the drome is on

I almost got hit by a bus, then by a tram and finally by a car that wanted to cross an intersection on a yellow-red light and I couldn't wait to squeeze into it too. Patience is not my strong side. Now comes the less intense part. The drome is clean thanks to the efforts and superpowers of some people, the season is back! Time to train.
To top it off, there is another tick that can be put in my list: the crossing of Daugava. Scary it was, but I did it. Riga is romantic at night especially with a view from the river.[28.02.13]

the accompanying lights

The afternoon sun is so bright that riding with my view towards it I can see only some spots of the asphalt in front of me and nothing else. The countless puddles reflect the radiant light. I am afraid that the drivers behind me have the same hazy scene. The moon does not lag behind; it is full (as far as I can trust my astronomy skills) and the slightly foggy sky makes it wear a pink-violet halo. I would capture it if I could. [27.02.13]

haters gonna hate (and try to kill?)

Now I know that people know that I ride in winter. Approximately 10 % of the usual cyclists cycle during the cold season, they say. It is still considered extraordinary and we are noticed, but as always people manage to come up with the most illogical negative remarks to share with the world. Are we really all suicidal? After reading some full-of-hate driver comments I wonder how come I am still alive, I am fucking lucky. The danger lies in the poor quality of the roads and in the intolerance. It is being planned to count us on daily basis all year round to motivate people getting on their bikes. Start with cleaning and fixing the roads, idiots (sorry, I needed that). [26.02.13]

a happy feeling

I feel the Sun has come closer. The air smells different, everyone and everything seems happier, livelier.   
I am rushing in the traffic with an open jacket, my scarf and hair fluttering in the seemingly warm sprightly air. The real warmth is close. Everything is melting and some people seem to enjoy provoking the nature. [25.02.13]

bike polo fever

Today was an awesome day, what else can I say... Even if it started with a terrible head- and whole-body-ache. Bike polo cured it all. Riga Bike Polo guys were amazing in organizing this second edition Winter Fest. The location, the program, the people - everything was at its best. I loved playing, I think I am a natural, not bragging, just a little. The truth is, I got lucky with my team; we scored the 3rd place despite my clumsiness. And now... I will have to find use for my new polo stick. [23.02.13]

the appreciation

-14! My morning with these guys. Hot black coffee (or tea), Miit brownies and the feeling of being appreciated and cared for is ensured by several biking associations and crews. They took the initiative and organized this 1,5 h event. Set a coffee stand on a bike lane and greeted every cyclist with a thank you for riding in winter and with a smile :) Important to note that tire pumping and chain greasing services were also offered. I am proud. [22.02.13]

dryness is our friend

The best of this time of year: the sun and dry asphalt, which is a serious deficit now. In winter you start to value simple, usually unvalued things. According to my sister the winter lasts 6 months already and the joy of seeing dry asphalt under the feet (or wheels) is not comparable to anything else. Another trivial topic discussed within our small family reunion today was the comic, the tragic and the comi-tragic situations one has to face being a participant of the public transport reality. We had a good laugh and I wore a sly smile on my face. [21.02.13]

monstrous energy loss

- 10 and sunny. I love it. Not too close to the Summer feeling, but the sun makes the mood go up and even warm us up a little.
Pumped out. My arms can only perform robot moves. I am starving but I can hardly get a fork to my mouth. The Monsterpark swallowed my energy and I didn't even learn a proper bunny hop. Will train some more in my dreams. I bet my bed will not let me go that easily tomorrow.[20.02.13]

bike lanes needed

After yesterday's experience I decided to get home before the rush hour and while it was still bright. Much, much nicer I must say, but I don't think I will be able to avoid 6 o'clock until the Summer. And I keep fantasizing and dreaming about a smooth, comfortable, safe bike lane. How many years do we need to make that come true? [19.02.13]

a breakdown

I am a serious hater today. What disturbs me the most is the weather. For a moment (fine...the whole way home) I had an immense temptation to take a cab or at least get into a bus. I was wishing for a warm, cozy ride  instead of the snowed, slippery roads full of cars spoiling my air. Even though the snow is extraordinarily soft, fluffy and sparkly, I cannot enjoy it anymore. I want the Summer now! 
Sorry for the wining.[18.02.13]

