Things I Learned Through Grease Rag
What I’ve Learned from this Winter
If you live in the midwest or northeast, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s been a tough winter for biking. Minneapolis saw more than 50 days below zero, with plenty of snow and recently, two solid weeks of the worst roads I’ve ever seen (bumpy sheets of ice sprinkled with loose “brown […]
Winter Biking Outfit
I think it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit when I left the house yesterday morning. I set off for errands: Midwest Mountaineering, grocery store, bank. All told, I biked and shopped for 2.5 hours and returned home in 15 degree weather. Here’s what I was wearing: On my bike: Bern helmet, windproof fleece balaclava, fleece earband […]
The Custom Long Haul Trucker is (Basically) Done
Here’s a photo of the custom Surly Long Haul Trucker I’ve been working on. I don’t really consider it to be finished (lacking fenders & a bell and I am probably going to change the stem) but it’s rideable and I have been riding it for several weeks now. I chose a touring bike for […]
Reaching out to New Cyclists: Downplay the Bad-Ass Factor
There are so many reasons why I ride my bike (for my finances, my physical and mental health, the environment, convenience, fun). It also makes me feel like a bad ass. Especially in the winter. Which is great – to a certain extent. Last week I realized that sometimes I play up the difficulty of […]
Skin Care for Winter Cyclists
Winter has always been a skin care challenge in the upper Midwest, but it got worse after I started winter biking. Even with my mostly-windproof balaclava, my face was red, dry and itchy after a good ride. I failed at staying on top of it last winter, and things got so bad that regular moisturizers […]
Touch Up Your Chipped Bike Frame with Nail Polish
Nail polish, like duct tape, is infinitely useful. We’ve all heard that it’s the best way to stop a run in panty hose. It can also protect your bike frame if a bit of paint has chipped off – yet another thing I’ve learned at Grease Rag. My frame is currently rocking a clear top […]
Grease Rag: My Favorite Open Shop Night
Grease Rag is a group of WTF cyclists (that’s Women, Trans and Femme for the uninitiated) who get together to ride and work on bikes in Minneapolis. I talk about it a lot because Grease Rag has been the single most influential factor in my bicycle obsession. Today we’re celebrating the group’s third birthday, and […]
Girls Biking to Work 