You can get over the bridge in 2.5 minutes? That's impressive.

My commute takes me over the williamsburg and the palanski bridge <-- not sure on spelling. Williamsburg takes me about 6-7 minutes on a good day. Some days I'm zapped and it takes me close to 8 minutes.

I feel good today so I'm going to pump hard and time myself.

One thing i will say is there is no shortage of bike freindly places in new york. The whole west side has a giant beutiful bike route.

Try Athleta! That's Gap's fancy sporty clothing line. You'll likely find plenty of suitable stuff. Lifetime returns. I have picked up some tops and sweaters there. They have dresses too, but they weren't cut well for me. I am definitely not their fit model type!

There are many knockoff north roads. I like them. Some options are the Soma Oxford and a version from basically all brands. Some people mount them upside down for a sportier ride.

no you mis-read what i wrote, it's 2.5 ish minutes on the ascent. and it was 3.5 minutes on the ascent when i first started cycling this winter. i wrote after that, then we have the descent. the total bridge takes about 5 minutes give or take. manhattan bridge takes me about just under 5 minutes

i actually only know what my times are b/c someone told me they use strava for cycling activities so i joined in the beginning of april. prior to that i used an app called moves, but it's not as comprehensive. i also got a hand-me-down garmin watch from the hubs. so now i know my average times for certain stretches - and can see how i do relative to others. it's pretty wild how well they've done it.

i totally agree. it's nice to have the east and west side paths and the parks. there are more and more greenways popping up where i didn't see them before (red hook has a nice separated bike path now) as well which make things easier to get around, esp. around areas not serviced well by transit.

i will check out gap's athleta! thanks

and the link of north roads looks interesting! it does seem like i'd want to try it out and see if i like it. it might be hard tho to persuade me, the ergonomic grip on the drop bars where my hands face each other is my favorite hand grip. i have such good control over my front wheel it's ridiculous - and i can't imagine going back :/ but i will look around and see if i can try it if i find one.

North road bars are what the first touring types used, if I understand right. Not too big and spread out like on a cruiser but not too small like on a hipster fixie. This is my dutch-ish bike with north road bars.. Don't mind the dirt on her!


There are different types. Mine look like the 'Nitto North Road BB302AA' on this page. I don't think they are actually that kind...I pulled them off a 30 year old Schwinn 10 speed.

Exactly, LOL! I wouldn't have time to just ride every day. But commuting or running to the store... That I can do!

Well, I wear regular clothes. My black bike is a low loop frame to make dresses easier (ever try riding a mixte in a long skirt? NO BUENO!) I have been wearing and enjoying riding in these capris here for a while now. As for tops.. these. Love a sale, LOL.

I added north road like handlebars to my loop frame bike. It came with mountain bike flat bars. It was so much more comfy and easy to steer. And was more attractive.

On my mixte I went for the veto orange left banks, which are porteur style bars, with a narrower grip and similar rise to the north roads. So far so good. I had a slight concern about going mixte and clothing choices! But in reality I typically only wear knee length stuff. I have a few pencil skirts that go below the knee towards mid calf. These aren't bike friendly anyway.

My fave bike outfit is a fit and flare dress in a breathable but slightly weighty fabric. These dresses are great! Something like this. As long as the fabric is not too light it stays put. Or I use this skirt weight.

LOL, I just responded to you on the other thread! My loop came with cruiser type bars. Wide, ape hanger-ish bars. They looked odd on a dutchish bike! I put them on my cruiser. Liked them better on that bike. They 'fit' better. And yeah, I don't like flat bars either. They just are so... blah.

I was looking at the left banks for my Schwinn. When I finally finish rebuilding it sometime in 5 years..heh. I like the ones on my mixte, which look a lot like the porter bars since they are flatter then the others.

Erm. Here is mixte. I just got this frame. I had a grey one but it was just a little too big. This one is like a glove. 8 speed, brooks saddle..same one as on the loop.. the loop now sports a B18 (for which I gave up eating out and snacks and much more than basics for, LOL). It is so much snappier and feels faster. And is FUN. I just need to find handlebar things that match better with the darker leather.



Cute dress. I love that color! I can't really wear that cut though, I have too much bottom, LOL. When I go for skirts I like the fuller flowing kind. Preferably in a loud print. Like this. I really want this. But..not on a mixte.

the skirt weight is intriguing, but i would think you need two, one on either side? in any case, i think i'd rather still ride with some sort of legging (i can imagine all kinds of things going wrong!) also the less things i ride with, the better as i have a propensity to lose things. but for those women who must wear their dresses and such, it seems great~

Nope. You really don't. In a flowing dress (like the cotton monstrosity I'm drooling over, LOL) even then you just need one. You put it on the left side, away from the chain and it holds everything down nicely. I just use a hair tye that I keep on the handlebars. A big scrunchy hair thing around a knot of cloth works great, when I need it to.

I did crash once in a skirt. Believe me, flashing undies is the last thing you or anyone else is worried about!

Ah I see. I thought you were just superhuman. My time today was 4.5 minutes on the ascent and 1 minute on the descent at the williamsburg. I use the microsoft healthband which takes all kinds of measurements even elevation. I'd love a social aspect to it because nothing drives us more than competition. I'm looking to get a mounted on the bike based computer because I'm going to start training on a bike stand and this watch would only read my heart-rate. I need cadence and relative distance traveled.

