The Brooks Lady B18 Saddle

If you’re a cyclist, you know Brooks:

They are the epitome of quality, class and sophistication.

I am such a fan of the English, don’t ask me why, I can’t really explain it. Perhaps because London is the birthplace of Punk? I am quite the punk at heart :) Regardless, I have drooled and dreamed of having anything with the Brooks name and logo on it. Sandra Dee was not the bike to accessorize with Brooks(as cute as she was and as much as I miss her), but Hermie? He is my dapper man and is definitely the bike to have a bit of “B” on him! This Christmas, I was lucky enough to open up this amazingly beautiful saddle;

Not bad for the last saddle you'd ever need right? This is one lovely lady! I literally stared at her for hours and hours in awe of her detail..she’s a beauty! She is part of Brooks’ Unique Collection, each saddle in this collection have over a centuries history, the people of Brooks have preserved their construction hence making these particular saddles unique. The Lady’s design dates back to 1920! The lovely vine and flower design adds a bit of girliness to my dapper-man of a bicycle :) I’ve put under 200 miles on The Lady, but from the first time my cheeks touched that leather, I knew this was the seat for me and possibly every woman out there! The leather is already forming to my body, making it truly mine!

I get asked all the time from potential female riders; “Which seat is the most comfortable?” “How do ride long distances on a seat? I always end up being uncomfortable.”. Comfort is the number 2 reason more women don’t ride. Number 1 is safety concerns, but that’s for another post! I have been through 4 seats in two years, I have tried almost all the inexpensive “comfort cruiser” extra-padded type seats, and looking back I cannot believe I didn’t invest sooner!

My butt is happy! for $200 it better be *insert slight grumble*

Yes it’s a tad expensive when you see the price tag, but think of the big picture, this saddle is guaranteed for life. No exaggeration, I’m going to be 56 and still have this seat! I met a man downtown with a Brooks racing seat he’s had since the 80’s..I was born in the 80’s! That’s bananas y’all. That seat of his was worn in beautifully, I wish I got a picture! I’m sure I’ll go through a few bikes before the seat needs retiring!

I highly recommend The Lady for the commuting cyclist, the city and touring cyclist, and the fat-bottomed cyclist ;) Can’t wait for their show @Bicycle Habitat in June!Check out all Brooks can offer you for a smoother, classier ride!

Happy Riding!

K xo

WEBike NYC’s Bike-cleaning Class and Brooklyn Bike date!

Sunday was a much-needed break from reality. Hubb and I really needed to just get out, ride our bikes and be together outside of a doctors office or home. Its been hella-cray y’all! I am so thankful to have been able to make it out and support fellow Bronx BikeGirl-Laura Solis- and get in some miles whilst at it :).
The class was held at the highly #bikenyc acclaimed Bike-shop/Café Red Latern Bicycles. I’ve been trying to get to this place for almost a year, I am barely in Brooklyn as it is, but that is changing since I’m delving in manymany bikey adventures this year! This place lived up to the hype:

The famous ‘farthing!

Trying not to be distracted by alllll the bikey-goodness of this place, I joined in on the class just as Laura was scrubbing her derailleur;

The class was catered to geared ladies

and single speed ladies

we were all hard at work getting the grime off our rides!

Thanks WEBike for a great class with great bike ladies!

After only wiping Hermie down(I hate a dirty Hermie, so he was pretty much clean!), I caught up with Laura, took in the shop, petted the cat and had my first latte in years!

Hubb and I decided to stay in BK, so we rode around till we hit Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park, and of course grabbed a photo op or two;

A couple who I guess saw us taking bike portraits and stuff, came up to us and offered to snap a few shots for us…how nice!

it was easy being us around this guy, he was super funny!

this one is my absolute favorite! Thank you kind strangers for the memories!

Our little shoot done, we head to the Prospect Park loop, a place I am familiar with thanks to the Tour de Brooklyn last year! Hubb has never been, but has always seen the park on Alleycat races on YouTube, so I had to show him around :)

We ended up doing three laps back to back to back….we were in bikey heaven!

Every one was out enjoying the day; joggers, skaters, scooters, rollerbladers and even equestrians! Where that couple keep their horses is way beyond me…only in New York man. Being fueled by that latte alone, after lap number three, I grabbed a few shots of The Hubb with his new bike. Thank you so much to the people at his job who pitched in to get this for him after his accident..we are truly grateful!

As the sun sets, we make our way back into Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge(way better than Brooklyn bridge; climb and traffic-wise), and head Uptown via the 1st ave bike lane. But not before grabbing a well-deserved lager and basket of Onion Rings!

30 miles in total on this grand day. Slowly but surely, things are getting back to normal, and we are counting our lucky stars <3

Happy Cruisin’!

K xo

5BBC Crash Seminar

 

As you may already know, Hubb was in a crash early January. It’s been rocky dealing with the healing, the MRI’s, the horrible Disability Claims office, and lawyers..it is not without its stressors. Luckily enough, I still have a husband and The Kid still has a father, and he is getting better and better everyday with much positivity from our loved ones. I cannot express my thanks to all for your kind words, prayers, legal help, and general positive energy! With that said, when I received a Facebook invite to this seminar 5BBC was hosting in Soho, I RSVP’d posthaste.

REI was kind enough to lend their cellar meeting room to those who came out and City Bakery supplied some yummy goodies! REI is a fantastic outdoor/recreation store who just moved over to the East Coast, and Downtown loves it to bits. Its easy to get lost in all the gear clothing and of course bikes! Starting around 6:30 pm, we learned so much from the presenting lawyers, who are fellow cyclists and have been in crashes. I took some pictures of their Power Point presentation;

I was SO surprised to learn Cell phone usage does not apply to cyclists. I only take out my phone for directions, but even then I pull over, I do not condone phone usage on the streets! I was also shocked that there is no law for us cyclists to be in a single file, not even two abreast(next to each other), we can travel in packs if we want! SO RAD.

After the seminar, Hubb and I explore REI:

Whilst browsing and chatting, we meet some of NYC’s Track bike peeps from Instagram!

Don’t mind the face, I get happy when peeps recognize me! Great meeting @getafteritnow and @ishkibbible (go follow them, bikey peeps!)

I also had time for a few shots of that nights outfit;

Outfit Details

Leggings(got em in blue and purple!): Ebay

Torrid Safety-pin Vest: Embellish Boutique

Spiked Moto Jacket: Forever 21+

Bicycle Head Scarf: Oh Honey Hush! on Etsy

Bag: Chrome(The Victor-my dad’s name :))

 

A big thank you to 5BBC for an informative seminar and chill atmosphere, I definitely plan on coming out on a ride! Click here to learn more about 5BBC and all they offer us cyclists.

Happy Cruisin’!

K xo