Sporadically addressing good books, vegetarian/vegan food and cooking, equity and justice, public policy and a touch of politics, family, work, movies, words, life, coffee, chocolate, and social media in no particular order. More bikey blogging (also sporadic) at BikeStyleLife.com
Nothing anyone writes about 2020 can capture what it really felt like. Human memory doesn't want to hold onto horrors. We want to look away, look forward, move on. If we don't do that we risk sinking into existential dread, drowning in the realities that rise over our heads.
Because it was tragic, at a level we wouldn't believe if someone put it in a movie plot. It is still tragic. Even as I rejoiced in the amazing feeling of having coffee with a friend in a coffee shop--something I took for granted in January 2020, something I treasure as a special moment now--I have to live within these realities.
We still have deep, divisive, damaging racism embedded in everything about the way our world is structured. We've had it for far longer than white people like me recognized, even as we benefited.
We still have the devouring, thoughtless habits of careless consumption that will kill our species. Not the planet--it will survive, in some shape. The Earth doesn't need us to go on. We've lit the planet on fire and we're pouring more gasoline on it every day.
We still have the violent, strange, and polarizing politics that made the simple act of getting a shot--something most of us experienced as a child and yeah, I'm glad I didn't get measles, mumps, whooping cough, or polio, aren't you?--a dividing line.
We still have the yawning chasm between the wealth of a Jeff Bezos--who earns more in one second than some people make in an entire month of hard and thankless work that exposes them to the risk of a potentially deadly disease--and the desperation felt by someone who has to call the back seat of a car their bedroom because that's all they have left.
Historians describe turning points, which are easier to recognize in hindsight than in the moment. I have one particular turning point in mind, though there are many.
I'm the daughter of a World War II veteran. I know that when we were asked as a nation to rise to the challenge of the moment by changing our way of life we were able to grow victory gardens, save tin foil, reduce consumption at home so resources could go to our soldiers overseas. 9/11 could have been a turning point to ask that we reduce our dependence on foreign oil so we wouldn't end up making more enemies in the Middle East. We didn't have to put the lives of our own citizens and others into the tanks of our ever-larger vehicles.
We could have committed to a cleaner and greener future. We could have risen to the challenge. We still could.
And if we did that we would also be doing something to confront the terrible legacies of racism. We would be acknowledging and then reducing the greater burdens of pollution and death by traffic violence created by building an economic structure that asks people to spend more and more time driving farther and farther. We would be making healthier places for everyone. We would treat this lost year as a portal to the future that we want.
When I say "we" here, by the way, I mean "we white people who still hold the majority of decision-making power in this country in every sector." Because "we" is me. "We" is you if you're not speaking up, speaking out, taking action. If we can't collectively learn from this lost year then we have truly lost our future.
Raised as I was by Depression-era parents and by a mother who was a great scratch cook, and wanting to leave the world a better place through environmentally thoughtful choices, I have a lot of old-fashioned thrifty and eco-friendly habits. As we've moved three times within three years we've also downsized a fair amount and I like what simplifying our possessions does for our lives.
A few years ago I read Garbage Land*, which looks at where our garbage actually goes when it goes "away." At the time I probably felt pretty good about my habits. But I've been reading Zero Waste Home* the past couple of weeks and realizing I can do quite a bit more with a little forethought.
Mind you, I'm not going to go whole hog. Author/blogger Bea Johnson burns almonds one by one, puts the ashes through a sieve, and grinds them to make kohl she uses for her eyeliner and homemade mascara. For real.
In other makeup tips, she uses cocoa powder to darken her eyebrows. Sounds delicious. I may make her all-purpose balm good for everything from chapped lips to wood furniture to leather shoes.
She reassures throughout the book that these choices don't have to take more time than dealing with (and earning the money for) more wasteful choices. She lost a little credibility with me when she referred to making a gingerbread house from scratch as "simple and fun." I won't even make those things from kits, packaging or no packaging.
And I do think her choices come from a place of unseen privilege. She's made her knowledge and practices into a career, which is great for her, but she didn't start this effort working 3 jobs as a single mom with no benefits. I don't begrudge her the chance to test these ideas so I can benefit from them. I'm just mindful of how hard some of this can be for reasons she doesn't speak to at all. What kind of grocery store is accessible given all your other time demands and the transportation modes available to you, for example, will affect what products you can buy in bulk.
What the Zero Waste author has given me is a new R before Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; a final R I was already using; and an additional boost of commitment along with some recipes and tips. Possibly some healthy guilt, too.
#1 R: Refuse. If you don't take it home in the first place you don't have to throw it out (or otherwise deal with it).
From packaging to receipts to "free" items at conferences, just say no. Free things at conferences and events are free as far as cash changing hands, but we all pay the cost of those cheap plastic pens you never actually like enough to use when you get home. As a conference organizer I'll review what we plan to give out to make sure it's truly useful and as eco-friendly as possible.
I've already added a caveat on this one at the cash register: If they're just going to throw my refused receipt into the trash, I'm going to accept it and take it home to recycle.
The author takes her own packaging to stores for everything. You're probably already carrying reusable grocery bags, maybe even reusing plastic bags for produce. But do you carry pillowcases to take bread home in and your own refillable jars for dairy products? Me neither.
(As a side note, why on earth did they add those plastic pour spouts to milk cartons that make their own little pitcher spout when opened the old-fashioned way? What a waste.)
