northeast on Main, and followed that all the way through Chinatown. We were a good-sized group, and it was fun to ride though downtown L.A. with so many fellow bicyclists.
A few of our motley crew. Rolling towards City Hall. Passing the Chinatown Metro Station.We checked out a wall that depicted “painters painting painters”, a mural near the Spring Street Bridge, that is best described here.
We then worked our way into the Arts District via Little Tokyo, stopping by this recent creation by @colossalmedia:
We then headed into the garment district to check out the building most of us immediately recognized as the American Apparel factory. Although I’ve passed this building many times, I never noticed the artwork on this side:
The American Apparel Factory Sunday Funday riders gawk at the American Apparel Building from across the street.Riding back into downtown, we were treated to the recently-restored “Pope of Broadway” mural at the Victor Clothing Building, as well as more mural action on the building’s other side:
The Pope of Broadway, featuring actor Anthony Quinn The back side of the Victor Clothing BuildingWe then took the Spring Street bike lane back to 7th Street, seemingly headed back to the start. I thought the art show was over, but I was mistaken.
Waiting to cross Wilshire Boulevard, on Carondelet. Note the serious tunes set up in the cargo trailer.We continued to ride on to the west side of MacArthur Park and north a wee bit on Carondelet Street, stopping across the street from Charles White Elementary School. There we were treated to this big mural by Kent Twitchell, a graduate of Otis Art Institute:
And that was the last stop on the mural ride. Another Sunday Funday indeed.
What’s a bicycling patent attorney to do, but keep returning to our nation’s capital? After all, it’s a great bike city, it’s the home of the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and it’s a beautiful place filled with buildings to gawk at, and more museums than you can visit in a lifetime (or so it seems).
Usually, I visit D.C. in connection with some sort of intellectual property related business, and the biking just gets worked into that. But every March, bicycling enthusiasts from across the country gather in our nation’s capital to attend the National Bike Summit, hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. They aren’t your typical weekend warrior MAMIL* types, either. These are real-honest-to-golly-jeepers transportation cyclists who have an interest in getting more folks turned on to cycling, who see the future of urban planning enhanced by better bicycling infrastructure, who are actual professionals in the realm of bicycle advocacy. In other words, they are saints. And I love them also because they get my product, Bikie Girl Bloomers.
I first heard about the concept of a Bike Summit back in September 2012, just as I was first cooking up my plans for launching Bikie Girl Bloomers. A National Women’s Bicycling Summit was held right here in Southern California, at the Long Beach Convention Center. I didn’t really have any idea what a bike summit was, but knew I had to go to this thing. I loved it. It was so exciting just to be at a place populated with a huge number of other women who loved cycling as much as I do! I met a lot of interesting women, and I was inspired by the speakers, and I knew I just had to really run with my Bikie Girl Bloomers idea.
A few months later, I learned about the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., scheduled for early March 2013, AND that this would be preceded by a one-day Women’s Cycling Forum, AND the Women’s Forum would feature a Women Bike Pop Up Shop. The Pop Up Shop would be an opportunity to showcase women entrepreneurs whose businesses were inspiring and encouraging more women to embrace bicycling. I had already had my test samples made, revised, and finalized (sort of) for the introductory line of Bikie Girl Bloomers. So the Women Bike Pop Up Shop seemed like the perfect opportunity to debut my new line of skirts and shorts designed to make it fun and easy for women to bike to work.
As it turned out, my first production of bloomers and skirts was still in progress when it came time for the Pop Up Shop. I still went, and I did have some samples to show, and promo cards to hand out. I even had a few hundred 3/4 sleeve boat neck tees imprinted with my logo to sell at the Pop Up Shop. That was a heckuva project (both having them made and figuring out how to get them to D.C.), and I didn’t even end up selling a single tee shirt at the event! But my samples, and the bloomers concept, drew a lot of attention. I even successfully processed my first pre-order! It was a grand and exciting learning adventure. But I digress.
