21 May 2009

Springtime Cool

lady cyclist Dorchester white trousers
It takes a brave woman to ride a bike in Boston, and a braver one still to do it in white trousers. This lovely lady is doing all that, and topping it off with a lilac nod to springtime. I love it!

Photo submitted by dotbike. Thank you!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

i enjoy your blog (and endeavor to be as chic as your cyclists!) but wonder why you feature so many pix of helmetless riders... i understand that's 'what's out there' but as someone whose head has hit pavement 3 times and am alive only b/c of a helmet i find it a little irresponsible. just wondering.

Dottie said...

Forget cycling in white pants - I'm not brave enough to wear them, period :)

Charlotte said...

espressoandbicycles, I will never show a photo of a child without a helmet. I think that adults should make their own choices. This gets asked a LOT, you can read my position on helmets linked in the sidebar or here.

You can see helmet only posts here, and finally, here's my helmet.

lagatta à montréal said...

Oh, she looks so lovely! Though I once wrecked a pair of cream-coloured trousers my mother had made for me :-( by wearing them on a bicycle without a chainguard.

espresso, I don't understand why so many North Americans seem to hit their heads when they fall off their bicycles - millions of Dutch and Danish cycle every day in normal clothes and have the lowest rate of accidents, fatalities and serious injuries (including head injuries) of any cyclists on earth, because their society is cycling-friendly. Could it be because you are riding a mountain bike that hurls riders off in front, rather than an upright city bicycle?

I won't make any judgement on whether a cyclist should or should not wear a helmet, they should wear it if it makes them feel safer, and not wear it if it would discourage them from cycling, because the health and environmental benefits of mass urban cycling are infinitely greater than any risk. Whatever gets you on the bike.

I don't wear one for daily utilitarian cycling, though I would if mountain biking or touring in moutainous terrain. No hijab for me to legitimise the dominance of the car, just as no literal hijab to legitimise male domination. But if people do, that is fine. (Note how Charlotte has de-lycraed and feminised hers). I'm a courteous and careful cyclist (et une femme d'un certain âge).

I have fought for a cycling-friendly city for decades, and we have made important progress here, despite a winter even a bit longer and colder than Boston's!

Here is the site of Le Monde à bicyclette: www.lemab.ca