Frogs!

I found this little light set at the Bike Gallery today while driving home. I got a wild itch to polish all the chrome on my bike and stopped to pick up some shine-in-a-bottle.

Then, while I was in there, I saw these cute little wrap around bike lights that work great and wrap around almost anything! The plastic is kind of soft and stretchy and the light is powerful enough to get some attention. The best part is that they save your life and look really cute doing it. They're also easy to take on and off if you're worried about stuff getting stolen (like I am).



I got a red one for the back light and a white one for the front. They have a steady beam setting and a blinky setting too. I feel like they look a lot cuter than the normal black screw-down type that have Velcro or something equally as dumb.

These were $11.95 each at the Bike Gallery, or www.bikegallery.com and they're called the Knog light, and this model is the frog.

Bike Helmets!

Protect your noggin!

Bicycle helmets are usually ugly as sin, but I found some super cute ones a few years ago and received one as a gift.

The typical helmet: UGLY.





Nutcase Helmets: SO cute!
I have the one with the rainbow dots all over it. 3rd row down, 2nd from the left. I love mine. I was paranoid after I got hit by a drunk driver and wanted a helmet that really stood out. Be prepared to have everyone stare at you though. That gets a little annoying after a while.


www.nutcasehelmets.com

And they're a Portland company! Cool! Support local!

Night time safety!

Safety is a big thing for me. I hate it when bicyclists break traffic laws. I think that when people run red lights (and act like all cars should move out of their way and get bad attitudes about sharing the road) they are asking for trouble. We all have a right to the road equally. Also, we should all be aware and look around at all times.

In order to better do that, we should all take healthy safety precautions and make it easier for others to see where we are and predict what we are going to do based on a common set of traffic rules that we all follow.

Lights on your bike are a MUST. They're cheap, easy to install on your bike, and COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!!! I had these on my old bike and loved them:

Planet Bike Blinky Safety Light Set

They were strong, noticeable, and I never once changed the batteries even though I used them every night when I rode home from work. AND, they're only $11. Nice.

Here's something so rad I might just have to go buy myself some RIGHT NOW:

Cinelli Lumen Glowing Synthetic Road Bicycle Handlebar Tape - White

O.M.G!!!! They are white and GLOW IN THE DARK!!!!! How awesome is that?! $23 ish

Pocket Book Sore

After tying in "women's saddle" or "women's seat" or some variation of it, I've learned a lot. And so has the bike industry, apparently. They have finally come to realize that women *gasp!* have different anatomy than men!

There is a market out there that caters to women's bums- even if it isn't as big as the selection for men. I'm glad it exists. However, I'm stunned at seat prices! I realized after some reading that the Brooks saddles do come in women's variations, however, even THEY would most likely hurt for women to ride on them much. Especially in the road bike position of leaning forward and pressing our pubic bones into the front part of the seat.

The new thing in women's saddle is the ergonomic shaping. Read: wider seat in the back for the wider "sit bones" to rest on and a little groove down the middle of the seat for lady parts. There's no getting around the conversation of talking about lady parts when it comes to talking bicycle seats. You just plain have to be okay with the fact that lady parts happen where your body sits on the seat and there needs to be awareness that, unlike men, we NEED cushion and a groove.

Many companies are coming out with some seats that fit lady bums, but the color selection of all seats is not that spectacular. Black, Carbon, White in some rare cases, and (hello sexism!) pink. Yes, that's right. Bike companies are making seats for women that come in pink to satisfy that lady urge to be a vapid idiot. I love that the men's never come in anything but black and occasionally (and I mean once here) blue. PINK! I'm shaking my head as I type here. I guess I should just be happy that they make seats for us at all...

Well, I like the white ones. In fact, I'll post some pics here of some nice lady seats that I found on www.bikesomewhere.com.

Terry Women's Zero X Bicycle Saddle - Metallic Pearl

This one is the front runner so far. It rings in at $120 (ouch!) Simple, cushiony, nice.

• Flared rear platform gives you increased leverage on climbs
• Flat overall platform and slightly wider nose increase the forward riding surface
• Vanox rails are as light and strong as titanium but less prone to seatpost clamping failure
• Length/Width: 10.6/6 inches
• Weight: 238 grams / 8.9 ounces

Terry Women's Butterfly Carbon Bicycle Saddle - White

Also from the Terry line for ladies, this one will have you eating rice and beans for weeks: $160

• Lightweight, shock absorbing, extremely expensive and beautiful
• Signature cutaway for relief up front; wider rear for sit bone support
• Low profile, flat top with multi-density, injection molded foam
• Length/Width: 10.3/6.1 inches
• Weight: 218 grams / 7.7 ounces

Terry Women's Rosie Bicycle Saddle

(Oh HO! Ladiiiies, here's your ULTRA girly seat!) This little beaut goes for a decent $71

• Best for: Riders preferring width & comfort
• Cover/Features: Leather w/ride like a girl graphics
• Rails: FeC Alloy
• Weight: 326g / 11.5oz
• Length/Width: 10.3 x 7

Fizik Women's Vitesse HP Wing Flex Bicycle Saddle - Titanium Rails

Sexy! Sexy! This little stream-lined number goes for $99 and the gold one's a sassy little seat! Doesn't look as comfy with the narrow front part and no groove.

• Cover: Microtex
• Rail: Titanium
• Weight: 265g
• Length: 270mm. Width: 150mm

Selle Royal Women's Respiro Relaxed Touring/City Bicycle Saddle

The flying saucer of seats! This looks ridiculous. $74.99

• Touring/City
• Cool Microtex Cover
• Weight - 754g
• Length: 256mm/ Width: 227mm
• Rails: Steel

Here you have a mix of them. There are tons more with some groove, not a lot of groove, more padding, gel, springs, all kinds if crazy gadgetry. Some with "ride like a girl" written on them to appeal to the more brainless of us. Sigh. There were the leather ones in brown from Brooks, but on the website I got the rest of these off of, they were close to $350 clams. No dice.

Is it normal that the seat cost more than the bike??? Are these seats only for professionals and road warriors? I couldn't find any cheaper than this that fit my girly anatomy, Fred Meyer (our local "get everything" store here on the west coast) didn't have anything but cheapo seats and the rest of them out there are for boys only. OUCH. I'd rather buy one expensive seat than have a cheap one that causes me to NEVER ride my bike.

The search continues... wish me luck!

Saddle Sore

Well, I took her out for another spin today and it's become very clear that I need a new seat. Ouch!

I guess those little skinny black shaped leather seats are for people that are without actual nerve endings or skin on their body. I hear Brook's is the best seat maker around but their seats are very expensive. But they sure are pretty...

www.brookssaddles.com

These seats are touted as the best, but I've never tried one before. I'm a pretty curvy girl and need a seat that supports wider set hip bones. I guess I'm not alone in this. It seems as though there's a huge market out there catering to the sore bum. Doctors write articles about nerve damage and even impotence thanks to ill fitting bike seats and poor riding form.

Turns out that when I looked at the web page they offer a whole list of official Brooks dealers. River City Bikes and City Bikes here in Portland both sell them. The one pictured above is the B72 in brown, it's also offered in black. I'd like to keep the color palette shades of gold and brown and other fall colors.

I wish I could afford that seat! Maybe I can if I don't buy gas any more... heh heh, I can work this out if I fineggle. I need a seat that feels comfortable in order to ride the bike all over the place.