The point is, I’ve been going back to D.C. every March since, as I grow my little enterprise on the side. I love being at the Bike Summit with my bloomers, and I love being around so many people who understand and appreciate my product. So, March 2017 marked my 5th annual trek to D.C. to participate in the Women Bike Pop Up Shop. One new and exciting thing about this year’s visit was that the D.C. Cycling Concierge was offering some guided bike rides around the city to Summit attendees. There was even a free introductory ride planned for the Sunday afternoon before the Summit and Pop Up Shop began, which meant I could actually participate. So I did!
I decided to take up the offer to rent a bike from Bikes to Borrow. I had rented a bike from them when I came to D.C. for my first Bike Summit in 2013. That time, I was joining a special ride held on a very, very chilly (as in, so cold, they had to cut it short) Sunday night for women who’d gathered to celebrate the launch of the League’s Women Bike program. I love the way Sega delivered a bike directly to my hotel, and all I had to do when I was finished with it, was lock it up and let him know where I’d left it. Renting a bike doesn’t get any more convenient than that!
The D.C. Cycling Concierge takes people (alone or in groups) on bike rides around D.C. It’s a great way to see the capital, and he can tailor the ride to different themes or the interests of his guests. For this ride, he wanted to give Summit attendees a preview of some of the places they would be visiting during the Summit. That wasn’t necessarily what I was needing, but this was the ride that best fit my schedule, so that’s why I went. Plus, I love the concept of his business, and was curious to see him in action.
Once I had my bike, which was delivered to the meeting hotel, I met up with the group and off we went, first through Chinatown. I was having fun, and trying to snap photos when I could, and visit with other cyclists along the way, so I confess that I missed much of the informative commentary. I still picked up enough to learn things I’d not yet known after many years of visiting D.C.
Looking back at our group, and at the Chinatown Gate in the distance.
It was fun to meet people from all over. I visited for a while with Deana from Montgomery, Alabama, and with Erick from Austin, Texas. There were people from Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, you get the idea!
We rode past Union Station, the Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and stopped for photos in front of the Capitol Building.
I don’t think I will ever stop feeling a certain exhilaration at biking past these beautiful government buildings. The barricades that went up after 9/11, in my view, say “bikes welcome; cars, not so much.”Dirksen Senate Office BuildingTypical row houses of D.C.Friendly bicycling advocatesForeground: friendly bicycling advocates; background: Folger Shakespeare Library (that I had to photograph for my step-daughter who read all of Shakespeare’s works before age 12).Bike your capital!Library of CongressUnited States Supreme CourtUnited States Botanic GardenThat curvaceous building ahead on the left is the National Museum of the American Indian.It was a nippy afternoon. My peacoat, cable knit tights, and Smokin’ Hot Flame Bloomers kept me warm.
We made a nice loop back to our meeting hotel. All I had to do was leave my rental bike locked up and text Sega the location so he could pick it up. Easy schmeasy!
Our 4.7 mile routeMy trusty rental bike from Bikes to Borrow.
The next two days, I was busy with at the Women Bike Pop Up Shop. Although I had to mind the store, I was able to catch part of the Storytelling program put together by Melissa Balmer of Pedal Love. She brought together several women from the Pedal Love Culture & Lifestyle Council, each of whom shared their own story of their bike style. We heard from women of different ages, races, and parts of the country (Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cedarburg, Wisconsin, Seattle, and New York). It was inspiring to hear such different perspectives, each woman pointing to how they came to love and live their bike lives in their own way, and in their own city. The program was a great example of the power of authentic storytelling.
It was also fun to set up my Pop Up Shop, meet women from all over who stopped by, and get a chance to visit with the other vendors. I especially loved it when a woman would bring a friend over to my garment rack, telling her that she bought some of these bloomers last year and loves them — yeah!! I also love it when men come to my booth, shopping for a wife or girlfriend back home. It’s so sweet!
The Bikie Girl Bloomers Pop Up Shop at the National Bike Summit
I still had an extra day in D.C. after the Pop Up Shop. Andrea of the local Women & Bicycles group had thoughtfully organized a special meet up of the Coffee Club for that Wednesday morning, so that Maria of New York-based Po Campo and I could join in while we were in town. We met at the nearby Buttercream Bake Shop.
