Tour de Brooklyn; CONQUERED!

 

I realize that under a year as being a cyclist in New York City, I have accomplished quite a bit. I’ve also realized that doubting yourself is an almost everyday part of life. I’ve immersed myself in bikey stuffs for the past year…little did I know I’d be up on the haps in the NYCbikey community. Or even be part of it. IT FEELS GOOD! I cant wait for this summer..and I hate the heat!

I got my stuff ready the night before..Dress, bag, water bottle, clean bike.

Getting up in the morning was a breeze, just as the ride into Brooklyn. I left about an hour and change earlier than planned because I just had to see The Hubb before wheels down!

Sleepy dumpling..least I got a good luck kiss! <3

He headed to a Karate Tourney in Williamsburg, so we kiss and parted ways. There was another hour and a half till Check-in closed, so I waited for the Bee in front of the York Street station. Within that time-I guided fellow cyclists to check-in(Commodore Barry Park)..told them, to take Jay to Flushing which leads into the park…or Sands St which also led to the park. Remember when I said I knew nothing about BK? Well I don’t….but I did read my cycling map about 18 times. NO LIE.

Once the Bee arrived we proceeded to check-in, buy a shirt, and snap a few pre-tour pics

there was a lot of friggin’ people brah..

Including Julie Fantastic from TA, a fellow feminine biker girl! Great meeting you hun!

Took a while to start rollin’ due to the massive amount of riders, but were finally off!

Grabbed a panda before we really got moving!

Yup, that’s a fairy princess riding the TDeBK!

It was already a great tour of a Borough I know virtually nothing about…except there were toooooooooooo many damn stops! Least there were some good photo-ops :)

Knew Id run into Bitchcakes and her bikey gang at some point!

took about 15 minutes to get moving again..and little did we know the halfway rest stop was just up ahead. So there was more time to get some more pics and pass out some more cards-BUT FIRST! pictures by the Verazzano!

Hermie has seen much in his 1 month of being my bike :)

 

Here’s a few of the peeps that passed me while relaxing under a tree

I’m a big fan of Rosie the Riveter, seeing this get-up made my day even brighter! ROCK ON ROSIE!

and this dapper gents name is Maury(at least I hope it is ><) How friggin’ cool is that Lycra Top?! ‘Twas an honor to photograph you sir..

This lovely young lady is Isis….her hair made me crap myself!

What felt like forever once more, we moved on with the tour, and I relishing all there is to see of this mysterious borough. I was grateful for the chance to see this borough, no matter if it was only 1/4th of it…BK is HUGE! Besides it being my first tour in Brooklyn, there was a few other firsts; Like me riding it with my Bee

riding it with a new bike

and last but not a least…a new attitude. No doubts, no limitations, no excuses…I could do it on single-speed, I can take on hills, and I can do it all in a dress!

Soon enough(unknowingly) we hit the final stretch of the tour..Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park, and the BQE!

Stolen from the Bee*

Before we knew it…we were back at Commodore Park, the starting line..REALLY?! its over?! Just in time though, thunder started rolling in as we turned that bend. So a few last minute pics were in order:

We done did it..we are woman hear us roar!!!!

Hey that’s Jen from the Tour de Bronx! and an awesome recumbent couple!

So about here my phone dies. It starts raining. and I make my way to Regg over in South Williamsburg all by my map and my wits.

WHAT A DAY! Went home to gorge, rest and try on my Tour shirt

The shirt is adorable! The tan I got was not. But the Urban Velo issue I was in was waiting for me, and that lessened the affect :)

What a bikey summer so far..no wonder I’ve started to slim already. SINGLE-SPEED REALNESS.

CC xo

Bike Month Round-up

 

A new bike, new territories, and new things on the horizon this Summer all started this month!

For Mothers Day, we welcomed a new bike to our family; Hermie!

This whole month its been me and The Herm, rolling through the familiar and the strange, getting to know each other. Its been pretty great! I showed him off around the neighborhood, riding the routes I’m oh-so-familiar with, to see how he differs from Sandra Dee.

..and let me say, the difference is just…WOW. Alas, that is for a different post!

1st weekend in May was a ride to the City College for a play followed by riding along Riverside Drive and the Upper West Side,

Just the Bee’s and the bikes on this journey

The 2nd weekend of Bike month, was a trip through Queens, my home-borough :)

1st time on the 7 train

Its been a long time, Corona.

We did the whole 2-3mile route, wrapping around the Hall of Science, The Farm and petting zoo, and of course the Unisphere

 

 

He’s this badass in real life..in case you’re wondering.

After spending the night in Queens with my friends, this day in Queens moved over a Borough to Brooklyn.

I can’t even remember the last time I picked Regg up from work…he had his bike, I had mine..so why the hell not? Awake for 24 hrs, running on basically fumes(and coconut rum shots), may not sound like the best time to cross the Brooklyn Bridge..but we did!

Oh to be young and live in New York City<3

On the 3rd week; it was the 8th Annual Bicycle Fetish Day Festival down in Willysburg. 8th?? Where was I for the other 7?!

There were bikey-related things everywhere and familiar bikey people such as Bitchcakes and Kimmy! Not only was it great having my Bee there, but meeting great bikey gals such as Laura and Shelma, two of the raddest peeps part of the WE bike and Local Spokes movements! Thanks to them, there will be plenty of bike posts this summer :)

Great music was playing, contests and races were ensuing, cupcakes were being eaten, and of course plenty of photo-ops..

BikeNYC photogs such as Jim Kiernan and Dmitry were there and snapped some great friggin shots! Check out Jims Flickr here, and Dmitrys here.

After the rad festivities(and before the rain came pouring down) our little bike clan crossed a new bridge to us all; The Williamsburg

The (wet)faces of accomplishment.

Last, and very far from least, the last weekend of bike month is the biggest of all..I got invited on my 1st social ride, first LocalSpokes meeting, and rode my 2nd tour, the Tour de Brooklyn!

BOOTD for the Garden Party and Social ride includes a dress that you can wear as a skirt(Route 66 $15)!

The garden party was cute fun and informative. Attendees scored some cool freebies too; like bike bells, maps, and water bottles.

*LS’s plan is to get protected bike lanes all over the LES(including Chinatown) for a smoother and safer environment for all commuters*

There is a great community of Lady Bikers here in NYC :D

After snacks, business card exchanges and a bike raffle—Its time to ride :D

While unlocking our bikes, I grab this hot pic of some of NYC’s ladyBikers..including @Bike Peace NYC!

a small and lovely bike group. but what made it better is one lovely rider(Faye) is the owner of a Wayfarer..the Male frame! As a matter of fact, there was three Schwinns on this ride :)

SD’s Brother!

Managed to only snap one pic throughout the whole ride..and here it is;

W34th street near Penn Station

My new awesome Bikey pal Raquel schedules weekly rides through Meetup.com or The Social ride FB page! THANKS FOR THE AWESOME INITIATIVE RACH!

At the risk of making this post drag on, I’ll be blogging about the Tour de Brooklyn(and it being on my one year cycle and blogiversairy!) in a later post, as well as blogging my outfit over on my Skorch blog.

Best. Bike Month. Ever.

June’s shaping up to be just as fantastic. Stay tuned.

 

CC x