About rideblog

So after much (at least thirty minutes) thought, I decided to create a simple little blog on which to put posts and photos from my latest bike rides, about my bikes, and anything else bikey. Unfortunately, I am not BikeSnob, though I too have a tendency to rant when stressed. I promise never to discuss artisanal axes on this site, or comment cruelly on life in The City, especially since I don’t live there. I am also not Lovely Bicycle!, though I read Veloria’s wonderful blog daily. Certainly, you will never see me cycling in a flowy skirt and cute boots. This is just a wee blog about what I ride, and where I ride it. Nothing more than that.

So who am I? A mom, a teacher, and an avid bike rider. I suffer from a chronic illness that causes me to be in pain much of the time. I’m not thin, or particularly gorgeous (though I’m pretty sure I’m cute, you know?). I just like my vintage bikes, and I like to write about my experiences on them. Sometimes I’m funny, but I make no promises. I live deep in the unfashionable suburban wilds of King County, Washington.

What is rideblog all about? Rides.

Warning: these are not long, glorious climbs in the Pyrenees involving terrifying descents and hair-raising brushes with death.

Mostly I ride my bikes on the trails near my house. These trails are paved. On these trails, which are primarily converted rail corridors, little kids test out their training wheels. Old women walk very slowly. Yuppie moms pushing strollers and pulling Pomeranians chat animatedly on their cell phones about Bikram yoga while slowly letting out their retractable leashes until Biffy or Snoodles is ready to clothesline unsuspecting groups of Group Health employees all dressed in identical bike jerseys.  You know, those kind of trails.

My favorite trails for quick rides that don’t involve long car treks first are: the Cedar River Trail, which begins in Renton and ends just over 25 miles later in Maple Valley; the Interurban Trail, which runs from the heart of scenic industrial Renton to scenic industrial Auburn; and the Green River Trail, which if the whole thing were open, would do much the same thing the Interurban does, but it might actually be scenic, if one considers a grimy, urban river to be a beautifying addition (it’s a bit touch-and-go on that one).

Sometimes something more exotic is achieved: I ride near my job! Or I drive somewhere and ride there! In the future, I’m hoping to even do some biking overseas! But right now, there are no exclamation point-worthy rides to discuss.

I like this, though. I think my rides are less intimidating than those pictures one sees of some guy passing a semi at 70 miles an hour down the edge of a mountain pass with a thousand-foot drop off. I will never be that rider, but most folks could ride where I do. I hope more folks get out and ride. Just don’t do it when I’m there, okay, because the trails are crowded enough with all those women and their Pomeranians (before you ask, I have nothing against Pomeranians. I just like how the word sounds. Pomeranian. Pom-er-an-ian).

Contact me at: rideblogger (at) gmail (dot) com.