Buttercream Bake Shop on 9th Street NW
Holy cakes alive: that place is loaded with sweetness! I was overwhelmed on my arrival at the splendid array of tempting delectables to choose from. I succumbed to the call of the cinnascone and paired it with a cinnamon toffee latte, both of which were divine!
Sinfully delicious Cinnascone and Cinnamon Toffee LatteMaria to my left; Andrea to my rightBetsy, Shira, and Andrea
One by one, the others arrived, and five of us enjoyed visiting over coffee and pastries. Afterwards, I walked to the nearest bike share dock to get me a bike for my next adventure. There was just one bike remaining at the dock, but I was unable to get my bike share key to work. I thought at first it was the bike or the dock that wasn’t working, but after walking to two other docks and having the same problem, it finally occurred to me that my key might not be working because the credit card linked to my account had been changed recently due to fraudulent activity. I called Capital Bikeshare and learned that, yes, that is precisely what was preventing my key from working. I was able to log into my account from my phone and update the credit card info, and, voila! My key worked.
Then I noticed the time, and realized I had better get hopping so as not to be late for my reserved entry time to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I was less than a mile away, so it was doable. I was so excited to have been able to land tickets for the recently-opened museum, as I knew that they were hard to come by. To reserve them in advance, you have to book many months in advance, or you can get tickets for the same day by checking the website at 6:30 a.m. I logged on at 6:30 that morning and was able to land a ticket for 11:00 a.m.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The museum is very well-designed. There is more than you can see in one day, but to maximize the first visit, I followed the recommendation to begin at the bottom. An elevator takes visitors down to the bottom, and you work your way up through over 500 years of history, starting with the slave ships, the Colonial era, the Antebellum South, the Civil War, various contributions over the years, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, moving through the Jim Crow era, the civil rights movement, and on into the present-day Black Lives Matter movement. There is an interactive display set up as the Woolworth’s lunch counter, where visitors can choose how they would respond to a given scenario, and then see the consequence of that choice. Along the way, figures from politics, sports, and entertainment are profiled. Throughout the exhibits, it is apparent that care was taken to tell the stories in ways that include both ugly truths and beautiful moments throughout our nation’s history. The upper levels of the museum are devoted to thematic exhibits focused on athletics, military, music, film, theater and television. I skimmed through those sections, but took a longer pause at the extraordinary view from the upper levels.
Looking out over the National Mall from one of the upper levels.Getting back on bikeshare just south of the Museum, near the Washington Monument. I wore a red shirt in honor of International Women’s Day. I also saw people returning from a rally near the White House on my ride back to Chinatown.Returning my bike to the dock across from this gorgeous church on 8th Street NW
Today’s riding did not add up to more than a couple of miles, but they were quality miles, due to sunny weather and unbeatable urban scenery. I was so glad I had this extra day to see the city before returning home!
For my final ride, on the final day of the coffeeneuring challenge, I was determined to check out a place in Los Feliz, a rather hip and pleasantly funky neighborhood north of mine that I don’t visit often enough. Los Feliz is also a neighborhood I pass through on a frequent Sunday morning route, when I ride up to Griffith Park. That ride gives me a nice 22-mile or so loop, with my choice of moderate or intense hill climbing (the latter complete with a fantastic view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory) that I can complete in 2-1/2 hours or less. This means I can still make it to church at 11:00, or have time for other activities. But that was not going to happen on this particular Sunday in November 2016. It was wet and drizzly out, and I don’t do Griffith Park when it’s wet.
So, I did my advance work, and I Googled for coffee shops worth checking out in Los Feliz. Despite a distracting array of enticing options from which to choose, I settled on Bru Coffeebar. It wasn’t too tricky to map out my route, and yet, I still didn’t quite do it right on the first try. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, I snapped my style shot, so I wouldn’t forget to document the Bloomers of the Day like I forgot last time.
Keeping it colorful with Red Hot Aqua Dot Bloomers under a Fruit Punch Nuu-Muu dress (and my orange bike socks!)I rode up Edgemont, one of my favorite bike lane equipped streets. I often take it on my return from Griffith Park, so today I thought it might be fun to try it out on my northbound leg.
