And I mean that quite literally. I mean, take a look at the shot above. That is the Manhattan Bridge pretty much on any given day!! The Brooklyn Bridge however, is another story. Now, I am a pretty laid back chilled out person. But when I try to ride over the Brooklyn Bridge, I am enraged by the time I get from the concrete incline up to the slatted plateau because of the throngs of tourists that just can’t stay out of the bike lane. I mean, REALLY people, they have a picture of a bike in one lane, and a picture of a walking figure in the other. You don’t have to speak English to understand that the bike lane, when facing Manhattan is on the right side, and the walking path is on the left. When facing Brooklyn, the bike lane is on the left, and the walk path is on the right. I don’t even have a picture to post here of this nightmare because I get so mad about it, that I don’t even think of my camera as I’m riding through all the inconsiderate people. All I want to do is blast an air horn right up on someone’s ear every time I get on the bridge….

…But never again!! Yes, I have now renounced the Brooklyn Bridge for riding forever more!! I mean it. My poor nerves can’t take it. I can’t stand the tourists in the bike lane taking pictures, not paying attention, strolling in the lane like three wide, letting their kids run around in the lane–oh that’s a doozie!! Or my personal favorite, they stroll in the bike lane on the downhill. Oh god, there is nothing that enrages me more than to have a good speed going, flying, literally flying down the decline on the bridge and having to rubberneck because of these thoughtless people. Rubbernecking…..on a bike?!?! Oh hell no….

Sometimes what I do to teach them a lesson is to time it so that as they are strolling and not paying attention to what they are doing, I speed up and literally brush their arms as I whiz by. And more times than not, I hear them get startled and jump a bit. I always smirk, thinking that maybe I have taught them a lesson. I can feel the dirty stares on the back of my head, but I don’t care. They need to either have me scare them or some equally thoughtless cyclist actually hit and hurt them. Yes, I can admit there are thoughtless cyclists too–we are not always the innocent ones out on the road…

One time I was so pissed at having to keep yelling my usual “Excuse me!!” to all the offenders that I just lost it on one woman when I came upon her in the bike lane that I yelled (and even much to my own surprise), “MOVE!!” She was so stunned she turned around and I gave her a dirty look as I rolled by her, and again, I felt a dirty look thrown right back at me, boring into the back of my head. I felt a little guilty about yelling at someone like that, but I was frustrated with the whole situation.

And it doesn’t even really get any better in the evening either. So I am making a call to arms: all cyclists, take the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges as our own!! I mean, sure, you may at times have to take the Brooklyn Bridge to a destination that is close to it, but remember, you’re on a bike. In my book, there is no “out of the way” on a bike. It just means more toning for your thighs, more conditioning your circulation. Who cares if you have to go a few blocks more? Isn’t it worth it just to avoid fantasies of beating down a tourist in the bike lane with your chain?….or is it just me that has those fantasies?…..

Really, look at that picture of the Manhattan Bridge during the day. It’s empty. You can ride however you wish across the span–hey do wheelies if you want. No one is on the bridge!! Granted, at night it really is creepy–I know I’m spooked on it at night and I don’t spook very easily–but you get to and from Brooklyn a lot quicker. And also noted is that it lacks the same kind of incline and decline the Brooklyn Bridge has which most riders prefer to work up a bit of a sweat. But if you hate the tourists in the bike lane as much as I do, consider he Manhattan Bridge. Or even the Williamsburg Bridge. I really like the span they have. It is architecturally interesting, brightly painted, stickers and social commentary galore for reading while you ride, wide lanes and the incline and decline you’d miss if not on the Brooklyn Bridge.

I know for sure that my sweet affair with the Brooklyn Bridge on wheels is dead. And Middle America and most of Europe killed it…

And I don’t just mean being super-psyched about being a Brooklynite. I am speaking about the Brooklyn Pride Parade which took place on Saturday, 14 June which marched down one of the main drags of Park Slope, good old 7th Avenue. I am attaching here some pictures of one group that I was impressed with–Dykes on Bike Cycles of course!! As it was nighttime, the photos didn’t come out as clear as they should ahve, plus it was raining like a mother and then even on top of that, my battery ran out before the last of the parade went by. You’d think that would put a damper on the festivities or even my mood, but no, not at all. I like to go out and support the Pride parade so wasn’t going to be a grumblepuss for anything!! So here are some pictures I took of the ladies.

