Blair Anthony Robertson: I Live Here

Blair Anthony Robertson - a native of Ottawa, Canada - has been the Restaurant and Food Critic for the Sacramento Bee since 2008.  One of the unique aspect about Robertson's reviewing philosophy, is that you get the full experience - from location, staff, customer service, ambiance, clientele and ultimately the food.

Robertson also write human interest stories and often time they are bicycling-related.  He knows a thing or two about cycling in Sacramento.  In addition to being a fitness cyclist, Robertson is a bike commuter.

Sac Cycle Chic:  Tell me about your bikes?

Blair Anthony Robertson:  Currently - and I emphasize "currently" - I have four bikes.  Three are made in Italy and one is handmade here in Sacramento.  It is my prized possession.  The Italian road bikes are a Colnago, an Opera (which is an offshoot of Pinarello) and a Bianchi San Jose, which is a single-speed that is good for cruising around town.  The other are built for speed.  The locally made bike is a Steve Rex.  The shop is on E Street in Midtown.  I designed the paint scheme and Steve made it to fit me.

SSC: Which one is your favorite and why?

BAR:  The next one.  One thing about bikes is the lust factor.  There are so many bikes to dream about.  Eventually, you figure out that no matter how pretty they are, how light, you still have to do the work.  My favorite right now is the Rex.  It's a steel bike with lots of cool components, including a white stem and white FSA carbon handlebars.  The components are Campagnolo, which is also Italian (I think I was Italian in a past life!).

The Steve Rex 

SSC: What is cycling to you?

BAR:  Beauty, elegance, efficiency,speed, power, perseverance.  There is something very special about being on a bike and working in harmony with the machine.  When you move, it moves.  It is such a simple pleasure.  At its best, the cycling action is very economical, without a lot of swaying and bobbing and bouncing.  To me, it is a wonderful thing to see.  And besides all that, there's no gas and no pollution.

SSC:  What would you tell others to encourage them to cycle?

BAR:  Riding a bike is such a simple solution to so many problems - obesity, congested roads, anger, noise, pollution.  If the errand is less than five miles, try doing the next five errands like that on your bike.  It makes them real.  You have to work to get there and back.  You see different things.  You meet people on a human level rather than from inside a big steel box.  You feel better.  You may even smile.  And when you get to your destination, you usually will have the best parking spot.  Don't be fooled into thinking this is a car culture.  Let's make it a bike culture.  When that happens, we all benefit.  My girlfriend and I always enjoy grocery shopping or going out to dinner just a little bit more when we ride our bikes.

Robertson's Dogs.  Given his job, he must remain anonymous

SSC:  What do you think of Sacramento's bicycle culture?

BAR:  I have very mixed feelings.  Sacramento is such a great place to ride a bike.  The 32-mile American River bike trail is the greatest urban bike trail in the world.  The weather is great, the terrain is varied, all flat in the city and wonderful hills just beyond.  And yet, cars and bikes don't always get along.  In fact, there is a lot of hostility, a lot of us-versus-them mentality.

How can this be fixed?  Get more people riding.  Everyone should be a cyclist, at least some of the time. That way, when there is an incident or mishap, we don't see it as THOSE cyclists or THOSE motorists.  It's us.  Sometimes we're cyclists and sometime motorists.  That said, some cyclists need to behave better.  If you want to be respected and if you ask motorists to "share the road," you have to show your commitment by following the rules of the road.  I stop at stop signs and red lights not only because it's the right thing to do but because I want to show motorists that I take my position on the road seriously.  To be respected, you have to show respect.  I would like to see more cyclists adopt this attitude.

Pip Pip, Tallyho!

Sacramento's Tweed Ride was a success!!  No rain!  Mother Nature gave us a window of beautiful sunny weather to enjoy our Sunday ride!  Here is the photographic awesomeness!

Breakfast @ Kupros Bistro

Riders begin to gather @ Old Soul

Santa Rosa in the house

Dapper Chris

Erin is so happy!!

Lisa from Rickshaw Bags

Look at the beautiful skies

Sacramento

What a handsome group

Lisa and Micah in a Public Bikes from the pop up shop at Hot Italian

70+ in attendance

Harry from Rivendell Bicycle Works

lovely cape

Moi with my new Gazelle from Practical Cycle

Rickshaw Bagworks Crew!