The Edgemont bike lane. Griffith Observatory is the big white building on the hillside.Sometimes I get my “F” streets messed up, and I guess that’s where I goofed this time. I turned right onto Fountain and headed over to Vermont, expecting to find Bru Coffeebar near the intersection, but no. I rode south on Vermont a bit, and then realized I must’ve jumped the gun when turning off of Edgemont. So, I checked my directions, circled back to Edgement, and continued farther north this time, to Franklin, that other “F” street. Sure enough, that did the trick, and although Bru Coffeebar is easy to miss, thanks to its stealth signage, I finally saw it right in front of my face, and found a place to lock up the bike.
Bru Coffeebar in Los Feliz. Can you see their sign?It’s a nice, contemporary space, with high beamed ceiling and a cool-looking loft area. I ordered a ginger latte and some kind of syrupy, croissantish pastry that appealed to my sweet tooth. The presentation was lovely, perfect for Instagram, and both the ginger latte and the sweet pastry were delicious. After filling up, I returned to my bike, and was glad to find the saddle on a bit wet. If you’re going to bike in the rain, this is the kind of light rain you can easily manage.
Not wanting to return the same way I’d arrived, I decided to try taking Virgil back. Virgil is often one of the suggested streets when using Google Maps in bike mode, but I’ve been skeptical. Sunday morning is always a good time to take a first try at biking on a street that might be too heavily-trafficked an arterial. It turned out to be quite fun, even if a bit more trafficky than I would like at times. Part of the way, I did have a bike lane, and the slight decline made for a fun and fast ride.
I worked my way back to familiar parts of Koreatown, and enjoyed seeing some of my favorite architectural gems along the way.
The Bullocks Wilshire, one of L.A.’s coolest art deco buildings. Originally a fancy department store, it now houses Southwestern School of Law.Not a bad way to spend a dreary, drizzly Sunday morning.
Yeah, I’m gonna share my loop within the loop.Total mileage: 12.4
Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp
Destination: Bru Coffeebar, Los Feliz, Los Angeles
I was getting down to the wire. It was the final weekend of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. I had two days to get in my two final outings. Much to my delight, I had a bicycle-loving house guest who was happy to join me that Saturday morning. I thought it would be fun to show her some of the local architectural and culinary goodies. Besides, charming Larchmont village is just a couple miles from my home, and yet it has more coffee shops than I have yet visited, so something really must be done about that.
My guest for this ride, Judi, is big on bike touring and seeing the world. On a recent trip, Judi spent several months seeing Hawaii, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and New Zealand. You can see her pics from that trip and others on her Flickr page. We met when I saw her post to the Los Angeles Women & Bicycles Facebook page, asking when the next coffee meetup was planned. When I asked what part of town she was in, she replied that she was looking for a place to stay for the next few weeks while visiting. And with our kids out of the house leaving empty bedrooms behind, I figured it was a perfect chance to practice our bed & breakfast services. It was so fun to have a bicyclista staying at our home.
Judi and I rode north into Hancock Park to the northernmost end of Larchmont to check out Coffee + Food, a place on Melrose I’d found in my online research for coffeeneuring destinations. Bike parking was easy to find close to the front of the shop. We went inside and made our selections. I had a flat white coffee with caramel, just because I had never had a “flat white” before, and got some kind of sweet cinnamon thing to go with it. Judi went for a drip coffee and a breakfast burrito.
If, like me, you need a tutorial on what the heck a “flat white” is, here’s the low down. The quick answer: it’s like a latte, but with less milk and less frothy.
We wandered through Koreatown on our way back, stopping by Alexandria House. Just the night before, we’d been at a neighbor’s house for a fundraising party in support of this shelter that provides transitional housing and other resources for women and children. We stopped inside for a bit, and saw a group of women and teens getting makeovers. It’s a gorgeous house, and it was filled with warm and wonderful people.
We completed a loop back towards home, turning our short ride into a respectable 9.1 mile route.