The microsoft bike portion of their app is actually pretty awesome

We are nearly bike twins! I am just waiting for my chain guard to wrap it up! I went a little bigger on the frame, it was the best choice. I needed the reach and to avoid the toe overlap. The sacrifice is I don't quite have the "fist full of seat post. But there is still space to go down, and I need to raise the seat a smidgen. IT felt great on my long (for me) ride. I had no issues other than grip angles. And seat angle a bit. So I am close to being perfectly adjusted.

Wow the mixte is so speedy. Easily 25% faster than my loop frame with less effort!

I find that cut camouflages your bottom. It makes it look like the dress and not just your butt. Hehe.

As for the dress you linked. That looks like friendly fabric so you can tie it around your knees.

It is a breeze to bike in a dress! The hardest part is getting on if you have a high top tube. I only need my weight for really light dresses. Today's ponte dress is so easy! It is a more a-line fit and flare. And enough weigh to stay still. It also doesn't ride up. Straighter dressers are harder. If they aren't just past the knee, tights help.

Bakfiets is a singular word. It's Dutch. The plural is bakfietsen. The Dutch, they have their own word for everything. Google it. I'm sure you've seen a few. They look like a blast, and you can watch your babies while you ride.

It's Pulaski.

yes i've seen them! they seem to have gotten quite popular

awesome. well i will get to try. we have our first really warm day, yesterday was also warm. i wore a cotton shirtdress over the weekend and tested out my new ride. it's not too hard with a high top tube, it's the same for me as a slightly angled top tube.

i still need to check out gap, i looked thru the website but didn't find athleta. i got some things from terry bicycle clothing and hope to be pleased when it arrives...? some local women commuters are talking about beta brand as it's more "professional" looking and can translate well between bike ride and the office.

been using a headband for the commute under the helmet and wow, it's great to not have sweat pour into my eyes!

wearing my lock also presents a comfort issue. are there any pads i can wear around my waist under my chain? the chain is rubbing my hip bones when i pedal and it's not the most comfortable thing. i've seen people have back pockets for their u-locks.

Here is a link!

Athleta

I know BetaBrand. I have heard good things. There is also this skirt I like! Too bad it doesn't come in my size.
https://www.betabrand.com/womens-bik...ing-skirt.html

Can't help here! I bungee my lock to my rack or put it in my front basket.

thank you for the link!

I would never have guessed you could ride a diamond frame bike in that skirt. I'm glad you can.

New bike racks were installed outside my office in midtown Manhattan this week. Our intranet manager wrote a brief article about it and asked the two regular bike commuters (out of about 300 people in our office) to pose. I neglected to ask if she rides in those wedges. For my part, I switch from my dress shoes to Chrome Truks (no cleats). So in my office it's 50-50, multigenerational, old-school roadie and upright townie...we embrace diversity!

Riding in wedges is definitely doable. Grippy soles and make sure you get the right leg extension and you are golden!

Some heels are easier than others.

Good to know!

Just wanted to come back here and report that i'm a huge fan of Terry clothing now.

i own one tomboy hoodie sheath dress (cotton) which was great for spring and one loose fitting athletic-wear dress (nylon). i got them both when they were on sale, for about $60 each.





they're very comfy, loose-fitting, stylish. everything else i've tried to get wasn't as good so i'm sending it all back.

they just blend into regular clothing quite well. now i'm just trying to stock up on sports bras and shorts. the heat this week is gonna be... not fun

Glad you were able to find something that worked well. One thing I like about the increasing number of bike commuters is the opportunities it creates for businesses that want to cater to them.

A few years ago there was a bike shop that opened up close to my house, - in January. Guaranteed that they aren't limiting themselves to selling stuff to recreational cyclists.

Never let a baby/kid stop you from riding. My neighbors are married, no car household. The wife has a normal everyday upright bike with swept handlebars and her husband rides the cargo bike. They have a 3 year old daughter and a 9 month old baby. They have a good set up. He works in the area and she's a stay at home mom. It works for them.

Kids definitely make it harder. Even today, Mom's in most cases are the ones doing most of the child care. Some times that is by choice and other times it societal pressure. It often is a little of each. Before we had our first child my wife was sure she wanted to continue with her career. After we had our son, she went back to work part time but hated the idea of leaving him in child care. So she quit and stayed home for a few years.

Then she felt guilty about not earning a paycheck. Ironically, I knew a couple of women at work who had kids at about the same time, and they felt guilty about not staying at home. Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

It's a little easier to swing if one parent stays home but would still be a challenge. If both parents are working, then gets harder. Daycare may or may not be nearby. They often aren't open late. Kids get sick frequently and daycare (or school) won't want them to stay there so you need to come get them. If work, daycare, the pediatrician, and home are all nearby then it's more doable but often that isn't the case.

As kids get older, they get involved in more activities which means more shuttling around. In recent years I was probably commuting on average 4 days a week, now that my son is in high school and in multiple after school activities, I never commute a full week and am lucky if I get 4 days in. Even in the summer, he has morning workouts 4 days a week and "passing league" once a week where he needs to get to school by 4:45 pm to catch a bus.