Tag Archives: nationalbikesummit

Different Bikes for Different Reasons

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE! Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. Ayesha takes us through her expansive bike stable, including the bike she’s using for #WEbiketodc  I love all my bicycles , they serve four very different purposes. Here’s the breakdown of why I find it beneficial to own these four very different machines customized just for me!

Beater Bike (Albert)

My beater bike is the bike I’m not afraid to lock up in the streets of New York City (extra securely, of course). I find a single speed to be the best choice for my commuting purposes. Single speeds are very minimal, so there aren’t too many things that can break. This keeps maintenance costs very low. This particular bike has a “flip-flop” rear hub. That means I can set up my wheel to either coast with a free-wheel or never coast with a fixed cog. Currently, I’m rocking the fixed cog, simply because it’s fun. This means that so long as the bike is moving, so are the pedals. No coasting on a fixed gear bicycle! Since it’s a commuter, I’m still rocking a front brake.   Albert

Touring Bike (Gandalf the Grey)

Bike tours are so much fun. Living and commuting in the city doesn’t lend itself to a lot of open road, sometimes it’s nice to leave town and ride far away. This is the beautiful steed I’ll be riding to DC! He still needs to be outfitted with a rear rack and some panniers, but this Raleigh Port Townsend has been upgraded for both speed and comfort. I’ve upgraded to a Brooks women’s specific saddle and 10-speed ultegra!

Gandalf the Grey

 

Track Bike (Black Dynamite)

This is my hot rod. There is no practical purpose for it, it’s completely out of a need for speed and a desire for flashy things. This is the first bike I built myself. I picked the parts, and put most of them together. I’m very proud of this bike. I took my time and did it right. I think the results are beautiful. It rides like a dream, and without brakes I feel that I am in complete control. I’m pretty sure my mom would have a heart attack if she ever saw me riding through this city on this guy.

Black Dynamite

Road Bike (Eddy Merckx: Mexico Edition)

There are more than a few folks out there who think everyone should own a vintage steel road bike. I don’t know if EVERYONE should, but I certainly see the benefits of it. The nice thing about a roadbike is that you can go long distances, and not feel completely and utterly exhausted by hills. NYC is relatively flat, but once you leave the city, you’re going to want to take advantage of shifting up and down to keep a consistent cadence while you ride. I plan on participating in both track and road racing in the upcoming seasons. It’s such a thrill going as fast as this bike permits me to. Nothing quite like it.

Freddy Merckxury

Como Arreglar una Rueda Pinchada!

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE! Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors.  Liz Jose, founder of WE Bike NYC, and the participants of Mujeres en Movimiento talk about the importance of knowing your bike mechanics.
One of the most important things about riding a bike, in my opinion, is knowing how to fix a flat tire. It doesn’t matter if you are going to get groceries up the block or biking all the way to Washington DC, being able to fix a flat gives me confidence to ride more often and explore farther from home, because I know, whatever happens, I can get myself home. So here is a crash course on fixing a flat with the help of the WE Bike NYC: Mujeres en Movimiento, our Spanish Language earn-a-bike program in Queens.

Como Arreglar una Rueda Pinchada!

How to Fix a Flat Tire!

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WE Bike NYC: Mujeres en Movimiento

1.    Encontrar las Herramientos/Find the tools

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        • 2 llaves de llanta — 2 Tire Levers
        • Parches — Patches
        • Cemento — Glue
        • Lija — Sandpaper

2.    Sacar el aire de la cámara/Remove the air from the tire

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3.    Remover la llanta y cámara/Remove the tire and tube

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1. Primero, sacar la llanta con llave, introduciendo una extreme de la llave abajo de la llanta y otro extreme asequandolo en un rayo. First, remove the tire using the tire levers by putting on end of the lever under the tire and attaching the other end to one of the spokes. 2.b este paso tres veces hasta que se afloje la llanta y pued levantar la llanta. Repeat the first step three times until the tire loosens on the rim and you can remove it.

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3. Remover la cámara con las manos. Remove the tube with your hands. 4. Ten cuidado de remover la valula del rin cuando sacando la cámara. Take care when you are removing the valve from the rim.