The short dip along the southern edge of our loop (between Wilton Place & Crenshaw) is where I just had to show Judi my favorite mansion in Country Club Park, that has apparently been seen in a show called American Horror Story. The short dip near the northeast part of our loop is where we stopped to check out Alexandria House.
Total mileage: 9.1
Bike: Specialized Dolce Comp
Destination: Coffee + Food, Larchmont Village, Los Angeles
As it turns out, my free block of time on Saturday did not align with that of my fellow coffeeneur, Ilga, so this last ride in the D.C. coffeeneuring triple shot was a solo adventure. A place called Baked by Yael came highly recommended by a member of the local Women & Bicycles group, and it just so happens to be a short skip up the road from the conference hotel in Woodley Park. In fact, Baked by Yael sits directly across the street from the entrance to the Woodley Park Zoo, perfectly positioned to receive families looking for a refreshment break after a day of zoo-gazing.
It was a damp and dewy morning. I was pleased that I had remembered to carry with me a seat cover that I bought for those times when a shared bike’s saddle didn’t look like something I’d want to sit on. I placed the cover over the very wet saddle, and was on my way.
My handy dandy saddle coverIn order to (a) make the ride more fun and interesting, and (b) ensure that my ride met the two mile minimum, I decided to do some exploring through the beautiful neighborhood near the Cathedral.
The colors were stunning, and I enjoyed the architecture of the stately homes in this neighborhood, some of which serve as embassies. I was also tickled to recognize what must have been part of the American University campus, my hubby’s alma mater.I looped around a bit, wanting to be sure I’d logged enough extra distance before getting to my destination on Connecticut Avenue.
I found Baked by Yael easily enough, and remembered to snap a photo with evidence of my bike mode in front (just the helmet and my bag, as I’d already parked the bike). There’s a capital bikeshare docking station conveniently up the street. It seemed I might be their first customer of the morning, as the place was perfectly clean and quiet. I was taken by the chocolate that faced me, and knew a hot chocolate would be the perfect thing to warm me up on this brisk morning.
This was a new thing to me: being given a popsicle stick with a big chunk of dark chocolate on it, together with a cup of hot milk. I then sat and stirred my chocolate into the milk and watched my hot chocolate form before my eyes. It was divine.
I went back to the dock and retrieved a bike for the return trip. Heading south on Connecticut Avenue was no picnic – I’d rather not bike on such busy streets. I decided to take the first left turn, at Cathedral Avenue, and turned from there onto Woodley Place to cut over to Woodley Road, a familiar street to me. I thought I was being so clever by taking that on around, connecting back up with Cathedral Avenue, believing this would take me right to Calvert Street, where I would be able to dock the bike right there on the bridge. Except Cathedral Avenue actually dips down under the bridge and curves on to pass under Connecticut Avenue into Rock Creek Park. By the time I realized what I’d done, there wasn’t any easy way to back out of it. I followed the road as it curved around, and then I recognized the steep hill that one can take back up out of the park to Calvert Street.
Let’s just say I got a chance to burn off some of that hot chocolate! If you’ve ever tried to climb a steep hill on a clunky bikeshare bike, you know what I’m talking about.
Total mileage: 2.9
Bike: Capital Bikeshare
Destination: Baked by Yael, Woodley Park, Washington, D.C.
Another opportunity to meet up with the Women & Bicycles Coffee Club arose during my visit to D.C. in October 2016 (just to clarify, since I’m writing this in March 2017). It meant sneaking out early on Friday morning from the breakfast meeting of the Women in Intellectual Property Law Committee of AIPLA. Thank goodness I didn’t sneak out too early or fail to show altogether, as this was my last meeting after serving three years as the Board liaison to this committee. The committee leaders had thoughtfully acknowledged me as their departing liaison by calling me to the front of the room to receive a lovely gift. I stayed as long as I could without completely missing the coffee club, and then ducked out in the middle of the breakfast meeting’s program to hurry on over to the nearest bikeshare station and hop in a bike.
