There are obvious reasons to visit Maine by bike. They say it is beautiful. They say the water is cold. But there are reasons not to go to Maine: It is frivolous to ride around on my bike all day. I’m getting too old for this. It used to be cool that I rode my […]
Category: Cycling
On balance
These are how my summer days are going: in a nearby park in partial shade I teach kids how to ride bikes. Two, maybe three groups per day. I put sunscreen on everywhere but especially in the folds of my ears, the inside elbows, the backs of my hands. The kids on bikes: they’re pushing […]
Sweaty hands
A few days ago I was riding my bike in Manhattan and a cyclist pulled up next to me and I was surprised to see two big, insulated caves that he had to reach through to grasp the handlebars. This attached glove situation (also called bar mitts?) is common especially on delivery bikes. But it […]
Coffee
I love coffee. I love that it is warm. I love that it is bitter because it forces me to really taste it, not like sweet things which I don’t really taste I just stuff my face while trying to figure out where and how I will get my next sweet thing. I like black […]
Troy mystery rider woman
You say I missed a spot. I say it was on purpose… A few days ago it was a very hot day in Troy, New York. I was riding my bike down 5th St. A man up ahead sat on hist stoop. When I approached he called out: “your friend is way ahead of you!” I […]
My unhealthy relationship
I had a traumatic experience this week. Actually…I had a couple traumatic experiences this week, among them the guy who rolled down his car window to ask if I was wearing jeggings, and I’m angry about this and other things and I’ve been taking out my anger on cars as usual. When they invade my […]
Things people say to me when I’m riding my bike
Man on the street: Nice bike boy! I look around. There are no other bikes. This man must be talking to me. He is now thirty feet behind me. I yell back: I’m a girl! Man in a car: Hey. I ignore. Man: Hey! I ignore. Man: Hey! Me: Yes? Man: Do you work at […]
The Pope was here
On Thursday night last week I had plans to see a play in Harlem. I was going to ride my bike. I live in Crown Heights, in Brooklyn. I allotted myself an hour and a half to ride there. I would leave at 6pm for the 7:30 play. I doubled checked the address right before […]
The perils of Red Hook Crit
So guys, how about we all get single speed bikes with no brakes and ride them in a loop with two hairpin turns twenty-four times in a row? Oh wait, someone already came up with that idea: it’s called Red Hook Crit(erium). On a Saturday night in April I biked over to the Brooklyn Cruise […]
Anne Foster 