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I (Trisha) did not, but Dottie went to professional school there. I would like to ride the Natchez Trace one day.
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Hm. This is Trisha here. I am considering upgrading the saddle on my Peugeot but will probably get a Velo Orange model or an Ideale. That said, I have a Brooks B67 on my Abici and like it quite a bit (Dot has the same on her Betty Foy).
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nope! Trisha here -- I would say the beach cruisers I've ridden have been far more sluggish than an Oma or other Dutch bike. They are heavy, but they are designed with that in mind and the engineering compensates for the extra weight. Unless you are riding in a very hilly area, or used to riding Lance Armstrong's bike, an Oma-esque bike will not feel sluggish at all.
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Trisha and I met through our mutual friend, Erin, at a group happy hour. The first meeting I really remember was at a Russian dinner party I threw at my apartment. Trisha showed up with a shirt that said, in Russian, "I love Russian." Awesomeness. Soon after, we went to a midnight showing of Gremlins and I drank too much beer and had to leave before the movie ended (beer buzz + crowded theater + gremlins driving Barbie cars = overwhelming). From then on, we were fast friends :) That was, I think, about 4 years ago when I lived in Nashville for law school.
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Re-learning how to ride a bike can be stressful. I was a nervous wreck when I started again two years ago. Try to take it slowly and stay calm. Practice in an alley or parking lot. Figure out what caused you to fall before and how you can avoid the same problem in the future. Once you have some more practice, riding will start feeling perfectly natural again. Good luck!
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I (Dottie) have Brooks saddles, which I love. On Oma it's the B67 with springs - the most comfortable saddle ever. On Betty it's the B17S - no springs and took longer to break in, but still great. Trisha's Batavus came with a Selle Royale and her Peug has a vintage saddle.
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Both of us have the same tires our bikes came with. Luckily, both of my bikes came with Schwalbe tires, which are awesome. My husband swapped out the tires on his Jamis for Schwalbe, after getting way too many flats with the original tires.
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I don't carry any tools. Same as when I drove a car - I never carried car tools or fixed my own flat tire. If my bike breaks down or something, I'll take public transportation (either taking my bike on with me or locking it up for the time being). Knock on wood, I haven't gotten a flat tire since I started riding with Schwalbe tires almost two years ago.
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I (Dottie) have three cats: Ollie, Ted and Chloe. They're all rescue babies. Trisha has two cats: Willie and Wally. No other pets. I'm pretty sure they'd all try to kill us in our sleep if we attempted to take them on a bike ride :)
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Luckily, there are so many bike shops in Chicago - if I get attitude at one bike shop, I'll leave and never go back. I find that if I show a sincere interest in bikes, shop employees are more than happy to talk with me and set me up with a test ride. Going a lot helps, too, and they're remember your face. Now some bike shops know me and know my blog, so that makes it possible to borrow bikes overnight.
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A few come to mind immediately: Velorbis, Electra, Abici, WorkCycles all have cherry red bikes. I LOVE red bikes!
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I haven't found an inexpensive bike light that's blown me out of the water. I have Cat Eye lights on my Betty and I find they're a good balance between power and price. Because I always seem to lose my lights, I can't get anything too expensive. I had some Knog lights but was not impressed with their power.
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Abus chain lock, the more expensive, the better. You could always throw a Kryptonite u-lock in for good measure. With an Abus chain and Kryptonite lock, your bike will not be a target. Good luck!
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I have a Pletscher rear rack on Betty and I would not recommend it. In fact, I'm about to order a new and stronger rack. The diameter is much smaller than the rack on Oma and therefore I cannot fit the Basil pannier on Betty's rack. The Basil has pretty big rack clips, suitable only for wider Dutch-style racks.
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I treated my Brooks with Brooks Proofhide before riding and then again after a month or so. I try to remember to put a bag or rain cover on in bad weather. But otherwise I don't do much to maintain them. Hopefully they won't get ruined by my lack of care, but so far so good.
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Schwalbe is my favorite tire brand - both of my bikes have Schwalbe and I've never gotten a flat. They make beautiful cream tires. Peter White Cycles sells Schwalbe, as do many online retailers. Good luck!
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For under $400 I would go with a vintage bike from Craigslist or a used bike shop. Otherwise, a new sub $400 bike will likely have quality problems. But the KHS Green is supposed to be a good bike and I think it's only a bit over $400. Haven't tried it myself, though.
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I bring my Nikon D3000 DSLR with me almost everywhere. Usually I carry it in my PoCampo bag on my back rack with no special padding. Sometimes I carry it in the special camera case and throw it in my basket. I hate my Canon SD 1200 point & shoot but Trisha's new Canon S90 is fantastic.
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My hair color is 100% au naturel. I haven't dyed my hair in three years (for a while in law school I had dark brown and dark red hair).
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Let's Go Ride a Bike’s Bio
We are Trisha in Nashville and Dottie in Chicago, friends who started riding bicycles as transportation in Spring 2008. We hope to encourage more people, especially women, to rediscover the joy of riding a bike.