4.    Identifcar el agujero usando uno de los dos métodos/

Identify the hole using one of two methods

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Ponerle el aire y puede pasar la mano y sentire donde está el escape de aire. Inflate the tube and pass your hand along the outside feeling for air. 
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Ponerle el aire y meterlo en agua y ve donde salen las burbujas. Fill the tube with air and place it in water and look for bubble emerging from the hole.

5. Despues de encontrar el ollo/After you find the hole…

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Marcar el ollo. Mark the hole. Sacar el aire. Remove air from the tire.  

6.    Preparar la cámara/Prepare the tube

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1. Lijar un area sobre el ollo más grande del parche .Use the sandpaper to rough up an area around the hole slightly larger than the patch. 2. Poner el cement en en forma de circulo en un area mayor del parche. Put cement in a circle around the hole in an area slightly larger than the patch.
93. Espera que el cement seque. Wait until the cement dries.

 7.    Aplique el Parche/Put on the patch

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1. Remover el parche del aluminio. Remove the patch from the aluminum backing. Pegarle del lado que está al lado aluminio. 2. Stick the side that was on the aluminum to the tube on the dried glue. 3. Esperar. Wait. 4. Cuidadosamente retirar el plastic. Carefully remove the plastic on top of the patch.

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8.    Re-poner la cámara y llanta/Replace the tire and tube

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1. Meter un lado de la llanta en el rin. Place one side of the tire in the rim. 2. Poner un poco aire en la cámara para que tenga forma. Put enough air in the tube that it has a bit of shape. 3. Meter la valvula en el rin. Put the valve of the tube in the valve hole of the rim. 4. Meter la cámara en la llanta. Push the tube into the open side of the tire. 5. Meter la llanta en el rin. NO USAR LLAVES CUANDO SE COLOCAS LA CAMARA DE REGRESO A LA LLANTA. Put the other side of the tire onto the rim. NEVER USE TOOLS WHEN PUTTING A TIRE BACK ON.

 

9. Chequear el PSI (Libras por pulgadas cuadradas) marcado en la llanta y llenar la camara del aire. Cada llanta tiene su propio PSI./Check the PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) marked on the tire and fill the tube to that pressure. Each tire has its’ own PSI.

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Why WE Ride: Gearing Up

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. 

Kaelin Proud share more about her work with Gearing Up and what riding means to the women in the program…

Watching Gearing Up clients graduate over the past 4 years has taught me a valuable lesson: bicycles change lives.  And witnessing  women ride their way to sobriety and earn their own bicycles has opened up the cycling world to women all over Philadelphia – inspiring women to advocate for each other!

Trying New Things: Two Women Bike PHL Stories

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Katie Monroe shares two major highlights from her work with Women Bike PHL.

Part of why I love biking is that it exposes me to new people, places, and things ALL THE TIME. With Women Bike PHL, one of the goals is helping more women to try new things via bicycles — together! Here are two of my favorite “trying new things” stories from the last year of Women Bike PHL:

1) The Mullica Hill Women’s Triathlon Club is an inspiration to start out with — what started as four women in 2009 has grown into a positive, supportive club for 700+ women from the New Jersey and Philadelphia region working toward their personal fitness goals. One experience that not a lot of MHWTC ladies have had, however, is riding a bicycle in the city. Women Bike PHL offered a few urban rides for ladies from Mullica Hill last year. One of them looped around Philly’s gorgeous riverside paths on either side of the Schuylkill River, and wound its way through West Fairmount Park. Most of the women had never seen this part of Philadelphia before — I was especially excited to share the gorgeous, tucked-away ‘Pavilion in the Trees,’ a treehouse-inspired sculpture by Martin Puryear in West Fairmount Park. It’s not something one would be likely to run across without a bicycle and a sense of adventure. It was so gratifying to be able to show these women who were totally badass cyclists (they can go a heck of a lot faster than I can, that’s for sure) to a different type of ride, and a new perspective on Philadelphia.

