Possum on the Trail and Jesus on the Metro

I volunteer one morning a month at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School in East St. Louis. I’ve been maintaining their website for several years and have been amazed at what this little school in East St. Louis is accomplishing. 100% of their graduates finish high school and 95% enroll in college. Those are amazing numbers for that area. I wanted to help! So one Friday morning every...
Read MoreCycling Below Freezing

Alright I have a confession… all my LOL (Little Old Lady) Cycle Chic fashion sense goes out the window when the temps dip below freezing. When frostbite becomes a serious possibility I am only concerned about one thing: STAYING WARM. So does this mean that I park my bike until it gets warmer? NO WAY! I simply eschew the cute little jackets and skirts in favor of more heavy duty cold weather...
Read MorePlanning Your Commute

I’ve been a bicycle commuter for years now and it seems like a normal lifestyle to me. I am aware, however, that to most people this way of travel is considered unusual… around these parts anyway. But there are also lots of folks out there who really WANT to try bicycle commuting but they just don’t know where to start. So here’s the process I go through when planning...
Read MoreOn The Streets: Successfully Cycling With Cars

It’s the main reason why more people don’t bicycle commute. Fear of cars. I completely understand. I really don’t like cars at all. I lived without one for four years. I recently did get a little used Mini Cooper. It’s so cute. But there it sits in my driveway. I only drive it a couple of times a month when I absolutely have to. I much prefer to ride my bike....
Read MoreGoogle’s Bicycle Trail Maps

Whoah! I just discovered the neatest thing! Google has recently begun to show bicycle trails on their Google Maps. This is a wonderful new feature that I’ll be using constantly in the future. I use Google Maps all the time while I’m planning my bicycle trips. I hate cycling on roads with heavy traffic so I use Google to find alternate routes on quieter streets through...
Read MoreNutcase Helmets

I run into lots of folks who don’t like to wear helmets. Let me begin this article by saying that I think helmets are NECESSARY, just as important as a seatbelt in a car. I’ve got too many friends with cracked helmets rather than cracked noggins. I’ve seen the helmets. It’s true. I had my own thank-god-I-had-my-helmet-on experience a few years ago. I...
Read MoreDetours Bicycle Purse

Since I often bicycle to the store or to meet with my website customers, I need some way to carry my stuff that is convenient and stylish, something that I can detach from my bike and carry with me when I arrive at my destination. I used to just use my Ortlieb handlebar bag but it wasn’t working very well for me. It’s too big, too boxy, too ugly, and too bright yellow. It’s...
Read MoreLOL (Little Old Lady) Cycle Chic

Let’s face it everybody… spandex doesn’t look good on most people. It most certainly doesn’t look good on ME. And cycling jerseys aren’t very comfortable. They are unfashionable at best and garishly annoying at their worst. I’m just not going to play dress up like Bradley Wiggins (2012 Tour de France winner) and parade down the street on my big fat…...
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