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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