#5 R: Rot. We've had a compost bucket for years. In Spokane I had a cold pile (I figured I was in no hurry to make dirt), in Seattle it's gone into the municipal composting green waste can. Now that we have a big yard and room to grow veggies I can get going on compost with a purpose.
What I picked up from the book: Reminders that some of the things that I reflexively drop into the wastebasket can be composted, like clippings from haircuts and dryer lint (I don't use dryer sheets).
The Aha Moment: Much of this isn't rocket science, it's Remembering (I think of this as R-0).
For example, I had thrown out an old and icky makeup applicator and was all set to purchase organic 100% cotton pads to wash and reuse. How friendly and natural, even if they do come in a plastic bag and I could make my own instead.
And then I remembered that the foundation I'd be applying actually came with its own applicator sponge. Done.
For the record, Johnson just uses tinted moisturizer, and then all that food-based pigment. Again, I'm not quite there in giving up certain habits and self-imposed expectations.
My initial implementation notes above and beyond current habits in case they give you ideas--
Things I've been buying that I'm going to replace with reusables: Facial tissues: Riding a bike means dealing with a runny nose daily in cold weather. Heaven knows I have enough T-shirts from all those bike events to cut a few up into handkerchiefs.
Paper towels: I hadn't been using them at all, then bought some for a reason that now escapes me.
Plastic wrap and waxed paper: I had already bought a silicone cover we use for a lot of applications that would call for plastic wrap, such as covering a bowl of bread dough while it rises.
At the very fun Recology Store in Burien run by solid waste company CleanScapes, they sell a variety of things that help you choose reusable products made from things found in nature without a ton of processing. One new find I especially like: food covering Abeego, coated with beeswax, jojoba oil, and resin. It comes in a recycled/recyclable uncoated cardboard box.
Shifts away from waste-producing choices:
Plastic produce bags: We have a couple of mesh produce bags but not enough for a typical run for our household. We've been saving and reusing plastic bags but they give out over time. Time to make a few more bags out of the rest of those T-shirts.
Other bulk purchase containers: As for carrying jars for things purchased in bulk, we shop for groceries by bike. Johnson is using a car to haul around all those empty glass jars. I think we can do enough with bags, and maybe I can find a farmers' market with dairy products that will let me bring back milk jugs and reuse egg cartons (much better eggs if they're fresh anyway).
Toilet paper
I first became aware of Scott brand's no-tube toilet paper when they sponsored the National Bike Summit. I meant to seek it out, then forgot about it; now it's on the list.
Use Scott's handy-dandy calculator to figure out your family's lifetime consumption and what could be made out of that many tubes. The sofa shown here comprises 19.720 tubes: the lifetime consumption of a household with 2 adults and 2 children, 2 each male/female.
Making food instead of buying premade in plastic:
I'll reinstitute my old yogurt-making instead of bringing home all those plastic containers, although I do reuse them to freeze my homemade veggie broth.** Ricotta cheese is also easy to make at home. I already make homemade ice cream -- no sacrifice there!
Johnson says she'd rather buy bread in bulk than bake for a family of four. I'd rather bake and this No-Knead Bread recipe makes it stupid-easy so I'm already on this.
We buy very little processed food as it is, but I've been known to buy packaged falafel mix and I bet I can make falafel. Ditto with hummus and pesto. Buying those instead of making them is just kinda lazy on my part, especially since I grew a bumper crop of basil last summer and missed the peak moment.
We already make our own salad dressing, marinara, pizza sauce, pizza crust, soup.... Being a scratch cook cuts out a lot of packaging but somehow our refrigerator still holds a lot of store-bought containers.
Adding to the list of things I'll start making instead of buying: Mustard, teriyaki sauce (again with the lazy since I've made it before), mayo (aioli).
Renewing old practices: This summer it will be time to get back into canning, freezing, and dehydrating locally grown produce. I've made one batch of ketchup. It is incredibly labor-intensive and uses tons of tomatoes because it has to reduce so much to get the flavors concentrated. It tasted great but I'm not sure it was worth it if I were to figure out the cost per ounce.
Cleaning products: I'll make liquid Castile soap instead of paying insane amounts for Dr. Bronner's. Simplicity itself: grate Kirk's Castile Soap bars that are 3 for $3.79, mix with hot water. 1-1/2 c. grated soap to 1 gallon hot water, stir, let it sit overnight, blend, put in jars.
I'll finally switch to vinegar and baking soda the way I've meant to for years and years once all the products on hand are used up.
Gift-giving: I seek to give experiences where possible, and try to choose practical and needed items. In the case of our children this often means cash, which certainly cuts down on the wrapping paper.
One more step when I do give a real something: Wrapping items in something useful and reusable like a dish towel using some of the Furoshiki techniques.
Your Turn:
Have some tips or recipes to share?
Have you tried to go whole-hog zero waste, and how did that work for you?
------------------------------------------------ *Note on the Amazon purchase link: If you can, I hope you'll ride your bike to your favorite independent local bookstore and buy it there. If you can't, or if you like the environmental footprint of your Kindle, at least your purchase through embedded links on this page will benefit bicycle advocacy in Washington state through the Amazon Associates program.
