Four Around the Fourth

The president of my running club has a race timing business, and every so often I'll work a race with him - getting runners into the database and entering bib numbers in to match up with places. Northampton has a race near the 4th of July called "Four Around the Fourth." It's a 4-mile race through downtown Northampton, where you're much more likely to see people on bikes than in my town, even though it's only about 8 miles away. Saw this woman with a pile of leafy greens in her panniers and on her back rack:

Go runners! Finish strong!

Spotted this woman with her adorable daughter and her adorable dog in the basket! I had to snap a picture.

Turns out she was there to cheer on her husband, who was running the four-miler! They chatted with other runners at the finish (where there was also a delicious pancake breakfast.) I was so thrilled to see such a happy bikey family. Plus look at all the cargo on the husband's bike - possibly an Xtracycle? But it also had a second set of handlebars behind the seat, I'm assuming for a kid to hang on?

And I forced myself to get up at 5:30 am to give myself enough time to bike the 9.5 miles from my house to the race. The weather for it was perfect.

See you next time!

Bike Fight

I think often people in the biking community seem to be on one side or the other - you're a road biker, a bike commuter, a BMX biker, a mountain biker - and there's no crossing of lines. This is especially true of the spandex biker vs. slower biker commuting or running errands. But who says you can only be one kind of biker?

In addition to biking, I'm also a runner, and at the end of May I ran as part of a team in a 200-mile relay race. My shins were killing me in the weeks afterwards, so where did I look to get my exercise and give my legs a little rest? My bike, of course!

Every Thursday I run either a 5K or 8K at this reservoir in town. So while I was out of commission for running, I figured I'd take my bike down there and ride around it instead.

I may not be a speedy spandex-clad road biker, but I do like to use my bike as more than just transportation. And I've even done downhill mountain biking before. So when some people in the "slow bicycle" movement complain about aggressive road bikers, I say we're really all on the same team. I'm sure we all want safer roads, more bicycle infrastructure, drivers who are more bicycle-aware. So let's all join forces!

The halfway mark in the 5K - it comes a lot faster when you're on a bike!

And then when I got home I changed out of my sweaty workout clothes and into a breezy sundress to go grocery shopping!

Happy trails (or roads, as the case may be) bicycle friends!