Brown stockings and boots

It's a beautiful day here in Boston, much warmer than expected.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful holiday filled with friends, delicious food, and bicycles!

Mild in Ma

It was such a perfect day I was delighted to see so many other cyclists out enjoying it. Unfortunately my camera was not so perfect, we both seem to be lacking charge these days. Still, hurray for the lovely ladies out on Mass Ave this morning.

One handed, in heels.

Black and white and going places.

Yellow trees and yellow bikes make for an autumnal morning.

Unusual Frame spotted on Newbury Street

I've seen frames where the seat tube hugs the outline of the rear wheel, but this was the first frame I'd seen where the seat tube straddles the wheel. Given the triangle formed there it almost looks like the lovechild of a mixte and GT.

French Reflective Scarves

Ah, the French and their scarves, always wonderful, always novel.

A friend of mine sent a link to Rayon Jaune (in French), a new company north of Lyon, near the Swiss border, which offers these wonderful reflective scarves. As seen above, the idea is that there is a "normal" side one wears in town, and a reflective side that's meant for while one is on a bike.

The leaf print shown above is my favorite.

This dot option is my second-favorite, that's pretty wonderful.

However, I'm not sure either of them compare to these dragon vests, which may be my favorite safety-gear yet. Is it wrong to want a grown-up sized dragon safety vest? Yes, I'm a nerd.

Reflections: Preparing for Darkness

Here is a test photo of my nighttime reflectiveness, as imperfectly demonstrated by a camera flash (rather than a car's headlights). It's easy to see that the wide strips of 3M Scotchlite on my Carradice bag and coat are much more effective than the smaller reflections created by my gloves and the sidewalls of my tires (though those certainly help in correctly identifying my bicycle as such). When riding long distance I add reflective ankle bands, but I usually forget when riding a couple of blocks in town.

Far more effective than reflectiveness is my own light source and you can clearly see that with my unbelievably bright Planet Bike Superflash. They say it can light up a small town. Seriously, this tail light is so bright my husband doesn't like to ride directly behind me. There are two other tail lights in this photo but you're unlikely to notice them. I have the main light and the helmet light blinking (when I'm riding in town) and leave the light on my fender on steadily, just for a change (and because it uses batteries less quickly than the brighter lights).

The clocks fall back this weekend, let's all be ready for the darkness!

Reflective badges

A long-time reader alerted me to the fun badges being offered at Velorution.

Sadly, these fun badges are only available in the UK. In looking at the gallery, it appears an approximation could be made with 3M Scotchlite fabric and the Dritz button kits.

I'm thinking a lot about the time change this weekend and how to stay visible and safe when leaving work in the dark. Stay tuned for more ideas and questions.

Better Chevrons for Transportation

Chevron's slogan may be "Human Energy", but this jacket displays the sort of chevrons I like seeing on my streets.

High Heels and Coffee

It was early Saturday morning, she was riding slowly enough to not pose a hazard with her one-handed cycling. Love how those jeans fit with her classic black heels.