**Homemade vegetable broth. I save all the little scraps from food prep (tough end of the celery stalk, root end of the carrot, parsley stems, little rubbery bit on the bottom of the mushroom stem, leek stems, onion skins) in a bag in the freezer. When it's full enough or when I run out of vegetable broth, I saute them briefly to extract a little extra flavor through carmelization, then simmer them slowly in a bunch of water in my pasta strainer pot. When it's a nice deep brown I put the by-now-squishy vegetable parts in the compost bucket, strain the broth through a sieve, and freeze it. This is pretty much a perpetual-motion machine: The veggie scraps created by making soup go into the broth I use for more soup.
A round-up of posts on Bike Style Spokane since my last round-up post June 12, 2011. I've been blogging up a storm over there so this blog has a few crickets chirping but I'll be back.
If you've read this blog for any length of time you've seen my rants about the challenges of shopping for women's office-appropriate professional clothing that's comfy for biking. (If you missed those posts, I linked a few at the bottom.)
This has led me to the inescapable conclusion that there's something missing in the Spokane bike scene: The cuteness.
We have increasing bike infrastructure, great local bike shops in the area that provide equipment and service, clubs putting on races and rides, and super family events like Summer Parkways and Spokefest.
We have Spokane Bikes putting out a comprehensive bike events list (check the May 12 Inlander for a full-page ad) and putting on the Bike to Work Week events happening right now. (Are you registered? Sign up no matter what kind of riding you do--there's safety in numbers and we want every last Spokane County bike-riding fan to sign up).
The missing pieces are information and products aimed at women who don't want to wear Spandex or clip in--they just want to look good and feel comfortable on the bike. They want to feel like they're part of a supportive community like Belles and Baskets that welcomes the beginner and the experienced alike. And while they're at it, they want chocolate.
I've launched Bike Style Spokane, a bike blog, community, and associated shopping event business that seeks to help women who share my quest for the intersection of style and comfort.
The blog, at www.bikestylespokane.com, will feature articles on the challenges associated with biking in regular work clothing, particularly for women; interviews with Spokane people who ride a bike and make it look easy; and "bikespeditions": destination shopping reviews that look at a neighborhood center for its mix of places to shop, places to eat, and places to park your bike safely.
The first Bike Style Spokane shopping event is this Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Roasthouse Coffee, 423 E. Cleveland. I'm bringing together local businesspeople who have something unique to offer, so the event isn't just for women who bike. (And guys, you really should stop by and get your sweetie a Nuu-Muu. Trust me on this.)
Vendors:
Roasthouse Coffee: Coffee produced with the "Farm to Cup" philosophy that connects you with the people who feed your caffeine addiction, made by the coffee roaster donating "Ride the Edge" blend for the Bike to Work Kickoff Pancake Feed.
40 Candles: Paper products and fine art photography prints
Robby Eldenburg, LMT: Chair massage ($1/minute or $10/15 minutes--treat yourself!)
Sistahpedia: Health blogger and amateur body builder Kris Pitcher will give a talk on women, body image and health shortly after noon and Sistahpedia cofounder Angela Brown says she's bringing stuff for WWK (Women Who Know)
Futurewise: Complete Streets Zine #1--the bike issue. If you missed the awesome Zine Launch Party at Jones Radiator last week, here's your chance; $3 gets you the zine and supports Futurewise.
Hydra Creations: Custom stickers--bike images and much, much more. Deck out your bike, your backpack, your butt--whatever you want to stick these babies on.
Bike Style Spokane: Po Campo bike bags and panniers; Nuu-Muu exercise dresses (the cutest dress you'll ever sweat in); Bike Wrappers (like reflective clothing for your bike); BPA-free Bike Style Spokane steel bike bottles; and more.
PS: This isn't meant to compete with the local bike shops. I consider the owners my friends. This is about growing their potential market by helping women feel comfortable riding and tapping into our inner shopper to provide a little extra motivation. And it's about the chocolate.
As a recap of the faults I find with most of the pants out there, for me the pants fail if:
They look like I could go bouldering in them.
They make a swishy sound when I walk.
The detailing screams “sportswear!” (Ann Taylor and Liz Claiborne do not make me wear their names on my butt).
The legs flare too much at the bottom.
Here’s Part Deux of the list—hoping for feedback on ones you’ve worn and liked.
Clever Cycles Stealth Trousers: Unisex. Great review and description by Lovely Bike blogger. Not crazy about the elasticized waistband in back, although I get their reasoning that this keeps you from getting cut by the waistband. Flat seams and apparently some clever tailoring so they don’t bind or cut. Just not sure how much “poof” I’d end up with in a pair that covers my behind and then nips in at my waist. Charcoal only, sizes 2-16. $157.
Terry Kavu Vamos Pant: Pant legs roll up and snap to stay out of the way of the chain. Nothing in description to tell me whether there’s a gusset or at least flat seams. Trouser style, only available in navy, $70.
Isis 5-Star Pant: Looks like comfy fabric; described as “easy care” which may be a good sign (or may mean they look like old-lady polyester when you get up close). Only available in black; sizes run 2-14, $75.
Isis Cassandra Pant: A little sporty but not in an obvious way. Color is “tar” (dark gray), $110.
Athleta Passage Pant: Content is polyester/wool/spandex; described by several reviewers on their site as itchy, which would be a problem for me personally because I really react to anything other than merino. Style a bit on the casual side but cute. Available in sizes 0-16 with petite/regular/tall inseam length options, espresso is only color, $90.
Athleta Skinny Dipper Pant: Fabric described as soft corduroy might be okay. Several color options with artsy names like asphalt and tapenade; you’ll want to look at the swatches. $90.