Our Bikes

At Revolution Wines

The clouds never left us

Thanks to all the out-of-towners who drove from the Bay to participate in the ride! Thanks Rick & Erin for putting together another successful Tweed Ride.  See you next year!

Erin Houston: I Live Here

Erin Houston is an editor at the University of California, Davis.   She is a bike commuter, a blogger at 1girl + 2wheels, and the co-founder, with her husband, of the very popular Sacramento Tweed Ride - where cyclist in dashing tweedy attire get together for a leisurely ride through town.

The next Tweed Ride is this weekend.   Meet Mrs Tweed:

Erin and her Rivendell Quickbeam

SacCycleChic:  Tell me about your bikes?  Which one is your favorite?  Why?  Do you remember your first bike?

Erin Houston:  I am the proud owner of two bikes.  (For so long I've had only one that this is a new luxury.)  I have a Rivendell Quickbeam, or the bike on which I learned everything I know about riding, and a Betty Foy, also a Rivendell.  The Betty is still in her zygote phase: right now she is a little more than a frame.  I am very much looking forward to building her up, but I'm also excited about doing it slowly, about picking out components and doing some of the assembly myself.

I's a little indulgent for one person to have two Rivendells in her life, I grant - certainly at the same time at least.  But the Betty Foy was a special - and unexpected - find.  She was love at first sight.  In the Betty, I see everything that was great about the bikes I've owned before: the glittery green banana seat of the Schwinn I first learned to ride, the butterfly-painted fenders and green and pink pompons of the Electra cruiser that got me thinking about bikes again, and the efficiency of the road bikes I've ridden.  It may be premature of me to say this, since technically I have yet to take the Betty Foy out for a spin, but she is my favorite.  And I have a good feeling she always will be.

Mabel - the Rivendell Quickbeam 

SSC:  What is cycling to you?

EH: Riding a bike has made such a huge difference in my life.  It rescued me from the drudgery of a thirty-mile round-trip commute that I was really starting to resent.  After a year or so of driving back and forth, all those miles started to feel pretty lonely, those hours seemed wasted.  In fact, I got so grumpy about commuting that I very nearly left my job.

Then I had a chance intervention: I happened to meet a woman who had an equal commute, but she rode her bike in to work twice a week.  It was a revelation to me, and I was in complete awe of her.  Instantly I determined that I would do this too.

Around this time I also happened upon what is perhaps the most memorable sentence ever to appear in a blog post (so sorry that I've forgotten the blog where it appeared)  Driving makes me angry and fat.

My mind kind of squished these two events together into a combined message that is pretty clear.  So now I get on my bike, I ride the train, and I can't believe how much happier it's made me.

Sally - the Betty Foy.  Photo: Erin A. Houston

SSC:  What would you tell other to encourage them to cycle?

EH:  Because it wasn't very long ago that cycling seemed like a strange world to me, I am acutely aware of how hard it can seem to just jump into bicycling - particularly bike commuting.  And if I ever start to forget the initial strangeness of cycling, I simply recall how dramatically a friend's face blanched when I suggested he take the lane on a particular not-terribly-bike-friendly street that is part of his commute.  Our roads and our cities are largely designed for cars and our psyches are so ingrained in car culture that it takes time to adjust to life on two wheels.  It's important to respect the transition, and to support and motivate and challenge new riders, but not push them.

It's so tempting for me (and maybe many other cyclist) to start the conversation about bikes with, "Hello. I bike to work.  You can too.  Ask me how."  But, in many ways, that's like asking someone to run a marathon with you tomorrow; it's such a huge bite all at once.  So my advice is to go slow.

Take some time to connect with your bike.  If you feel uncomfortable riding city streets to take yourself to work everyday, don't.  Start off riding around your neighborhood on the weekends.  Maybe ride a bike to your favorite coffee shop early in the morning (before the streets crowd with commuters) and treat yourself to that (sacred) first cup of coffee.  Go on group rides.  Ride with your friends.  Over time, your skills and your confidence will build.  And you may be surprised where that can take you.

SSC:  What do you think of Sacramento's bicycle culture?

EH:  I had always suspected that Sacramento was a great cycling town, even before I became someone who rode a bike.  We all cite the obvious things - the terrain is mostly flat, the streets are wide, and there are number of bike lanes, etc. - but what I have learned in the time since my husband and I started the Sacramento Tweed Ride is that Sacramento is lucky to be home to so many people who are passionate about bicycles.