spontaneous fun

Spontaneous trips usually turn out to be fun, because we have no expectations and no time to create the perfect scene. So was the trip to the beach today. Though on the way we discovered an amazing park where we had loads of fun and forgot about our real destination completely. Ice skidding, tower climbing, wire sliding, fooling around in skate/snow-park brought back the feel of childhood. And I am happy to have talked my sister into getting on the bike. Seeing her scared but excited while trying to keep the balance on the icy roads made me smile.[16.02.13]

the black stripe

The black bike stripe is here: 2 flats, short on patches, the pump refuses to work properly, everything is against me! 
Nothing much has changed since the first time I failed to successfully patch a punctured tube 3 summers ago. After hundreds of times of patching, I still manage to do it wrong. [15.02.13]

smile, please

I really love giving an I-see-you sign to fellow riders by staring them in the eyes for a second, waving, smiling or nodding and usually it is mutual, because they know it is nice to be a part of something, a part of a big family. But there was this guy today. I was racing him (he had no idea) and I overtook him three times. We were in a shoulder-to-shoulder position - he on the road, I on the sidewalk but he kept looking straight as if his life depended on not moving his head. So my desperate attempts to stare him in the eyes failed completely. But to compensate for that I greeted my messenger neighbor two times in two  distant parts of the city. He knows how to do it properly - with a smile. 

I felt the love today. At the university, at the café, on the road, at the store, in myself. I hope you did too. [14.02.13]

old girly bike

Woke up with a flat tire (I didn't literally have a flat tube in my bed, I just like to call that unpleasant morning surprise this way). That hadn't happened for a while, the snow and the ice covers the majority of the dangerous tube-enemies, but some manage to get on our way. The savior of the situation (as I was already late) was my mother's old holland type girly bike. How could she ride it!? It barely moved forward, even though I put all my efforts in it. It really pissed me off, but now that the wave of anger has passed, I know I should forgive it and let it retire soon or give it a new breath, I bet it has carried crowds of people and had dozens of owners in both Holland and in Riga. [13.02.13]

tho hole game

My eyes are open, all they see (and feel) is the snow and the rear red lights of the cars passing by. Wet-frozen pants and the upper part covered in snow - I could be mistaken for a walking snowball. And the best part in all of this is that 20 minutes after I arrive to the university, the sky clears up and not one snowflake touches the ground for the rest of the day. 
Evening, I am coming back home and on is the game I play every day  - try not to get stuck or fall in (or because of) one of the million holes surrounding my neighborhood. I could devote a whole new blog to the mighty Holes of Riga. [12.01.13]

find your favorite bike doctor

Today we went on a trolleybus ride to the friendliest bike workshop in Riga. The trip was quite pleasant. I didn't need to use nor my legs nor my reflexes nor my senses (except for the vision). Just staring through the window, keeping the bike from staining the passengers and enjoying the effortless ride. We got a new (used) chainring, new (also used) cranks and, most importantly, new chain. And on the wheels again. With a tougher gear ratio, though. (Who is interested in acquiring the very-dear-to-me Campagnolo Record cranks for his/her racing bike?). [11.02.13]

don't forget to wander

Only today I realized that everyday commuting rides are very different from those free, careless, no-reason wandering rides. I had forgotten how much good they do to me. They are my therapy, my kick of ecstasy. No bag over the shoulder to press you down, nowhere to hurry to. Just you, the bike, the streets and the feeling of freedom. And these rides lead you to many other sensations.
There is something mythical in being on the bridge and only seeing the fog, nothing else, like the world ends there. As something opposite, but with a similar feeling is being on the highest roof and seeing all the other rooftops uder you. The feeling of being almighty? After the ride my troublesome chain finally lost it, collapsed. I hope you have a useful afterlife, chain. [09.02.13]

weirdos all around

Snowing rain today. High velocity= wet pants, therefore I was trying to ride slowly, not much success though. The day reminded me of how two winters ago I was riding the same street and an old lady shoveling the snow from a sidewalk asked me in a very annoyed tone if I had lost my mind, if I had nothing else to do instead of riding a bike in winter. I can still spot surprise and incomprehension on peoples faces, even though we are not that few on the streets anymore. One recent tweet said: it is absurd that playing football outside in winter is considered a norm, but biking is only a weirdo thing. Get used to it. [08.02.13]