Athleta Slimline Packable Pant: Anything “packable” typically is a soft, crushable fabric, which bodes well for biking comfort. Slim-cut legs wouldn’t catch; one review mentions them as comfortable for an eight-mile round trip bike commute. They do have ankle zips which puts this a bit on the sporty side, but tucking them into boots would hide this; another review said “think leggings with seams” (referring to a pin tuck on the fronts/backs of the legs). The otherwise usually wonderful product display on the Athleta site doesn’t tell me what my butt would look like though…. Three colors (heather, “falcon” and black), $79.
Athleta Fusion Pant: Fairly yoga but with rear pockets. Available in black, grey (“asphalt”) and brown (“falcon”). $79, sizes XXS-XL (an indicator of the yoga market assumptions).
WinterSilks Crepe de Chine Flat Front Pant: Personally I’m not a fan of side seam pockets. Why I’d want a pair of pants that flares out right where I do, I couldn’t tell you. But if you like those, these might be your deal. I don’t think of silk as an incredibly durable fabric and having to hand wash is a thumbs down but it’s certainly comfortable and beautiful. Available in Seabreeze (kind of a turquoise) and Taupe (a fairly dark brown interpretation of taupe based on the screen swatch). Comes in Misses or Petites, S-XL, $44.95.
Have feedback on any of these? Other brands/styles to recommend? Or have you given up and you're now compromising either style or comfort in order to bike in work clothes?
First of all, show of hands—how many of you know what gas costs?
I have no idea. I bike because I am cheap. I don’t pay for parking, I don’t worry about insurance. My daughter who’s here tonight had a blow-out on her tire the other day at a stoplight. One hundred and ten bucks. Except those things have four of them and you have to replace them all. I don’t like that part.
How many people would like a raise of over $7,000 a year? Okay, don’t talk to your boss, that’s how much it costs you to run your car. That’s according to AAA and that’s when gas cost about $2.30 a gallon.
I also bike because I am lazy. How many of you had to walk to the parking lot to get your car and then drive here, find a parking spot, walk to the building.... Do you hear all that walking?
I pretty much bike point to point. I am so lazy that sometimes I actually take my bike inside. This redefines indoor parking, I believe. My ride to work is also mostly downhill so I coast.
It’s a little counterintuitive but you can bike if you’re lazy.
Why I bike: I am impatient
There are many reasons—my mom might call these character flaws, I think—to bike.
I bike because I’m impatient. I always hated waiting at stoplights. There really isn’t time to finish reading the article before the light changes for one thing; you can’t do your nails. But when I’m on my bike and I get to the stoplight it’s really just a chance to catch my breath.
So I’ve got a new attitude about stoplights: They’re a good thing. I bet you don’t share that.
Another thing for you—even if you’re never going to get out of your car, if all of us on our bikes and all the people on the bus do get back in our cars, look what we do to the street. We’re in front of you now at the stoplight. So if you’re impatient you want us to keep riding (or riding the bus).
I also hate one-ways because there’s no point to going like this and like this and like this [gesturing to draw three sides of the block].
I get off my bike and I walk a block, get back in the lane and keep going. I am continuing to move towards my destination while you’re stuck at the light. So if you’re impatient biking is great for you.
Why I bike: I am a control freak
I’m also a little bit of a control freak although I thought of titling this “mechanically inept.” And for the men in the room you don’t have to fess up. But when I take my car to the shop and they tell me a lot of things I don’t understand and I have to pay them a lot of money—remember, I’m cheap and I’m impatient—I don’t like that part.
But I can actually fix my own flat on the bike. The technology has actually not changed that much since the Wright Brothers. I get to feel like I’m in control at this point. It’s a great feeling.
These are other reasons—I’m not saying this is about you, it’s about me—
Additional reasons to ride a bike: Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem—or, flip side, big ego—
When I’m pedaling and I feel the wind and I’m making the wind myself because I’m going so fast? Awesome. I’m not going that fast—it’s like 17 miles an hour and you’re going to pass me—but I feel great about it.
Additional reasons to ride a bike: Desperate (but successful!) attempt to appear cool/hip/trend-setting
This one is not about you at all—maybe it’s about me—but if you think about what’s cool right now it is not you in your SUV on the way to Costco to pick up a gallon of ranch dressing and five pounds of Tater Tots. You’re not going to be on the tourism brochure cover or the magazine cover – I think this picture of a zillion cars is the people leaving Cirque du Soleil the other night.
You know what picture there is going to be on the tourism brochure cover, don’t you? This is a total set-up. You know what it takes to be cool.
The only thing missing from this shot is the farmers’ market vegetables. So, you can be hip and cool and urban just by getting on a bike. Who knew it was so simple? I thought it cost a lot more, actually, and shopping at better stores as well.
Additional reasons to ride a bike: Excuse to shop
There are other sorts of character issues. This is an excuse to shop for men as well as women. If you like buying something and then bragging to your friends about how yours is better than theirs biking is totally for you. There’s more than one rider here tonight so I know you know what I’m talking about. Technical fabrics, special food—it’s basically sugar in a pouch but it’s still special food.
Additional reasons to ride a bike: Huge rush that comes from saving the world
You knew I was going to do a little bit of this piece. If you like knowing what’s good for other people and telling them about it, biking is totally your thing.
