Green Gal

On a recent bike ride with my younger sister Jeune Gal , she and I were reflecting on our memories of biking to our hometown's Main Street every morning for a few summers in a row to get coffee, bagels, bacon, and to simply enjoy the weather without any responsibility. Those were the days! As we talked more about how much we missed those summers, we discussed how our bicycles really were our modes for freedom from home those days since neither she nor I had our licenses at that time. I was probably old enough to have one during those summers, but I didn't get my license until after going away to college. I believe I was 19 and had had two learners permits by then... I've still never owned a car, and I'm hoping I can continue to say that for many years to come. By biking in those days, we were able to learn the contours of our hometown's streets, find the quiet streets with less traffic, visit little stores we came across, and enjoy the weather by being out in it...

My Spring Break began last Thursday, and I have until Sunday to enjoy time at home. I am studying and preparing for the class on Friedrich Nietzsche that I'm teaching through the Literature Department at UC Santa Cruz next quarter, but in between reading, I've been biking around with Green Guy and my sister. Take a look!  Friday night, I bicycled around town with Green Guy and Jeune Gal for the second night of my Spring Break from college--my last spring break of my undergraduate career!   While visiting Sonoma State with Jeune Gal yesterday, we saw her exact same bike parked in a rack, only a larger size. It was like a sign from the Bicycling Gods that she is meant to go there--and to bring a bike! She did decide to go there after visiting--I'm so proud of her and excited for this new chapter in her life. Go Seawolves! Jeune Gal showed her bicycling style on Sunday night before a party around the block in back jeans, black boots, and a lacy black...

Yesterday, my Bicycle Transit Planning Team (BTPT) partner Aly and I left IDEASS class early to bike down the rollercoaster ride that is the UCSC Bike Path. No, we weren't ditching class just to ride bikes. Though I guess we kind of were... We did have permission from our instructors, though! We were on our way to our first People Power Bike Commuting Workshop that we're helping design and facilitate. They happen every third Monday at the People Power Office at 703 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. I'll post more about the workshop once finals are over. I will say that eight community members showed up for the first one last night. The conversation and sharing of stories and tips was awesome. I hope to see you at a future community workshop, or if you work for a business in Santa Cruz County and want us to bring the workshop to your business for a free lunch hour workshop, send me an email !   Learn more about the BTPT here .

Pi(e) Day Pajama Ride  Bike Party required pajamas, of course! We picked up some pie at New Leaf on the way. Santa Cruz Bike Party happens every second Friday of the month around 7 PM. Learn more here . Yes, that's a couch, specifically The Happening Couch  (you can become friends with it on Facebook ). I rode a tandem bike with my friend Greg (of Moved By Bikes ). He owns this couch, which is equipped with speakers and attached to a trailer attached to the bike. Random folks jumped on it during the ride, and we had two riders get flats and ride the couch so they wouldn't get left behind. We pulled Green Guy up Walnut Avenue (a pretty steep road) after he got a flat... Serious bike party awesomeness right there. What's a bike party without a dance party? Green Gal and Green Guy! We rode up the hill to campus after the evening's festivities, having our own bike party along the way.

It's been a bike writing day for me. Last week, I was interviewed for a Good Times article about the bike commuting workshops I'm co-designing and facilitating through my IDEASS bike internship. This afternoon when I walked by a stack of Good Times newspapers, I flipped through one. The article about our workshops began on page seven, and the photograph of my bicycle and me was on page ten. How awesome--my bike's never been in the paper! The article quotes Amelia, the Director of People Power, and me, but it doesn't mention my team partner Aly by name. If I had it my way, she'd have gotten a quote in the article, too! She does so much great work for our team, and she always has a cheerful attitude. I'm so grateful to have a motivated team partner who cares about our project and does a fantastic job! Our hope is that people will read this article and attend one of the workshops--and then they can hear from Aly, too!   Read the article ...

This post is the second part of a series about my weekend. Yesterday I went on a hike with other women to learn about and engage with nature connection. You can read about it in part one of this series here . Today, day two of this beautiful, sunny weekend, I woke up early and fortunately on time because my cell phone automatically switched for the time change. The things our technology can do these days! After a quick breakfast in the dining hall, I flew down the hill on my bike toward town. I say flew because today I was going to be a "SOUP'er Hero!" I was invited to an event a few weeks ago titled "SOUP'er Heroes Bike Ride & Food Distro," and after reading the description, I was souper stoked to partake in such a great cause by bike. The description read, "Join us for a day of community service, food and cycling! Together we will ride to local farms and secret gardens, harvest veggies, make soup, and distribute it to feed the hungry masses...