Now it was at this point (above) that the girls got off their bikes and proudly raised their rides up in the air to cheers from the spectators and cheers and howls from me!! I was so happy for them that I wished I could have rode with them for support and to have another woman on a bike, showing my continuing advocacy of gay rights as a straight woman. Call me corny, but I was moved by the gesture.

I am excited about the upcoming Pride parade in Manhattan which is my favorite. I will find out if maybe the Dykes on Bike Cycles will let me ride with them as well as make sure that I take better pictures. Even if they are still fuzzy, I’m putting up pictures of the riders and even better if I get an interview with one or more of them!! We shall see….

HAPPY PRIDE BROOKLYN and NEW YORK!!

P.S.–If you are interested in the other pictures I took of the parade you can see them here.

So kids, I am out in the Hamptons this weekend and I am spending time with a family friend. She took me with her to her spinning class this morning and I have a few things to say about it….

First, the class is so totally counterproductive to any kind of actual riding, road or otherwise. It was very weird to my trained brain and body to watch everyone pedaling on these bikes like their tails were on fire!! Then they slowed down, then sped up again, slowed down and sped up even more–and all this to clubby techno music, and the instructor wasn’t yelling at us, but had her voice raised to get everyone amped. So anyway, I think I may have stuck out because I had my race stance on and kept pedaling at the same pace the whole class. I was crouched over like I was doing a long distance ride on the long bars, which in a way I was. I found it to be quite refreshing to keep pedaling for long periods of time as opposed to the constant starting and stopping in the city. And as I kept up my pace (and even put on more and more resistance), I knew people were going to burn out, which they did. Some folks of course are into the spin class and did pretty well, and I applaud them, but I know that if they were put on a bike on the road, it would be a very different story.

I realise now that spin class isn’t really about being able to pedal or have some kind of semblance to riding. It is all about burning calories, which is what these folks totally did. However, I still say the real thing is the real deal.

And the one thing that really got me was the fact that here you are in this room, stationary (which drives me NUTS about the gym), sweating your face off with no cool breezes that come with the open road. I swear I soaked through my clothes and was dripping sweat all over the place and I kept thinking, “God this is a hot box!!” It was weird to see just how much I can actually sweat. I guess that since I am active, my sweat glands have no problem pumping it out, but when outdoors, it’s a little better than being indoors and stewing in your own juices. UGH!!

But all in all, I got a great workout and I really didn’t even feel much burn. I am very happy about that, because if I did actually feel some kind of burn, I’d be worried…..

A friend of mine and I were thinking that this would be a really great tattoo:

Now you have to use your imagination and clean up the image a bit. Or maybe not. I mean if you think about it, maybe keeping the tattoo looking a bit scruffy like that would make it look more authentic. I mean, it would look like you have just scraped your leg against your cassette (like any normal day), but it’s really a tattoo!! How cool would that be?!?! Think about it–a tattoo, that looks like a grease stain on the leg that looks like a tattoo anyway, but it really is a tattoo!!

OK, I do dork out sometimes, but I’m cool with it….

Oh how happy am I that summer is here. Beautiful blue skies, flowers in bloom, warm breezes, tan lines…. And time to shed the long sleeved jerseys for something like this baby from Craft:

Of course now is the time for rain and lots of it. Making sure your breaks are on point is key!! Aside from that, you need the right gear to stay dry. I have looked around for some rainwear and there seems to be a trend for the standard yellow jackets and pants that remind me of the rainwear you wore at camp. However, this beauty from Pearl Izumi caught my eye:

So far this spring, start of summer, there seems to have been a lot of rainy days. And my saddle seems to channel rain straight down the crack of my….well, rather than give up my saddle, which I really like a lot, I’d like to get my hands on these from Showers Pass:

My saddle is a WTB saddle here:

Now do you see the reservoir going down the middle of the saddle? Now, this is supposed to distribute your weight on your butt evenly so you don’t go numb, but I swear when it rains, it just channels the water into my seat. This is a great saddle and like I said, I will not change it. I think this is geared more toward mountain biking and I’m sure that riding on the mountain in the rain is a no-no. However, since I have a cyclocross, it is weird when I look up components for my ride, as some are mountain, some road. I dig the mountain saddle….

Anyway, there will be much to do during the summer, as I have joined two cycling clubs, and there are many tours just dying for my involvement. Also this year I am going to be on the lookout for ways of getting out of the city (gasp!!) and find roads to ride for miles and miles into the sun… And I fully intend to be prepped with the best gear!!