When people are talking about the problems of the world—it’s air pollution, it’s peak oil, it’s urban sprawl, it’s diabetes and obesity—if you ride a bike you’re not responsible for any of that! How cool is that?
So you can have this— *
Or you can have that.
He brings us back to the cool urban trend-setting piece of this.
We do have a lot of problems in the world. I do think that biking is the only thing that solves a lot of these problems all at once. You do get to be healthier and save money and all of that. But also, it’s so simple a child can do it and it’s fun.
Remember when you learned to ride a bike and you had that sense of freedom and "I don’t have to wait for Mom or Dad to get in the car"--which was the limitation in your life at that point—you could ride your bike.
If you have any of these character flaws you don’t have to admit it out loud. Or maybe it’s psychological issues and therapy costs a lot. You could take a little bit of that money and you could ride a bike.
*On the video when I mention skipping it's a reference to the talk earlier that evening by Patty Sanders about the virtues of skipping to make the world a better place. I left it out of this transcript because it only made sense in context at the live event.
My debit card and I are venturing forth in a bit of pre-birthday shopping to search for the perfect pair of pants. Perfect, that is, for biking and working: Cycle Chic in the very best sense of that now-trademarked term.
I’m seeking workplace wear that is office-appropriate. Your office may be cool with stretchy yoga pants every day but that doesn’t work for everyone.
My personal style is more tailored (and I prefer to feel more fully dressed in the office J). As Eldest Daughter said the day I wore some suspiciously yoga-y leggings with a big sweater, “Mom! Pants for your work need to have seams!”
See how cool these pants would make me? Although I'd have a helmet,
and I ride a bike with full-sized tires. And there are my panniers.
Water bottles. Headlight. I do at least bike in street shoes.
Everyone’s criteria will be different. For me the pants fail if:
They look like I could go bouldering in them. I don’t need all those pockets and zippers and places to hang carabiners; I’m not bivouacking or climbing at Red Rocks. I’m walking into a five-story academic building with a latte stand on the first floor (thank God) and later I’m going to a Chamber of Commerce meeting.
They make a swishy sound when I walk. If it’s so wet I need truly waterproof gear, I’m putting an outer layer over my work pants anyway.
The detailing screams “sportswear!” In this category: Big patch pockets, really contrasty stitching, and other design elements that don’t pass the boardroom test.
The legs flare too much at the bottom so I’m worried that they’ll get caught and rip if I don’t do something to rein them in; that’s an extra step I’d like to avoid if I can.
Notes to manufacturers:
Consider that women who wear larger sizes also want to look good and feel comfortable while biking without squeezing into Spandex. You’ll have their undying love and access to their credit limits. Too many of the pants I looked at top out at size 12 or XL.
I wish the sportswear folks who have a head start on performance fabrics and bike-suitable tailoring could get over the need to hang your reflective logos and feature descriptions on the outside of the clothes. Ann Taylor and Liz Claiborne do not do this.
I also wish you could disabuse yourself of the notion that large front pockets are somehow flattering for women’s bodies. Um, no. Not good on anyone. Really. Trust me.
The more you show us your product with photos front/back and the ability to zoom, the more we can imagine the pants on our own butts. This is a requirement when buying online since I don’t have a three-way mirror and my best friend to save me from a tragic mistake.
If you tell me I can bike in the pants you get Bonus Awesome Points if you have actually designed them with a waistband cut slightly higher in the back, lower in the front, and with a gusset that eliminates seams running straight up the tender girl parts.
In a class by itself for copywriting:
Nau’s Shroud of Purrin Pant. You just have to go read this description. If they weren’t $250 (and if they didn’t have the zipper pocket down low on one leg—not office-y enough) I’d get them; for pants that are waterproof/windproof they look really flattering.
Real possibilities:
Outlier Women’s Daily Riding Pant. Shown in photo above. Very exciting—they have added more colors since I last looked and finally have images that actually show the colors. Unfortunately these only run sizes 0-12; kinda funny since they carry an ultrafine merino wool tank top in sizes up to XXL. Pants available in black, gray, slate blue, marine blue, burgundy. $180.
Ibex Global Wool Pant. Dings for the contrast stitching.Big patch pockets outlined with contrasting stitching Are. Not. Flattering. On. Any. Woman. Only available in charcoal gray. $180. Gulp. May as well bite the Outlier Tailored bullet, get more color choices and not have to look at the contrasting stitching.
Icebreaker Rio Pant. Hard to see much detail on this site but they're cute and made of wool (which I want for fall/winter). Only available in black. $100.
Columbia Mumbai Mover. Good user reviews; legs look suspiciously flared at the ankle and may snag on my pedals and chain. Might be worth it though at this price. Available in black or gray, bigger size range than most manufacturers, offers three inseam lengths. $60.
Sugoi H.O.V. Commuter Pant: Definite possibilities! At first blush these do not look like activewear at all. Right pant leg flips up and snaps out of the way of the chain and has a reflective strip that shows when you do this. Not only that but they have a seamless crotch gusset! Very nice to contemplate as I’m powering homeward up the hill. (Downtown Spokane lies in a bowl. If you have any north/south to your ride at all, you’re doing hills. East/west you have a flatter route since you can follow the river.) $100; available in black/brown/gray.
I’m sort of lusting over the matching jacket—super cute. Wish they hadn’t slapped a logo on the shoulder patch though. $120; black or gray.