mhwtc

2) In early December, Philadelphia hosted the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships, a crazy party of a bike race where the competition is real — but so is the silliness. Women Bike PHL led a ride starting from a centrally-located bike shop and heading up to the race (to spectate, not participate). Personally, I’d never seen Cyclocross before. When we pulled up to Belmont Plateau, where the course began, I couldn’t believe my eyes — there were hundreds and hundreds of people on bikes all over the Plateau, and they were all wearing RIDICULOUS costumes – everything from a lobster, to Dick Cheney, to a gorilla, to ET. As the men’s race began, snow began to fall lightly, and then harder. Some of the more scantily-clad riders seemed in danger of frostbite, but I think they had a lot of beer in their bellies to keep them warm…It was definitely one of the more surreal events I’ve ever attended. A cohort of riders (including myself) ended up having to head back a bit early to avoid getting stuck in the snow — even so, making it home in the snowstorm was some of the most treacherous (and fun) riding I’ve ever done. I don’t think I would have attended this event without the support of a group of women bicyclists going with me. And I’m so glad I did!

cxrace

It was exciting to realize that the community that Women Bike PHL is creating can give back to all different kinds of cyclists. Triathletes get to explore explore Philly’s hidden gems, commuters like me can check out crazy Cyclocross races. There doesn’t seem to be a limit on the new experiences that bicycles can connect people to. The ride to DC will be one more such “new experience” — and I can’t wait.

An Audience of One

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. 

Casey Ashenhurst is back, talking about what you talk about on long solitary rides…

Cycling is both a social activity and a solo adventure for me, depending on what I’m doing. When I’m biking by myself, there will be times when I talk to myself—give myself pep talks, sing to myself, just to keep myself occupied when the going gets tough, or the road is long, or the surroundings are boring. I’m a very social and verbal person, so it doesn’t strike me as particularly odd that I like to express things in an auditory way while riding, even if there’s no one else around. I don’t feel weird about anyone hearing me; because I’m on a bike, even if they do I’ll be long gone so who cares! However, if you were a bird perched on my shoulder while I was riding, here are some things you might hear, besides the occasional yell at a car:

1. “I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m so glad I’m alive,” in a singsong voice after a particularly hairy encounter with traffic. It’s a good luck charm. 2. “When I’m Gone,” the song, sung panting and out of breath when I’m trying to go really fast up a hill. 3. Me using a sportscaster’s voice to narrate my commute in the third person like I’m in a race—I always win. 4. A re-enactment of the Al Pacino’s halftime speech in Any Given Sunday, when I feel like I just don’t know if I can go anymore- and then I grab that inch and I do! 5. Humming “We Are the Champions” when I’m coming up to my destination and I’ve made good time.

Childhood Tales of Bike Life

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. 

Kristina Sepúlveda shares some memories of her biking beginnings…

IMG_0343This is me at 31, not 10. Hard to tell though because my face has not changed. 

I learned how to ride a bike when my family moved from New York City to Sarasota, Florida when I was 10 years old. I picked out a pink and aqua girl’s frame and wobbled around the block for a few weeks before I met my first neighborhood friend. She rode a dark red adult road bike with drop handles. She was a year older and almost a foot taller. Sometimes, I would try her bike on and stretch my legs as far as they could go to reach the ground to brake safely.

I rode my bike to school throughout the fifth grade, only a few blocks away, but a daily rush of freedom and responsibility. I went to a school too far away to ride for middle school and was teased relentless on the bus as I made my way through adolescents and the emotional eating that comes with. After school hours, to try to repair my battered self esteem, I rode around the neighborhood with guy friends, getting into petty criminal and emotional mischief. The bad kids tend to not be picked on.

On a particular bad behavior escalation day, I chained my bike to a low post in front of the pool hall, the height of my waist low. It was stolen within the hour. My parents, while disappointed, were not surprised that I was losing my attention to detail as I grew up. Nor were they surprised when it showed up badly beaten and not locked to the bike rack in front of the mall, I stole it back and left it to continue its journey into rust and disrepair in the garage.

I have no idea at what point my parents tossed it.

 

Spotlight: Gearing Up

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE! Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. Here is a participant from Philly’s Gearing Up receiving an award for dedication to her #bikelife

Video by Juliet Shen – friend, videographer and volunteer of Gearing Up! Gearing Up provides women in transition from abuse, addiction, and/or incarceration with the skills, equipment, and guidance to safely ride a bicycle for exercise, transportation, and personal growth.  In June 2011, one of our extremely dedicated clients was offered a brand new Fuji bicycle because of her commitment to her sobriety and our organization.   This video is proof as to why I have the best job in the world! To this day, it is one of the proudest moments I have with the organization: watching a client receive an award to celebrate her hard work, dedication as well as her love for cycling! – Kaelin Proud, Program Coordinator of Gearing Up. Thank to the generous donations received so far, Kaelin will be able to bring experiences like this one to the National Bike Summit. Please click here to help sponsor more voices in DC.