emotional baggage

A half-sunny view from the bridge was the morning inspiration. Wondering who cut the cloud. I felt a considerable amount of negative emotions (emitted by car drivers) on the way and remembered the quote I had read in theBike Snob´s NYC second book: we travel them (our streets) laden with cultural, historical, spiritual, and emotional baggage that makes us hate each other. This quote could not have been more apt in stating the reasons for the conflicting situations that we often have to deal with. Most of the times it is ourselves that we hate. [07.02.13] 

a wave of optimism

A long, long day today. Just like it happens in life as such, also in cycling we encounter the times when energy and spirit are close to vanishing, but we keep moving forward and we know that eventually it will get easier (at least the optimists do) and an award will be granted at the finish of this run. In life it may be a success in something, a promotion, a reached goal, a finished project, whatever worthy accomplishment you can imagine for yourself. In cycling these are the downhills and the sunny, warm, dry days + maybe the new tricks you finally learn. Only by riding bad roads on bad days, do we know what the good ones are and feel like. Keep pedaling, the better times, the better roads are ahead of you. [06.02.13]

the ass-saver

There is something pleasant about getting through these bad days of cycling in awfully unpleasant weather. For me it is the grasp of having learned to survive and even enjoy something completely on the outside of my previously set comfort zone. But to partly soften the harming effects of these conditions, I have finally obtained that tru fix cru ass-saver, at least my gluteus maximus is safe. [05.02.13]

the healing

I was having a bad day, a chaotic day. Only when I was heading to the monthy fixie bike ride, I felt happy and calm again. All the worries dissolved in the peaceful streets of my neighbourhood. I was riding fast and catching the snowflakes with my tongue in the air, just like I used to do when I was little. We were 5 today, who gave up the comfy couch and decided that a snowfall and hard wind is not an obstacle for a spin. The ending of the day is even better, our long-awaited video is finally out there: enjoy - Shefix. [04.02.13]

the price of a ride

I am not afraid of getting all dirty and wet if it is the price to pay for a good bike ride.  [03.02.13]

community bike shops

The fake Spring is here again. The soul is happy, breathing the awaking air and hearing birds singing, but the bike is sinking. I fall again. Almost under a car, a bit before the clown-trick place. The chain jumps off the chainring, I fall because my foot is stuck in the strap. Car drivers are patiently waiting and probably giggling. Those last 2 hours with Sam are inspirational; we talk about a new direction in bicycle shop movement initiated in USA - the community bike-shops (one of the pioneers is Bikes Not Bombs) - and its possible implementation here in Latvia. Check these videos: * and * .Discussions, laughter, excitement and eagerness to create something worthy. Thank you Sam Tracy. [01.02.13]

winter cycling freaks

The weather is more tolerable than yesterday, however instead of ice, the water is the challenge of this day; crossing some urban lakes is inevitable. As I still am too lazy to find comfortable clip-on fenders, I suffer the wet-cloth syndrome, but this time I am a bit more forward-looking: I carry backup pants with me. This is the second day of Sam's seminar, the theme is winter-cycling: why cycle in winter, DOs and DON'Ts, clothing, equipment, different suggestions, stories, discussions. And for an additional + Sam demonstrates his DIY freak bike (let me call it this way). I really am enjoying it, feeling surrounded by "my people". Some of today's gains on winter-cycling: * and * .[31.01.13]

ice terror

Storm, storm, storm! The weather in the morning was tolerable, nothing more, but the evening had brought the promised super-strong wind and the hard ice-rain. On the way to Sam Tracy's bike seminar I encountered a river on the bridge and wind-blown balls of snow attacking me; with this song in my ears I won the battle. This day, I learned two lessons: wearing two tank tops can be very beneficial because one can become a skirt if your wet-through pants are killing you during a two-hour seminar; on Tracy's part, the demonstration of Bolt Check was a useful reminder of how to perform a bike safety check. To sum up, this day could be labeled as the city-ice-cycling day, going up the bike lane on the bridge, I started sliding down having no control over anything, helpless, and so were the pedestrians ... moving like ducks on the ice - all the paths were covered with wet ice: terror on every pedal spin. [30.01.13]