Urban Velo

Thanks UV for the shout out today! I heart Urban Velo and so should you!

If Urban Velo was a person, I would shamelessly hit on it.

is that bad?

I love Riding in the City

Guess who is in this month's Urban Velo? That's right-me! You can check it out here. I contributed to their "I love Riding in the City" column. You should too! The folks at Urban Velo are awesome and have a really great thing going on. In addition to my little page, they also sponsored our Heartbrakes Alleycat Benefit.

You can get a paper subscription OR they offer it up for free on itunes.

So, thanks to Urban Velo. You guys are awesome.

(Seriously, go and contribute to the column. You won't regret it!)

Also-thanks to everyone who came out to the Bici Community Interest Meeting. It went really well and was really fun to sit around talking about bikes and bike shops with like minded peeps. Cyclists Rock!!

I am a winner!

I don't really win things. Yes, I have a good little life and am/have been involved in some great things, but it is more because of things I chose to participate in. