Cycling Sisters

The Cycling Sisters routinely host fix-a-flat workshops to encourage cyclists to get out on their bikes (and overcome their fears of being stranded with a flat!).

These are the notes from our workshop held last summer at Blackstone Bicycle Works.

note: contact repto@aol.com for a pdf. form of the notes

http://www.chicagobikes.org : Lots of info here.

As a formerly pregnant cyclist, I'd like to share my thoughts on this topic.

I rode up until one day before the birth of my third child. I rode most days, typically about 8 miles, in my commute to and from Montessori school as well as running errands. I towed two kids in a trailer during the ride (a 3 yr old and a 5 yr old).

Lest you think I was some sort of wonder woman, I am not. I am fat, middle-aged, and "Suburban."

What I found:

Women on Wheels: The Bicycle and the Women’s Movement of the 1890s

http://www.annielondonderry.com/
http://www.spokeswomanproductions.com/home.html
http://www.spokeswomanproductions.com/aboutus.html

The following is an excerpt posted with permission from Zheutlin, Peter. Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride. (Citadel Press, Nov. 2007).

Join us for the Shaping America’s Youth Local Town Meetings. Bring your ideas and experiences with you as we discuss nutrition and physical activity in youth.
http://meetings.shapingamericasyouth.org/
Why Should I Attend?

* Because overweight and inactivity in our children and youth is a challenge that is best addressed by the entire community
* Because your input will be used to create a national strategy that will result in better health for all Americans
* Because your ideas will help local groups carry out health programs & projects in your area

Explore Chicago's South Side vegan-friendly eateries with local bicyclists when the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and EarthSave Chicago host the fourth annual Veggie Bike and Dine July 14. Registration is $50 for Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and EarthSave Chicago members and includes a tour of the historic Pullman district. Non-members pay $55. This event will sell out. For more information, or to share your suggestions on vegan-friendly South Side eateries, contact Arline Welty at arline@biketraffic.org or (312) 427-3325, ext. 237.

Arline Welty
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation

I thought it was great to see my neighbor choose to have her boys ride their bikes to the park--even in the snowy wintertime--rather than drive.

You can never be too visible when on a bike!

If you've ever driven a car at night only to be surprised by a pedestrian or cyclist who seems to appear out of nowhere, you begin to see what I mean. City streets have tons of distracting lights that flash or reflect. Oncoming cars have headlights that literally drown small blinkies in the contrast. Older drivers have pupils that dilate slower making picking out a dark cyclist even more difficult. Young drivers are often inexperienced and inattentive. Many drivers seem to multitask, talking on the phone, eating a hamburger, and adjusting the radio at the same time they should be focusing on the road. Bad weather can creat blind spots for drivers due to windshield wipers that only clear part of the glass.

So what's a girl to do?

"I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world," feminist pioneer Susan B. Anthony said in 1896. "It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can't get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle, and away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."