Well, we're movin' on up

Hello friends,
Bike Skirt now has a new home. www.bikeskirt.com. We are so excited to unveil our new look to everyone.

Head on over there to check it out. We think it looks incredible and are grateful to T. Scott Carlisle for his help with the site, logo AND the photos. We are lucky to have support from talented people. Thanks T!

*you will need to change your RSS feed to reflect the new site. OR you can cancel this one and subscribe to the new one. sorry for any inconvenience, but think you will agree that it is well worth it!

Bike Love!

DON'T break a leg

Anna and I are participating in our first alleycat this weekend, the No Brakes 2 Year Anniversary.

Needless to say, we are nervous as hell.

Wish us luck. We will report back soon.

Also-it looks like the new and improved Bike Skirt will be debuting on Monday if all goes well. will keep you updated!!

Have a good weekend and share the bike love!

Workin' for the weekend

So much bike fun this weekend!!

First we have the Atlanta crew, with a fun filled weekend! No Brakes is having their 2nd Anniversary Race & Party on Friday, July 10. Anna and I are for sure headed that way Friday night. (rumor: 50 cases of PBR donated!). Watch out ATL; Bike Skirt is about to invade!
On Saturday there's a pro velo race at the Dick Lane Velodrome, should be awesome to watch. Then on Sunday there's another velo race, this time for messengers and city bikers, with Cyclehawk's velocity. Winners get a free trip to Tokyo!

Pensacola Alley in Pensacola, Fl is also having a fun filled weekend, with their Blue Angels Alleycat. Looks like a whole lotta good times, and the beach too!

Finally, here in Birmingham we have a couple of things that you really should attend. If you haven't heard yet, our dear beloved Bottletree Cafe is in a financial pickle, and needs YOUR sweet lovin' to help them out! Saturday night they are having a free show to help business, so get yo booty over there and buy some drinks! Anna will be there rocking out (or something similar) with Andy's Tea Party.

Sunday night is the first of many events with The Sunday Night Skid! Every other Sunday our dear pals Matthew and John are going to be running the show with sprints and bike games. They are also doing some sort of point system, but you'll have to go to their site to get info on that.

Leave a comment if you'll be attending any of these events, or if you're looking to carpool!

A ride of epic proportions I would say!

So I've been visiting around over the past week, first to my family over in Pensacola (thanks wle for the ride suggestions; I ended up riding with my parents on a rails to trails route, the Blackwater Heritage State Trail!) and now I've landed in the lovely little coastal town of Fairhope, Alabama. It happens to be a place that Elisa and I both share; her sister lives here and my husband's family lives here too! This morning I decided to go on a good long ride, and looked up a route with mapmyride.com. Here's the one I chose:

The ride started off so beautifully; it was sprinkling on and off and humid as hell, but I grew up on the gulf coast (Ocean Springs, Mississippi to be exact) so I'm no stranger to the liquid sheen that appeared over my whole person after a few minutes. I got a fairly early start and hopped onto Scenic Highway 98. They don't call it scenic for nothing folks; beautiful million dollar homes situated perfectly on the bay, with intervals of water peeking through. As I got further along I could see more of the water, which was wonderfully choppy, and on the left side of the road it started to get nice and swampy. The highway ended at Weeks Bay, and I had a great view of the water, piers, and open air all around me. I rode around and took a few pictures (which I won't be able to upload until I get home) and then did a bit of back tracking to get to the turn off the bay. All the cars were very friendly, people were waving and giving me plenty of room when passing; it was heavenly really.

From there i was riding in a woodsy type area with nothing much going on - a few cows, an old guy on a bike that looked a tad too small for him, and crickets chirping their hearts out. I missed my turn somewhere but ended up where I needed to be, which was unfortunately a much busier highway. Thankfully there was enough of a shoulder so I wasn't in the road, but at one point I had to swerve around some large gravel from a driveway and got my first honk. I feel like this was understandable since I was right in front of the car when I swerved into the road, so I successfully fought back the urge to yell or give the driver the finger.

After passing over fish river I turned off of the highway onto a small street, and was greeted by two bulldogs! I squeaked and yelled an expletive while riding as hard as I could away from those beasts that were giving chase hard core. Thankfully I got away without harm! This road was shaded with wonderfully mossy live oaks, and I felt at home and at peace with the world.

Then it was time to get on county road 32 (you think a county road would be tame) and my ride went downhill real quick. 55 mph speed limit, no shoulder, big trucks hauling heavy equipment, and teeny bridges! I was hunkered down and trying my best not to have a breakdown. Then this sweet little fluff of a dog ran chasing after me, crossed the road a few feet from a car, started coming back (while I yelled "no little doggie stay where you are!") and got completely smashed by a huge truck flying by. I cried out, but was being closely followed by a cop and a few other cars so I rode on miserably holding back the tears. I was really depressed, people. Then a monsoon started; my shoes were immediately filled with water and I was almost blown off my bike, all while cars were passing by close and fast. I got off my bike and called my husband; "come get me!". I felt defeated, but thankfully wasn't too far from the end of the route. The road I was riding on was closed a few hundred feet up from where I stopped, so I would have freaked out at that point anyway - I am not at all familiar with the area and am sure to have gotten lost immediately.

It started off sooo beautifully...

