Category: Do You Need to Go Shopping?

Product reviews, “dream” shopping lists of products we’d love to find, and meditations on when and why we should/shouldn’t go shopping.

Closeup photo of a bicycle derailleur. The bike frame is bright blue. The equipment is splattered with mud.

Riding in the Rain, Wheeling through Winter: Bike Gear DEFGs (to follow the ABCs)

Advice for gear to help you keep riding into the winter months.

Introducing Zelda the E-Bike

Guess what I get to pick up tomorrow? Tralala, tralala. Hint: I’m going to @GoFamilyCyclery. More hints: Good for 🌎, makes me 😍, gets me up 🏔️ more easily. — Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) March 14, 2019 I’ve been talking up…Continue Reading

Wheeling through Winter, Riding in the Rain: Bicycling Gear ABCs to Keep You Rolling

It was a dark and stormy night . . . and I went for a bike ride.   P It happens regularly this time of year; That moment when someone makes a statement disguised as a question: “You don’t ride…Continue Reading

Wander Wrap waterproof rain skirt for biking, hiking, walking. Made by Wander Goods of Seattle, WA.

Great Gear for a Rainy Ride: The Wander Wrap

I was still living in Spokane when I crossed the tipping point between fair-weather rider and all-season rider. This meant building my collection of gear to make it a little more comfortable to ride on cold, wet, or snowy days.…Continue Reading

Close-up of Nuu-Muu and Ruu-Muu fabrics

Shop til You Drop at the Swap! April 13-14, Spokane Bike Swap

It’s been fun but it’s time to wrap it up–the Bike Style Spokane shopping events, that is. At least for now, having my dream job running a bike advocacy organization makes it fairly impossible to run a little side retail…Continue Reading

Not Even Fully Loaded: Another Grocery Run

Just how much can you haul on a bike ride to the grocery store? Depends on how many bags you have! When we lived in Spokane the grocery store nearest our house was just over 1.5 miles away uphill, which…Continue Reading

What it means to buy local: Close-up from a sign in Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane. 1) You kept dollars in our economy. 2) You embraced what makes us unique. 3) You created local jobs. 4) You helped the environment. 5) You nurtured community. 6) You conserved your tax dollars.

Errandonnee with a Twist: Biking & Walking Got It Done

I took a shot at the February biking challenge posed by @gypsybug on Chasing Mailboxes: the Errandonnee. Complete at least 7 different types of errand by bike and at least 30 miles and you’ve succeeded! In addition to living a pretty…Continue Reading

Bikes Are Being USED, I Tell You. Keep Up the Good Work.

Have you been bikewashed, and did it feel good? More to the point, does it do some good? I’ve been contemplating the bikewashing concept ever since Elly Blue highlighted it in a post last summer. She defined bikewashing as “the…Continue Reading

Back Some New Bike Fashions from Iva Jean

It’s time to highlight some new items in development at Iva Jean, the Seattle-based bike fashion designer. I’ve been eyeballing their rain cape for some time now–and have a lot more reason to get one now that I’m living in…Continue Reading

Bike-friendly dresses, jackets, shirts, and other outfits let you bike to work (or wherever you're going) and look professional when you arrive.

Hub and Bespoke: Worth a Bikespedition All Its Own

For someone dedicated to riding a bike and looking pretty much like every other busy, Outlook-calendar-flogged person hustling into a meeting—as opposed to standing out as the sweaty one in Spandex sausage casings—a trip to Hub and Bespoke in the…Continue Reading

Women with bike wearing a Ruu-Muu exercise dress for biking, walking, and generally looking cute while you exercise

The Trek FX Gets a Road Test, and I Get Confused

After seeing my informal impressions of Wilma’s Breezer Uptown Infinity, Betsy offered up her Trek FX for comparison. I rode it for my regular commute route three days while she was on a trip. My impressions were a bit colored…Continue Reading