Rolling into Adam’s Morgan
This time the sun was already up, and it was a glorious morning to ride the just-shy-of-a-mile trip into Adam’s Morgan. I was able to catch the group of seven women before they had to leave for work and whatnot. Particularly exciting about this group of women is that it included a fellow coffeeneur, Ilga, with whom I had communicated about planning a joint coffeeneuring outing while I was visiting her home town.
So much of the fun of participating in coffeeneuring is the shared community that forms between coffeeneurs all over the country, and even the world. Most of us do not have local fellow coffeeneurs with whom we gather in person, and enjoy making a virtual connection through our Facebook group and Instagram sharing. My familiarity with Washington, D.C., the Women & Bicycles group, and the Coffeeneurs all came together in an opportunity for intersection of these elements. It was fun to make an in-real-life connection with a co-coffeeneur.
Since I’d arrived rather late, most were winding up their coffee experience when I arrived. I wanted to make a quick and easy beverage choice, to avoid a long wait for my drink. In a departure from my usual coffeeneuring beverage, I decided to try some fresh grapefruit juice that appeared ready for drinking in the refrigerated display case. It was a refreshing quencher when I’d already had breakfast and my morning coffee, and meant no waiting.
Women & Bicycles Coffee Club at Pleasant Pops
As is typical for the Women & Bicycles Coffee Club types, these women were most welcoming to the out-of-town stranger. Of course, two of the women there had participated in Women & Bicycles coffee meetups last Spring while they were visiting Los Angeles. So we weren’t all strangers.
As the meeting wrapped up, I had a chance to talk some more with Ilga. She walked with me as I headed for a bike share station and she headed to her next thing that was in the same direction in Adam’s Morgan. Before my trip, Ilga and I had a few preliminary planning communications about trying to coordinate a common coffeeneuring destination for the Saturday during my visit. As we discussed the particular constraints each of us faced for Saturday, we realized it might not work as initially planned. Since Saturday’s co-coffeeneuring plan did not work out, it was especially nice that we had the chance to meet up on Friday morning.
Co-Coffeeneur Ilga, in front of Pleasant Pops
After parting ways with Ilga, I continued my search for a bikeshare station with a bike available. Unfortunately, I tried three stations, and all were empty of bikes. I ended up walking back to Woodley Park. Although I was disappointed that this meant I would fail to meet the requisite two-mile minimum for a coffeeneuring ride, it was a glorious sunny autumn day. I enjoyed the chance to take in the Fall colors, something we get very little of back in Los Angeles.
One after another docking station, all empty! (The lone teaser bike was out of order.)
Some of the beautiful scenery for my walk back to Woodley Park, crossing the Duke Ellington Bridge on Calvert Street
Total mileage: 0.8 (biking; additional 1.7 miles walking, including the part where I got lost)
Bike: Capital Bikeshare
Destination: Pleasant Pops, Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.
Official Ride #1: The Wheelhouse & an event on “Fashioning the Future of Urban Living”
See a theme emerging here? I started out just loving to ride my bike when & where I can, and next thing I know, I’m a fan of “urbanism”. When I saw an announcement about this event, I knew I had to go for several reasons. First, I love an excuse to visit The Wheelhouse, a new-ish coffee & bike shop that brings together good coffee, stylish urban bikes & accessories, while-you-sip bike repair services, and an inviting community space. Second, the event was highlighting a designer of women’s bike-to-work fashion, a topic so very much up my alley, given my side business, Bikie Girl Bloomers. Third, I always enjoy meeting other women who love to bike, and this was sure to be an event that would attract my kind of peeps. Fourth, I wanted to hear the women on the panel, a delightful representation of women who embrace the active, multi-modal urban lifestyle.
By the grace of new Rule #4, the fact that the event was held on a Thursday evening did not prevent it from counting toward my official 7 rides. Although I prefer to make my coffeeneuring rides about exploring new-to-me places, I felt visiting The Wheelhouse at night would make for a new-ish experience as I’d only visited it twice before, both times on a Saturday morning.
Parked my Gazelle in front of The Wheelhouse.Tried the mocha cold brew with almond milk – yummy!Fantastic display of stylish accessories.The discussion of urbanism featured the new Metro Bike Share program, with one of the Metro’s bikes out on display.The Wheelhouse offers an impressive variety of quality saddles and bikes.The panel in action.