Hello Beautiful

Meet Freddie Mercury, my new ride. Ever since I lost Mick, then got Betty Paige (who was a mite too small) I have been dreaming of a new ride. Well, about a month-ish ago, I got one.

Isn't he a beauty? A Bottechia, with Shimano 600 components and a color scheme that stops traffic.

I love everything about this bike. It was hard to get used to the down tube shifting and the higher (lower...harder) gearing, but now I am in love. Freddie is a steel bike, so the vibrations in the road feel miles away. I am steady, safe, secure and fast as hell. Seriously folks, I am a stronger, faster rider now.



click on photos to enlarge for more bike-y beauty

(photos courtesy of T-Photographic. T. Scott needed a model to help with location and lighting scouting, so we packed up bags and took off on our bikes, looking for prime locations. It is amazing how much more you see riding beside a photographer that you would never, ever see just driving in a car.)


check out the awesome shadow situation in this one!

Oh, Betty Paige is happily being ridden by our good friend, Dan. He is taking good care of her and they are quite the pair. Only Dan could make pink bar tape look sexy on a guys bike.

one more note: be on the lookout for a new look here at Bike Skirt! Our friend (and awesome photographer) T.Scott is hard at work on a new layout/look/logo for our little blog. Yay Bike Skirt 2.0!

Skirting around

Recently, Bikehugger asked me for a bit of advice dealing with a blog post here titled "I love cycling in a Summer Dress:how do you ride in a skirt and keep your poise". As the co-author of a blog called Bike Skirt, this was right up my alley!

I thought about it all day today as I pedaled around town in a skirt, running errands and meeting friends. Here is what I came up with...

How to ride in a Skirt : a tutorial


Riding in a skirt has its challenges, but is truly the way I prefer to ride year round. Summer you get a nice breeze, fall you can add tights if need be, but never get too hot. Winter is all about tights, over the knee socks and tall boots. Spring was made for riding in skirts. Going for a hard, epic ride in lycra…keep it classy and wear a little cotton skirt on top of the lycra. The skirt offers endless possibilities for riding fashion and function.

However, many women are scared to ride in a skirt. What if the wind blows wrong? What do you do when going fast downhill? What if your bike isn’t a step through (which, by the way, neither mine nor Anna’s are)? Here are the tips and tricks for maintaining your dignity whilst wearing the skirt and enjoying your ride.

1. Pick your skirt- pencil skirts are never a good idea on a bike with no step through. You are looking at it riding up and constantly pulling and tugging. A-lines, looser cotton skirts and mini skirts are best. Long skirts work if you have a skirt guard and chain guard (which I don’t). Dresses are also a great idea b/c you are not worrying about the back riding up too much and showing rear end cleavage (the worst kind of cleavage)

2. How to get on the bike-this is assuming you are riding a regular bike with no fancy step through. Step one: stand to the side of the bike. Step two: squeeze your knees together. Step three: lift your leg, keeping your knees as close together as you can. Standing on your tip toes is also a big help. You can give yourself extra protection by holding the center of the skirt down. Step four: at this point, you should be straddling the bike. In order to keep the skirt down it is best to put one foot up on a pedal. Tilt the bike a bit and you are good to go. Do this all in reverse to get off gracefully.

3. Riding in a skirt-ride as normal, keeping your legs close to the bike (something you should be doing anyway) and keeping one leg down while the other is up during coasting moments. For going downhill, I find that standing up keeps the wind from making you less than modest.

4. Leggings or shorts really help-I will wear a pair of leggings or cycling shorts if I am going a very long distance or am at all uncomfortable. This keeps you covered AND allows the fabric to slide up nicely as opposed to bunching up and riding up uncontrollably. Also-no thongs. This is just asking for trouble. Not to mention, unsanitary. Ick…

5. Have fun-sometimes you will flash. It is inevitable. When that happens, throw your head back and laugh. It really is quite funny! Also remember that with all the biking you are doing, your legs probably look amazing so flaunt them.

I hope this has helped. I am a firm believer in riding in skirts, both for the statement and the comfort. Ride on and feel the breeze in ways that the boys will never fully get to appreciate!!

Hello Pensacola, whatcha got?

I'm spending 4th of July weekend with my parents in Pensacola, Florida and brought my bike along for the first time. Does anyone know of any good trails or places to ride around here? HELP!

Our first visitor!

Tuesday Elisa and I were privileged to have our first blog visitor! Paul from pacificpedaling.com came through town on a cross country family trip, and we went for a nice morning ride together. After Paul set up his folding bike (a bike friday model) and I showed up late and groggy, we set off into morning traffic. We decided to take a route that went through some downtown Birmingham hotspots, including 5 points, UAB, and the business district. We even got to hop on our shortest bike lane (2 blocks long). We ended at our favorite coffee shop, Urban Standard. After some delicious coffee and baked goods, as well as great conversation, we had to head back home so Paul could get back to his family and onto their next adventure. Thanks for coming Paul, it was a pleasure meeting you!

Check out his blog chronicling their trip, The Epic Journey.

This is where we live

Today, I give you my commute. From my workplace to home, I tried to take photos of each street. Mainly hills, but it is actually a lovely ride.

Unfortunately I moved this weekend, so I will have to change the first (or last) part of my ride. Still trying to get that worked out. Will post it once I am settled!

Enjoy my ride.