From builders, to advocates, to riders, there are so many people here with great vision for the present and future of cycling in this town.  It surprises me that Sacramento still lurks under the radar, overshadowed by the big bike cities (like Portland, New York, San Francisco, and Davis).  We have so much to offer here.  This is a great city for cycling!

Erin and I share a passion for out-of-focus photography
This one is for you Erin! ;)

Children, rain and cycling

The possibility of rain this weekend got me thinking...What would you do if you were car-free and raising kids??  So what do you do when you ponder this life changing cycling question...

Well you research the Netherlands cycling blogs.  I didn't have to search for very long.  The recent addition of another cycle chic blog from the Netherlands, Pay-bas Cycle Chic, gave me some idea of what it would be like to cycle with your kids and deal with the weather.

Here are some of her pictures.

  Beautiful bike!

Wow!!  Super Mom!

Can't wait to see the day when Sacramentans will be carpooling in their cargo bikes!!!  In the meantime, I am still dreaming of my very own Cargo bike.  Maybe next year!

It's raining, it's pouring...

Well, not yet.  But get ready we're in for a wet weekend.

Via: El Espectador

The Tweed Ride is still on, with minor changes.  Get ready for "The Rain Ride"

Happy Tuesday!

Beautiful Fall Weather!

Make your day an amazing one!!  Cycle Chic ♥ to you! 

Guest Post: Where There is Fashion...

Sacramento is becoming quite the fashionable place to cycle!  This past week, a group of uber-fashionable blogger ladies got together to collaborate and celebrate fashion and blogging in Midtown.  And of course, where there is fashion, blogging and great girls, there will be bikes!

Riding in style:

Bella Q of Citizen Rosebud

Natale Eve of Evelesco

Jenn Wade of Wade & Associates

Coco of Muffin Top Baby

Melody Stone of It's All Happening 

For a complete directory of all the amazing fashion bloggers here in Sacramento (including the lovely Ms. Cycle Chic) check out my Sac Blogger Directory

Kari aka Juniper James

Cycle Chic Sundays! Sacramento does the Tweed Ride

Argyles socks, tweed skirts, wonderful hats...Yeah, It's Tweed Ride season.  I've been looking forward to this ride, well, since the last one!

Here are all the dirty details:  It's on the third Sunday November 21st.  The pre-ride breakfast is at Kupros Bistro at 1217 21st Street sometime around 9-ish.  Then off to the newest addition to bike shops in our fair city:  "The Intrepid Cyclist",  17th St. Alley next to Old Soul Coffee.

There are lots of stops in between so check details at Sacramento Tweed   Bring your camera, your smiles, scarf and hats, mustaches are always welcome!! The festivities should last until 5-ish. And please make sure to equipped your bike with headlights and taillights for the ride home.

What are you wearing?  Can't wait to see you!!!

Girls On The Grid: I Live Here

"The Grid." If you're a local Urbanite Sacramentan, you know what that means.  Our city is laid out like a grid.  When we talk, we usually refers to the grid as the downtown/midtown area of Sac.

We're the capitol of the sexiest, chicest, state in our country.  Well, ask any Californian, and they would said so.  In this city: politics, state government, public relations and non-profit are everyday discussions.  And women are in the thick of it!

"Girls On The Grid," a creative space for those ladies to discuss from careers to motherhood and everything in between, was created by and for these women.  There are over 30 ladies who contribute to this up and coming local blog, which celebrates it's first year anniversary this week.  

These girls are hot, hip and in the know.  And they ride bicycles!  I met with Laura Braden, editor in chief,  and Mary Beth Barber and Ashley Robinson, who are both frequent contributor to the site. 

From left to right: Laura, Mary Beth and Ashley

SacCycleChic:  Tell me about your bikes?  favorites?  why?

Mary Beth:  My most often used bike is a Dahon 7-speed folding bike I got in 2001 when I lived in New York City after I discovered most high-rise management companies wouldn't allow office employees to bring their bikes inside, even on the service elevators.  And the parking garages charged the same amount to park a bike as they did a car.  Yet building security would allow me to take a large, heavy black bag on the regular elevator without inspection, even after 9/11.  Go figure.  The logic of NYC building management companies.  

Mary Beth and her adored folding bike

SacCycleChic:  Do you remember your first bike?

