Here’s a video going up Sullivan Canyon, since the bulldozers have trimmed it down to a gravel superhighway. My husband was kind enough to speed up trail in the featureless sections, so that I could show what they’ve done to the formerly fun riding features. I know that it will make sense to people that have ridden up Sullivan Canyon, but I hope it’s entertaining enough for the general populace.
I have fond memories of Sullivan Canyon. It was the first trail I ever lived through hell on, and laughed all through it. I remember passing my bike down a ten foot cliff, because the rains of 2005 washed everything away. There was still water up to your hubs. I point to it at 4:07 in the video.
I remember when this became my favorite trail. The constant changes in the trail from both rain and “first rider” ingenuity, made it fun and challenging (if not a bit risky). Though I am saddened by Sully’s lack of immediate challenge, I look forward to the new obstacles that water and earth will surely form in this beautiful place.
Just A Girl On a Single Speed
This is in Big Sycamore Canyon, on Guadalasca and Two Foxes trail. It had been a while since I’d been on my single speed mountain bike, so I had a few difficulties.
It’s that time of year again. Just like in the fashion world, September is January for those in the bike industry. All year long, companies that work for and with all things bike, have been battling it out for what will be the next coolest thing. Every year,the next coolest thing is revealed to a captive audience of bike geeks at Interbike. In a few weeks, the amazement and wonder of Interbike(1) begins.
Yep, I am a Bike Geek, and I impatiently await the marvels that will be set before me. What wonders will they reveal this year? Will the trend of recognizing women riders continue? It would be wonderful if it did. Only a few short years ago, the business of Interbike was, well, a bit sleazy IMHO. Set in Las Vegas, it was easy to ignore the call for “real” women riders products, in lieu of the easy out for most of the bike industry, which was that, if you want to call something a women’s product, just “shrink it, and pink it”. Gone is that ABHORRENT practice! These days, the bike industry is finally realizing that if you want to make money, you NEED to cater to the other (nearly) half of the cycling population(2). NO ONE has recognized this better than Rich Kelly, marketing manager for Interbike. In the couple of years since he took over Interbike, he has helped change, not just the mood of the convention, but indeed the biking world itself, from an “old man business” community, to a fresh young hip, and girl-friendly place to be. It’s amazing and wonderful how much the industry has grown (up), and Interbike (via Rich Kelly) has been a wonderful contributor. Nearly gone are the “booth babes” of the convention (those are girls who are usually Vegas showgirls, and have NOTHING to do with bikes the rest of the year). In their place, is a far more palatable type of pulchritude: actual women riders, and venders, buying and selling things to and for women. There’s even a little sorority of sorts that has form by way of the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition luncheon. I always seem to get grounded and have clearer, more set goals after meeting with these dynamic women.
Plus, once again this year, we will have an amazing “urban cycling” fashion show put on by Momentum Magazine. Here’s what it looked like last year:
Grafton 3/4 Sleeve Jersey- You had me at Wool/ Silk Blend
Luna's Merino Wool Pro Sweater
So what am I looking forward to seeing? Well, the first thing that to comes to mind is LUNA cycling clothing; yes, the yummy Luna Bar company has now launched their own clothing line for women. And who better, really. They’ve been paying good attention to women’s physiology for a long time, and have built up a great reputation, by way of their awesome, some years unbeatable racing team, the LUNACHIX. These women know how to ride, and I have no doubt that the LUNA gets plenty of chamois/cycling clothing opinions from their often winning roster. No doubt, they’ve come up with something interesting. (HINT- I got a glimpse of the wool/silk blend gear at Sporteve early this year, so I KNOW it’s gonna be good).
Road tires, and Wheels: There have been leaps and bounds in the technology of them round things. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for lightweight riders (those under 150lbs). And when I say “they” I mean that I want to see everyone’s gear. I have no loyalty to any brand right now, save my Michelin tires. So Wheelbuilders and tire companies better bring it ’cause I wanna see, and I’m listening.
Everything in the store is on sale, most items 30% off, some up to 50% off!
But hurry, as the SUPER SALE sale ends next Sunday Sept 21.
Why? Because I’m changing everything! Well, almost…
CycleMaven.Net which is the Women’s Cycling services, and
KallistiBikes.com which is my online store,
will now be
Girl Meets Bike at GirlMeetsBike.com
But I also wanted someplace to express my opinions, and also share the wonderful blogs of other women cyclists, share how-to videos, reviews of bikes by women, and reports from the racing seen. Thus, the idea of a Webzine was born. I hope to bring women on bikes all over the world together, to learn more, have fun playing with cycling fashion, or whatever!
So, coming sooon….
GirlonBike.com
Ya got that?
Any confusion, just head to the Hub Girl Meets Bike
I hope that these names will be easier to remember, and that the sites are more fun for gals to explore.
Girl Meets Bike — Shop Read Learn Ride
I’ve put together a little montage of the outfits I’ve talked about on this blog, now available in the online store
At Kallisti Bikes
As you’ll see, I’m still very early in the learning stages of the medium, but I’m having fun making the videos, at least. The fact is, I’m pretty camera shy, so this was really hard for me (part of why I did it).
I can hardly write after working as a bike tech, but I only worked half the hours that others did. I was also in charge of a mobile clothing store, so only worked as a bike tech from 9am – 4pm. My 45 year old fingers are still swollen, but I’ll do it all again next year, with bells on. It was an honor to be a member of such a dedicated crew.
While my wrists are mending, here’s a lil’ something I threw together. I hope ya like it….
Girl meets Bike, Girl on bike 