Too yoga/sporty for me, maybe okay for you:
SportHill Women’s Traverse Pant Plus: For plus-sized women 1X-4X. On the sporty side but some potential for a casual day, and wind resistant which is nice for riding as the temps cool down. May be swishy-sounding when you walk, though; no way to know what some of these technical fabrics are really like. $129.95
Columbia Anytime Pant. Major points for having a little video clip with someone talking about the pants, holding them up and pointing out the hidden zipper pocket feature. Totally yoga though. $45.
(I should mention that I actually do yoga, so saying pants are "totally yoga" isn't meant as a bad thing--just not a boardroom thing.)
Considered and rejected:
Columbia Just Right Pant: Honkin’ big zipper pocket on the left thigh, cinch things that raise and lower hem length.
Columbia Trail Twist Slim Pant: Looked great—straight legs won’t catch on pedals—until I zoomed in and caught the flashy little décor on the backs of the ankles. And I really don’t want my work pants to say “Omni-Dry” on the outside; doesn’t this suggest I’m in need of Depends? $55.
Not pants but so cute and on sale:Nau Confidant Short. Long enough to be considered a city or walking short, which might be fine for some workplaces. Made of fine merino wool which is a great fabric for active movement. Gray heather or brown heather, $55 on sale, $110 regular price.
Looking for more options!
This is one of the few blog posts I'm hoping gets plenty of links at the bottom from people hoping to sell me something--that is, if you are the designer of the perfect pair of bike riding/work pants. Better yet, if you're a woman who can match my pickiness and who has a favorite pair of pants you can tell us about, go for it. Please.
As in, there are very few choices if you’re a woman looking for professional clothing that’s made for cycling (no ill-placed seams in the crotch, no fabric that irritates, no flappy wide-legged trousers or long full skirts that get caught in the chain) and that looks good when you walk into a meeting in which all the men wear ties and jackets and you’re the only person taking off a helmet and gloves.
Once upon a time I used to drive to work and hang clothes there. I now bike almost year-round so I really don't want to drive (and was never very happy with having to decide a day or two in advance what I’d feel like wearing on a given day).
In my next phase I tried riding in bike clothes, rolling everything and packing it into panniers, changing when I arrive, and changing again to ride home. I still do some of this when it’s really cold; I just keep my base layer on under my office clothes because I like to be toasty warm.
Mostly, though, I’ve changed my shopping habits to get to where I am now: If I can't bike in it, I don't buy it. I do a lot more moving and contorting in dressing rooms than I used to so I’m sure I can throw a leg over my bike and take off.
But what I really want—what I’ve started dreaming about—is good-looking clothing that no one will guess is made specifically for cycling. Only I will know about the extra comfort elements and careful tailoring. Fashion-forward options with secret gussets will get us beyond the Spandex Dork image from which cycling suffers and will help encourage more women to bike, I’m just sure of it.
Bike Shop Girl just blogged about this same dilemma. I found out because I asked her via Twitter, after a semi-fruitless Google search, if she knew of anyplace to get good-looking pants. (My search, in case you’re curious: women’s tailored clothing for urban biking—terms I arrived at after realizing that “professional” and “cycling” in the same search would yield nothing but Spandex).
Call me cheap (I prefer “thrifty” in homage to my Depression-era parents), but I’ve never paid that much for a single item of clothing. No matter how good they look, how can I justify the investment—wear them every day? Back up to where I said I’m a woman and this is a fashion dilemma. Same pair of pants every day ain’t gonna happen.
Plus I’d have to buy online. How will I know whether I look good in these pants? And did I mention they cost $180?
The only other item of women’s clothing they offer is a merino wool tank top. Nice, but hey guys, we’re women, OK? How about a wider selection for us?
Oh, wait, I forgot. This is cycling—one of the few clothing product lines in which men will have more colors and options than women. (Also, hello again, Outlier? If you’re going to offer three color choices you have to Show. The. Actual. Colors.)
And seriously, knickers? It’s nice to keep your knees warm when the temperature drops but I don’t want to look like a misplaced golfer once I’m in the office in my plus-fours.
They link to the Sheila Moon site (“infuses cycling apparel with a twist of fashion”), which offers knickers in several fabrics. There’s that golfer thing again and it doesn’t change my mind just because they say knickerbockers are big with the velocouture crowd, whoever they are. I can also get stretchy yoga pants. Not so good with the suit/tie-couture crowd.
The BikePortland piece also points to Ibex, which has a slightly more promising line—at least there are the “global wool pants” that look more like trousers. Icebreaker has some pants that might work too.
But c’mon, who’s designing these sites? No back view of the pants! What is the one thing I want to know about every pair of pants I own? That’s right—do they make my butt look big?
I do like the way that mousing over the product at Ibex shows me a close-up and lets me scan—I just want to be able to rotate to the back side and do the same thing.
The product photography on these sites mostly fails. Particularly with dark fabrics, it’s almost impossible to see crisp detail. If I can’t zoom—as I can’t on the Icebreaker site—I can’t tell much about the item. You’re already asking me to trust you and ship off my money when I can’t even try the thing on. Is it too much to ask that I be able to really see pockets, zippers and stitching?
The real test almost every product I’ve found fails is the “does it look like workout clothing?” test. Visible logos, visible seams, sizing that runs S/M/L instead of true women’s clothing sizes, descriptions that include “comfortable for yoga”—these aren’t going to pass for boardroom wear.
