sweet weekend: saturday

I have been informed by two strongly opinionated and extraordinarily good looking Michiganders that my blog isn't as "funny as it used to be" and has taken a turn for the "technical." I found this slightly disheartening, though perhaps true--and so: here's an anecdotal post.

This weekend was incredibly sweet BUT FIRST: I have a confession to make. I bought a new bike (yikes!). I did this in a typically impulsive style, in full frontal denial of our current economic crisis, holding on to the fragile notion that people are bike-crazy like me, and yes, they will buy my old bike (thank you, craigslist). And they did! I sold my Bianchi to a cool girl named J. It's silly that I couldn't transfer the wheels but my new bike is 650c wheels and the rims on the old one are too big for it. Remember the "kids size" Fuji I said I was going to try? I loved it and I bought it. (The black-grey theme fits well with my embarassingly short skinny jeans and urban lifestyle. It's very Gotham.)



Everyone had told me this weekend we were supposed to have amazing weather and I was excited because I planned to go on this ride to Floyd Bennett field, an semi-abandoned hangar, with BrooklynbyBike. I woke up on Saturday with the intention of eating a healthy, energy-sustaining meal that wouldn't dehydrate me too much for the miles to come (usually I ride maybe 20 blocks at a time, not 12 miles). I went to Colson Patisserie on the corner of 6th Ave & 9th Street and attempted to order sensibly: yogurt with granola, please. The deep voiced countergirl looked at me with pity and said, (literally): "Aw, we ran out of yogurt." Now, feeling slightly childish and clearly incapable of eating a healthy breakfast, I came up with a quick back-up, "Oh, ok--what is in your croissants?" to which the girl responded, "Oh, um..butter and sugar..and (turns to baker co-worker) and asks 'What else is in our croissants?" then I interrupt her, embarassed, and say "I'll take one." So much for my nonbutter option, maybe croissants are the Tour de France breakfast of champions?

They DID have really good fresh squeezed orange juice though.

As I sat there this Mama Dyke kept starting at me. She was wearing a white baseball cap with a pink NY Yankees emblem on it. I felt like turning to her and saying, "No, I'm not hungover, this is just what I look like when I wake up..."

Sitting there, and eavesdropping on the Mama Dyke's conversation, I noticed this:



A new bike shop in my hood! I'm excited about it (be on the lookout for how to be a cool bike mechanic follow up post).

Finally: the ride. We met up at Grand Army Plaza and rode to Floyd Bennett, which was a smooth ride even with the amount of riders we had. It was a great turnout, and I loved riding and talking with everybody.

Here are some pics:















This girl on the ride had a sweet IRO that looked completely new, complete with riser handlebars, front and rear brake, wrap-around lights, a bell, and OURY grips. I really liked that bike and would definitely consider an IRO (not that I'm buying another, I swear).



After the ride, I attempted to sprint up the hilly part of Prospect Park loop, and got really sweaty so my jeans were sticking to my legs. Then we all went to Franklin Park! and I drank 100 Hefeweizens (yes, I had to look that up), which were delicious. At one point some dude's bulldog broke out in an ungodly scream, I think because his owner had sat him in a wire chair (why not leave your dog on the ground?!) but other than that, everyone was well behaved. Jason and I bonded over being prematurely grey, a sign of true maturity. I hope to see everyone I met at the next ride!