The panel discussion was led by Colleen Monroe, a designer preparing to launch a line of clothing that accommodates a physically demanding professional workday: Untucked Workwear. Other panelists were Gloria Hwang, Founder and CEO of Thousand; Tami Spenst, Actor, Designer at Pluck, and Co-Owner of the Wheelhouse; Rubina Ghazarian, Department of Transportation’s New Mobility Division, Creator of LA Metro’s Bike Share; Audrey Bellis, Founder of Startup DTLA and Worthy Women, Co-Founder of Grid110, and Alissa Walker, Urbanism Editor at Curbed.
Los Pobladores refers to the original settlers of Los Angeles, who founded this fair city in 1781. Every year, to celebrate the birthday of Los Angeles, a contingent joins with descendants of these original settlers and walks the 9-mile route taken in 1781 from the mission in San Gabrial to Olvera Street in what is now downtown Los Angeles. Many walk the route in this annual ritual, while others make the journey by bicycle. This year I joined the group on bicycles.
The pre-ride gathering in front of the San Gabriel Mission
And off we went!We rolled past some cool places, such as the Ming Ya Buddhist Association along Valley Boulevard.
And Lincoln Park.
Soon enough, we arrived at El Pueblo, just across the street from Union Station.
And we got to watch the final part of the procession.
La Plaza United Methodist Church faces El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.
Free bike valet parking was available to us on this street off El Pueblo, just across from the Chinese American Museum – I’ve visited before and highly recommend it.
Heading to the bike valet, I got to meet Bikie Girl Maria, whom I’d noticed riding in her new Wick-It Black Bloomers.
A ceremony featured some direct descendants of the original settlers and natives who shared traditional blessings.
The prayer in the four directions.
One of the dancers, relaxing after the performance with her companion.
Smokey Bear was among the attendees observing the hoopla.
La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles, just across from El Pueblo
Olvera Street Marketplace
If you venture down Olvera Street, you will come upon America Tropical Interpretive Center, where you can see the rediscovered Siqueiros mural completed in 1932, now sheltered for conservation and viewable from a special platform.
Also viewable from above Olvera Street is the beautiful Post Office Terminal Annex Building, which served as the central mail processing facility for Los Angeles from 1940-1989.
My complete route for the day, 30 miles total.
This will be remembered as one of my favorite urban cycling adventures.
Hubby and I borrowed some bikes from friends one day during our recent visit to Manilla, California. It was a delightful rural bike adventure that served as the highlight of our mini-vacation. We pedaled north out of Manilla, a cute little town along the dunes between the Pacific Ocean and Arcata Bay in Humboldt County (that’s in way-northern California). Where the main road arcs east toward Arcata, we turned left and continued north through farmland to Mad River Road. That took us to the Hammond Trail, which took us on mostly bike path more or less along the river, and then to the coast. It was a very doable ride and featured great scenery.
Rob crossing over the Mad River Bridge to the southern trailhead of the Hammond TrailI admired the bike infrastructure in McKinleyville while Rob reviewed the route guide.Good signs helped us along the way.Down this gravel path through the trees, and to the water’s edge.A beautiful destination, Clam Beach, where we hung out for a bit before heading back.Aren’t we cute?!One of my favorite stretches of the trail.
The trail passes through varied terrain. In some places, we were winding through tall evergreens, in others we were along or over the Mad River, and in some we were on a bike lane going through residential communities. I especially enjoyed the part shown in the above photo – a variety of trees, bushes, and ferns, accented by bright orange flowers. After crossing back over the Mad River Bridge, we retraced our route through the farm land.
Heading back through the farms & barns.Best house & tree combo of the ride.Naked Ladies in bloom!Friendly horses.Stopping on the bridge along Arcata Bay as we head back into Manilla.Our 26.2 mile (round trip) route.
The Bikie Girl display at the shop
We then worked our way into the Arts District via Little Tokyo, stopping by this recent creation by 
WeLove2Bike! 