For now I’m making do with regular clothes. My ride to work is 2.5 miles, mostly downhill. During the day I may do another 3-5 miles to various meetings. The ride home is uphill but I’m heading home so I don’t have to sprint. I’ll cover some of my clothing management tactics in a future post.
What are your clever accommodations if you’re a bike rider who needs to look polished at work?
As part of my ongoing plan to NOT turn into my mother when I get old—well, this is really only about certain aspects of turning into her since her voice already comes out of my mouth and I’ve been known to say “six of one, half a dozen of the other”—I try to apply the SISO method to purchases.
Stuff In, Stuff Out, that is.
This picture illustrates a bit of that. We’ve “invested” (ha!) in cheap dishware for far too long. It chips, it cracks, it breaks outright, and the dinner plates for the most recent set don’t even fit in the dishwasher, necessitating a lot of hand washing. I also bought a set of deliberately-even-cheaper plastic dishes for use on the patio--as if anyone would ever remember to use those instead of the breakable set.
I’ve always liked Fiestaware and decided to start buying it as an investment in better quality and products made in the US. Not shopping for it like one of those people who tramples others in search of the matching serving bowl, mind you—just having fun poking around antique stores and picking up a plate or a bowl here and there.
I figured this would take a while but we could put up with the cheap stuff (it disappears a little bit at a time anyway) as we built up a cupboard full of colorful fun.
Last weekend I lucked into a batch that nearly makes up six full settings (thanks, Vintage Rabbit, for being such an awesome source!). Eldest Daughter helped me haul our stash out to the car.
When we got it home I faced the test: Would I keep all those other dishes or make a clean sweep of it?
Before the SISO days, I would have justified keeping an entire second set of dishes I didn’t even like stored in the basement “in case we entertain.”
Never mind that the last time I did a sit-down dinner for over a dozen people who would care about matching dishes I had a different husband and still ate meat (that was some prime rib I cooked, too—I still refer to that particular meal as The Day I Did The Full Martha). But no more.
Instead I boxed them all up for Goodwill. I did stash the really giganto plates and the “gold” (plastic) chargers in the basement because I didn't score any giganto Fiestaware yet; if I haven’t used them in six months out they go.
I swore then to end my “just in case we’ll need it someday” approach to deciding what stays and what goes. A lifetime of that and they’ll be digging your corpse out from under a mound of empty yogurt containers and peanut butter jars, to say nothing of magazines saved because there was that one recipe you really meant to try one of these days when you had fresh cilantro on hand, or was it fennel bulb?
At any rate, I’m trying to use the SISO method not just on housewares but on my closet, my bathroom, and other places where things tend to accumulate and then multiply in the dark.
If my white sleeveless shell—one of those closet basics they tell you to invest in and They Are Right On This One—is getting ratty around the arms and I buy a replacement then I have to get rid of the first one. No keeping it for back-up. It’s ratty, remember? You replaced it, right?
If I own two pairs of tan capris—one pair dressier than the other so yes there’s a reason I have two pair (pairs?)—then I resist the urge to buy a pair of tan capris with faint cream stripes (different, right? Not duplicative of the other two pair, right?) on sale for 50% off at Bobby’s Boutique which carries the best of the Goodwill best meaning I could have had those babies for $4 instead of $8 and even Eldest Daughter the Uber-Mom-That-Makes-You-Look-Old-Clothing-Critic thought they looked good on me breathe baby breathe it’s okay you don’t need them….
Nearly a decade has passed since I helped prepare my parents for a move to assisted living for Mom’s dementia, but whenever I enter into a frenzy of cleaning, sorting, down-sizing or right-sizing I’m taken back to these days.
They owned so much STUFF! I had no idea until I saw it all spread out in heaps and mounds all over the pool table, end tables, coffee table, folding tables, and every other flat surface in their basement.
When I’d visit and she’d tell me she was “busy sorting” I had no idea what this meant. The topic wasn’t much of a conversation-starter so we’d move on.
Once I went downstairs to look for myself, though, it appeared that each and every day of the week she started the task anew based on a different sorting algorithm.
“Today, I’m putting all craft projects into the craft project pile.”
“Today, I’m putting everything into piles by kid so if it’s a craft project by Barb it goes in the Barb pile.”
“Today, I’m sorting by holidays so if it’s a craft project by Barb related to Christmas it goes in the Christmas pile.”
All of these without reference to the previous day’s system or any apparent progress, so of course she would never finish sorting.
I took the girls with me sometimes to keep me company while I combed through closets, drawers, the three-car garage, and the dusty piles in the basement for anything actually worth keeping.
I had ONE method: if it pertained to one of their six children, it went in a box with that kid’s name, and if it was something personal about Mom and Dad such as a scrapbook or photos it went into the box that would move with them. Other than that, Helloooo, Estate Sale Lady.
We found amazing quantities of some items. I only recently—and I’m serious about this—used the last of the plastic wrap I took with me.
The girls took a lot away from this. Things like finding six unopened bottles of nail polish remover in the bathroom cupboard stick with you, I guess.
Now any time I have more than one of something (due to innocent stocking-up-on-basics-that-are-on-sale on my part, honest) they say with a note of sad warning, “Mom, are you turning into Grandma?”
When we moved into this house about three years ago I wastefully—wastefully!—threw away multiple partial bottles of various skin lotions that promised oh so many magical things, all because one of the girls was there and spotted all the containers as I packed up my bathroom.