Laura:  I own an Electra Gypsy beach cruiser.  My first ride on it around Midtown was the first time I felt like a true Californian.  It's the first bike I've owned in over 10 years, and I'm obsessed with it- right down to the basket and the bell.  I don't own a car so I use it to get to work, the groceries store, drinks with friends, everywhere!

Ashley:  Oh, I loved my first bike.  It was a purple and pink Huffy that I got from Santa.  I remember walking into my living room that Christmas morning and was so excited to see that bike with this bright pink and white training wheels, it's late 80's graphics.  I remember thinking that Huffy must have been the name of Santa's elf that made bikes and wow, he sure made a lot of bikes!

Mary Beth:   I don't remember my very first bike - just the thrill of realizing I could ride a two-wheeler on my own - but in 5th grade I got my first 10-speed after seeing "Breaking Away." I rode for hours through the Greenhaven/Pocket-area parks singing "Figaro" from "Barber of Seville".  Other memorable bikes: mid-priced mountain bike I rode through college at the University of Michigan at all hours of the day, through snow, rain, etc.  Riding down 57th Street in NYC at rush hour, which is probably similar to the thrill my boyfriend gets kayaking down a class 4 river.  And my first and only true long-distance lightweight road bike that I got on sale and still own, and taking it through suburban, wooded New Jersey when the congestion of the city became too-much.

Laura and her Electra Gypsy

SacCycleChic:  What is cycling to you?

Ashley:  Cycling to me is a relaxing way of getting around town.  Feel the wind in your hair, the smells of midtown and the adventure of moving around town without the pressure of having to find parking!

Mary Beth:  I'm so jealous of the Dutch and people in similar communities that have bicycles as part of their daily lives.   There's something incredible peaceful and meaningful about being able to get around without the assistance of motor vehicles.  As a kid, biking mean freedom - I could get to my grandmother's house, my friends' school or even downtown if desired without relying on my parents.  That sense of freedom is still in my psyche.  I'd bike more often now if I lived either closer to light rail or the downtown area.  Unfortunately my house in Carmichael isn't situated well for biking as regular daily transportation, although I was able to make it work with light rail for 3 weeks last summer when my car was in the shop.

Laura:  Riding a bike is sort of like driving a convertible.  You just feel more...alive and engaged.  You can smell, hear and sense more of the world around you.  I find myself smiling and nodding at passersby's more often, and I notice shops, architecture and details that I would miss if I were driving.  

Ashley and her ride

SacCycleChic:  What do you think of Sacramento's bicycle culture?

Mary Beth:  Downtown/midtown Sacramento is perfect for biking, and I'm both glad that so many people do, and surprised there aren't more, especially with Davis so close.  But I'm also extremely frustrated with how the light-rail stations are set up.  For many of the stations in the outlining areas, there's no easy way for folks to bike there without taking their lives in their hands.  For example, bikers in Carmichael who want to take the Watt/I-80 light rail to downtown must cross the Capitol City/Bus 80 freeway on Watt in a section coated with broken glass, busted sidewalks, no bike lane, and speeding drivers cruising around blind curves.  Suddenly what started as a nice cruise through suburbia turns into a hellish, hair-raising experience.  It's one of the things I wish Sacramento's local government entities would fix.

Laura:  I love seeing friends, couples and families riding around Sacramento, and I love seeing bikes chained to every free post and pole.  I think it adds to the overall character and vibe of Sacramento of being laidback, friendly and open.  Friends and family have all commented on it during visits - many of them wish they had what we have!  In fact, I had to buy a second beach cruiser for visitors to use - they can't get over the fact of how easy and enjoyable it is to bike around town.

Ashley:  I love it.  I went to Davis, so I really fell in love with the bike culture as an actual mean of getting from point A to B, not just a recreational past time I enjoyed as a little kid.  But here in Sacramento, it's so much more dynamic and fashionable, trendy but with actual sincerity and interest.  A true passion for a lot of people.  And it's inspiring to be around it.

Happy Anniversary, Girls on the Grid!

Moving Day--By Bike!!

Recently I noticed some amazing picture of a friend and fellow bicycle advocate Robb Davis, blogger at Traveling at the Speed of Bike and resident of the City of Davis,  showing him moving entirely by bike!  I am a bicycle activist but this move surprised me.

