Happy Summer! I'm at The Chai Cyclist Now

Snows gone!

Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl

It's Time for iciclebicycle to Melt Away, But Don't Worry!

Spring is here.  While there is snow in the forecast, I think everybody's sick of Winter and so I'm moving to greener pastures over at The Chai Cyclist.  That's my other habit.  Tea.  Love it.  Like to talk about it(while drinking it, of course).  So, I'm gonna try blogging about it.  

And bikes.  I'd hope to be getting  more involved in bike advocacy, this Summer, and will try and share that with you.  Every year there are more and more bikes on the streets of Minneapolis.  I want to do my part to encourage it.

Thanks to all who kept up with this endeavor.  It's been a lot of fun and has really deepened my appreciation of the bicycle.  Mostly, I have learned by watching other blog sites that do it much better than me.  Thanks to you for showing me the way.  I will keep watching...yours.

In Minnesota the snow always returns and with it, I'm sure, iciclebicycle...soon enough, for sure! 

ps. Coffee drinkers are more than welcome over at the new site.  Don't be scared.  Tea won't bite, not like strong coffee will, anyways. ;)

Schwinn's Need to Stick Together

Harvey and Breeze at the Wedge.

Why Am I Still Here?

Why is iciclebicycle still here?  Hasn't Spring come and melted all the snow?  Well, yes, but we had snow flakes this evening as I ran errands with Harvey.  While it was cold and blustery, my ride down Lake Street warmed me up.  Lake Street is the heart of South Minneapolis.  My connection to it goes back to my earliest years.  Here's a funny story.  As a kid I lived two blocks from it, and so as I was learning new words, I would talk about it a lot.  One day when I was five, I walked over to the street by myself and looked up at the sign.  I had made a mistake.  It said Lake Street, not Leg Street!  All that time I thought everybody was calling it Leg Street.  Well that changed my life forever.

The street has changed a lot.  Gone are the new car dealers.  They moved to the Suburbs.  Gone are Porky's and the Red Barn.  Restaurants of a bygone era.  Also gone are the porn houses and massage parlors.  They went somewhere.  Perhaps downtown... or the web.  Today, the biggest mover's are the Spanish speaking folks(Don't want to get into the identity issue).  They have really brightened things up with the bright Orange and Yellow colors of their buildings.  

I came across a nice little taco shop called Pineta.  I hadn't been there in a while and was a little hungry.   They have great taco's at a nice price.  Plus, they have Horchata to wash down with.

Harvey hangs out with a cool new friend while do some shopping.

I am still working on the new website and hope to roll it out soon.  But I did see snow in the forecast for next week, so iciclebicycle lives a little longer.

Harvey

I missed out on all the nice weather this weekend, because I caught a cold.  It seems that I should have been wearing more clothes when it got warm earlier in the week.  I had no ambition to do anything computer related and spent much of the weekend watch episodes of Lost.  These are some shot's I took at Loring Park, while I was busy coming down with this cold.  

Harvey

My burnt orange Schwinn has told me his name.  I thought it was Orangina, but he corrected me on that.  I'm riding him tomorrow night, cold or no cold.

The New Yorker Profiles Street Fashion Photographer Cyclist

Check out Bill Cunningham on his way through the streets of New York City. This weeks New Yorker has an article on this gifted eccentric photographer who prefers to get around New York City on the bicycle pictured. He has a column in the New York Times "On the Street" which documents the styles people are wearing around New York. He's been doing it a long time and his pictures are window into the styles of the past.

What I liked was how he watches the Fashionista's but makes sure he isn't a part of it. He is his own creation.


Photograph: Clint Spaulding/Patrick McCullen

Another Week, Another Planet

What a difference a week makes. Last Thursday started out a cool -4F. This Monday it got up to 65F. That's a lot of degrees! In the summer, 65 is a cool breezy day, but after a sub-zero winter, it felt like 80. Who knows how long this will last. We are sure to get another dip in the weather, but that will probably not beat what we have had.

I was very happy to see tons of bikes out on the streets, yesterday. It was like a bike convention. I think it's good if people get out earlier in the Spring, because if they don't, it could be August before they hop on. That happened to me one summer, a long, long time ago. I'm trying not to be a pain in the ass, but I do use these occasions(Nice weather) to suggest friends get on their bikes. I'm actually going to help a woman I know find a good touring bike for a breast cancer ride this summer. She hasn't had a bike in a long time, but the seed has been planted. I hope she catches the bug... or is it fever?