I also have to watch my grocery-buying, although that’s getting easier since I’m starting to put up more of my own food. I only have so much pantry space and there will always be another sale on pasta so I no longer buy six bags of bow-ties (we do love our bow-tie pasta).
When I cleaned Mom’s fridge I found three bags of the fake baby carrots. Bag #1 in front was crisp and orange. Bag #2 right behind it was looking a little saggy. Bag #3 behind that had turned into green slime.
I realized that in Mom’s brain the trigger for something like “I need carrots” fired at the store and she bought carrots, but the reset to “carrots purchased, return to neutral setting” never took place. Her brain just keep pinging on “buy carrots, buy carrots.”
Since she’d spent a big chunk of her life producing food in large quantities to feed her six children and their assorted friends and relations, her food-buying philosophy was firmly grounded in the notion that it never hurt to have a little extra on hand. As in, if they dropped the bomb you’d want to shelter in our basement, where you could live the next 40 years on a diet of canned tomatoes, string beans, and pickles.
Couple this lifelong pantry-stocking with an inability to know that you’ve already bought something so you’re buying even more than you meant to….
…and you’ll understand why I make an extra effort to keep tabs on the condition of my bathroom closet and my produce drawer.
These are some of the things I didn’t do today, each one of which had at least some remote possibility of occurring:
Clean house
Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables
Floss (don’t tell my dentist)
Put in two hours on the bike trainer doing sweaty intervals
Take Younger Daughter to her two performances in Charlotte’s Web
Pick Younger Daughter up from her two performances in Charlotte’s Web
Update the Web site for Bike to Work Spokane to reflect this year’s plans and send a bunch of organizing emails to committee members
Update my Quicken connection to my credit union account and balance my checkbook
These are the things I did do today:
Ride my bike in the sunshine to Spokane Yoga Shala, where I made it through 90 minutes of a really sweaty yoga session alongside my friend Betsy
Bake whole wheat/oatmeal bread
Read some entertaining blog posts (thanks, FADKOG, for the usual laugh-out-loud experience) and some that contributed to my professional knowledge (a link you will follow only if you’re interested in higher ed use of Facebook and Twitter), and make extensive use of the “mark all as read” option in Google Reader so I could feel all caught up
Go shopping with the aforementioned Betsy and get some seriously cute new shoes* for only $8.96, along with a couple of very sensible sweater sets that were not $8.96 (*You can't tell from the photo but these are a beautiful deep bronze-y metallic brown. Yes, my feet will hurt after a day in these. No, that doesn't matter.)
Browse at a bookstore and make notes about ones to put on my request list at Spokane Public Library (how I love being able to request a book online! I get an email when it’s available, I pick it up. Magic.)
Make the vegetarian tacos my daughters requested for dinner
Prepare a batch of Rice Krispies Treats—only to be honest, they are Generic Crispy Rice Treats—that my family has almost finished off within about 30 minutes of finding them
Any guilt over the first list? Nope. (Well, maybe the fruits and veggies thing, although I did have a few servings.)
Without going all profound on you, I’ll just say that I have gotten far better at cutting myself some slack and not beating myself up over things undone than I was 20 or even 10 years ago.
I used to lie awake nights berating myself for all the things I hadn’t done that had been on the oh-god-can-it-really-be-this-long? to-do list that I kept both on paper and with some extras in a mental tally.
Extras like, “One of these days I really need to go through all those boxes of memory stuff, organize everything, set up some scrapbooks, write names and dates on all the photos, and create a lasting legacy of curatorial splendor for my children to ignore after I’m dead.”
Or, “It’s been far too long since I took all the books out of the shelves, dusted and polished the bookcases, and reorganized the books to figure out which ones I can put in a box in the car with every intention of trading them in at Auntie’s Bookstore sometime within the next six months so I can buy some more.”
Or, “The bathroom feels grungy. I need to do one of those deep-cleaning sessions where you start with the ceiling and work your way down. While I’m at it I’ll take everything out of the storage closet, pretend we’re moving, get rid of anything I wouldn’t pack if we really were moving, run to the store for some pretty containers to organize the cotton balls and Q-Tips, repair the broken bracelet that has been in a little container with tiny tiny beads and jewelry wire for the past six years, and turn some of those old T-shirts into eco-friendly grocery bags by following directions on the Martha Stewart web site.”
THAT kind of to-do list.
This went on until one sleepless night—out of desperation or inspiration, I don’t know which—I got up and took out my journal (which, at the time, I wrote in pretty faithfully every day or every other day; since then, it has become a victim of the slack-cutting I’m writing about here).
I initially intended to write a list of all the things that belonged on the to-do list, since I was lying awake worrying that I would forget some detail or other on some work project.
Instead—I wish I knew why because then I could write self-help books, make millions and retire to a life of yoga, coffee, cycling and naps—I wrote down everything I DID do that day. And I mean everything. I had cooked a healthy breakfast for my daughters. I had moved some projects along. I had made time to go exercise. And on and on.
What do you know? Turns out I accomplish a boatload of stuff in a perfectly ordinary day. I deserve credit for that. You do. We all do. So I don’t even need to feel guilty that I haven’t posted on this blog for a month.
I don’t know if this all fits the Bicycling Magazine Fit Chick’s definition of a balancing act, but I know what happiness tastes like—Generic Crispy Rice Treats.