I spoke to Robb about his move and here is what he had to say:

Our family has not owned a car for nearly 8 years and we try to do all we can to lower our carbon footprint and moving by bike was merely a natural extension of that commitment.  In addition, various friends in the various biking communities here expressed and interest in participating in a "bike move" if anyone ever did one.

We were the first to really try it.  I asked people who helped us "why" and one person said that he thought a bike move might be kind of like a "gimmick" but once he had seen it he realized that it could be as efficient as a move with a U-Haul.  Everyone else answered the question by saying:  "Why not move by bike?"  We all really want to model how we can live differently:  rely less on petroleum, get exercise, be together in community and have fun doing even hard work.  The bike move gave us a chance to do all that.  If you could have seen the smiles on people's faces, the laughter, the story telling--the "being together", you would understand why we did it.  It was a great community event.

We moved an entire 3 bedroom house (no fridge but we did move a washing machine and could have moved a fridge had we needed to) in just over 4 hours.  So it was also very efficient.  We have moved over 20 times and this was the first time I can remember in which NOTHING broke!

The move was 2 miles--so not very far and it was flat.  We stuck to side streets for the most part but took a pretty direct route.  Interestingly, we avoided bike paths because they tend to be bumpy.

We have three bike groups here in Davis:  Davis Bicycles!, Davis Bike Collective and the Davis Bike Club.  All three were represented in the move.  We also had a few friends who are not part of any of these groups come along and help.

All manner of bikes were represented, but the more important thing was the variety of trailers and cargo bikes.  We had a Bakfiets cargo bike, a "Bikes at Work" cargo trailer, an Xtracycle; many Burleys and "blue tops" (I think that is what they are called--blue something); a Main Street Pedicab cargo bike, a BOB trailer and a number of homemade trailers too.  Peter Wagner of Whymcycles had a trike and trailer combo that was amazing.

Bike moves works best over relatively short distances of course.  I would say 5 miles or less would be good.  As with any move it is critical to box as many things as possible.  We also used plastic produce crates that I borrowed from a farmer with whom I work.  These are great because they are strong, stackable and you don't need to tape them up.  The key is to have a few "loose" things as possible.  This is the case for every move but encourages people because they can merely "grab and stack".  Also, you need to make a party of it.  Have food at both ends and bring some music (we failed to do the latter).  Also, have everything positioned in one or two rooms so people can grab quickly and have them stack everything in one place at destination.  Preparation is key.  Get the word out broadly and invite anyone who wants to come whether you know them or not.  Also, have a variety of bikes and trailers.

Wow!!  Congratulations Robb!  What a way to make a difference.  Thanks for your contribution!

San Francisco Bike Expo - all things bike!

Saturday was a beautiful day in San Francisco!  Early that morning Erin, Andrea and I head out from Sacramento to enjoy a city day with a dash of bicycle; Cow Palace bound to experience the San Francisco Bike Expo.

We saw the usual suspects.  Met bloggers face to face and got introduced to new and exciting companies.  Here are some of the highlights.  First on line:  Cycle Dogs collars and leashes made from recycled bike tubes.   I met the lovely Lanette, founder and creator of the fantastic idea.  I bought a set for my sweet corgi, "Hadley".  Feedback on the quality coming soon.

Lanette

The next stop, was this really neat T-shirt shop out of Colorado call endurance conspiracy.  Great and fun designs.  My favorite here:

More re-purpose of bike's tubes.  The beautiful bags of totally tubular design

The Renovo bikes out of Portland.  Gorgeous hardwood bikes.  Unfortunately, for me, I didn't get to test ride.  Maybe next time.

Then to a close encounter of the scraper bikes kind.  A youth organization from Oakland and their founder and inspiration: Tyrone "Baby Champ" Stevenson.  Needless to say, Erin and myself were start struck.  If you don't know who Tyrone is become acquainted with his work, this kid is going to change the world.

Yes, I bought the cd to contribute to the cause

Erin couldn't contained herself

It was a great and fun experience.  So many people that I could mention but not enough space.  I also got to meet the founder of Cycle Chic Sundays! Global, the inspiration behind our very own Cycle Chic Sundays! Sacramento.  It was fun to finally meet you in person, Eva!

Pedal Savvy Fashion Show was a hit!  I arrived to late to enjoy the show ;(  Here are the highlights from another blogger Cyclelicious  Thanks Richard!