Storm’s a Coming

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors. 

Mary Shyne, long distance riding extraordinaire, draws out her bundle strategy…

bundlingforbikesClick image for an up close and personal view and click here to support our bundled ride.

Cold Weather Riding

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE! Now that you have gotten to know who we are, learn more about us and our process. WE will be rolling out a series of guest posts from our riders and sponsors.  First up, Casey Ashenhurst tells us how she mentally prepares for winter riding… IMG_20131125_075013 I ride my bike to work almost every day, all year round. I’m from the northern part of the Midwest, so I’m used to going out in the cold. Having been in New York for 4 years, at this point I’m also used to the exclamations of, “WOW, you rode your bike TODAY?!?” that I get from folks when I’m still riding in to work come November and it’s 40 degrees outside. It’s actually some of my favorite weather to ride in- brisk, but still able to work up a sweat once I’m grinding it out. But the first really cold day of the year—which for me is about 25 degrees—is always a bit of a rough start. It’s hard to get out of bed, it’s hard to look at the thermostat and not be tempted by the warmth of the subway, and it’s hard to layer up in the requisite cold-weather gear. This year, the first time the morning commute called for the SERIOUS gloves, I took a dissatisfied Instagram selfie once I was ready to roll out, with the caption, “I mean, I’m gonna do it, but I don’t have to be happy about it.” But the thing is, I always forget how good it feels and am surprised when the cold is actually not so bad. I’m getting myself there by my own strength, which feels even better when I have to work a little harder for it. When it’s cold out, less folks are out on the road, which is kind of nice (even though I love seeing people out on bikes!). It means there’s nobody else on the bridge, so when I get to the top, I’m always the winner! The view going into Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge is beautiful, and pausing for a second to take in the view with no one else around offers a rare moment of solitude in this hustle-bustle city. Our ride to DC is going to be cold—but I’m hoping it’ll feel all that much better when we get there since we’re gonna have to work a little bit harder for it!

Who are WE? Nelle Pierson

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WE Bike NYC is organizing ten women from five organizations to ride 262 miles on bicycles from New York City to Washington, DC to represent their communities at the nation’s largest annual bicycle advocacy event, the National Bike Summit on March 3, 2014. WE are so pleased to be supported by WomanTours, Bicycle Times Magazine and Transportation Alternatives. For more about the ride, check out our fundraising page HERE!

Nelle_Pierson3

Nelle Pierson

Washington Area Bicyclists Association 

Women & Bicycles

Age? 25 Where are you from? Lakewood, Colorado  Where do you ride? Up, down, over, across, under, and sideways, sometimes above. When and why did you start riding? Started biking when I turned 18 because I could no longer afford my car, and neither could my dad, so I gave my car to him. My mom bought me a $50 cruiser bike to get me around my college campus, and it clearly became the better, faster, stronger way to get around my giant college campus. How has WE Bike NYC (or biking with your org, or as a woman) impacted your life? Biking has changed my life in ways that are often indescribable. Biking has taught me the importance of thrift, allows me to feel better about my carbon footprint, allows me to connect more with my neighbors, other road-users, new roads, new places, new faces, and myself. It’s fun. I get my daily rush, I get wet and cold and sweaty and this makes me feel more alive. Plus, biking gives me the opportunity in my professional career to help make a positive difference in the world around me. I get to help provide a simple, concrete solution to some of our biggest problems. I get to be the change I wish to see in the world. Why do you want to go on the ride? I need to support my gals, and I want to continue raising awareness of the importance of normalizing, and diversifying the biking for transportation- especially among women. Biking is normal, safe, fun and easy for most people, and while we may not have the marketing budgets to sell this message, we do have opportunities with rides like this. Anything else you’d like to add? I will officially be the “Hoop’N’Holler’er” of the group. Contribute here for a HOOP, a HOLLER, a WOOT, and a YAY!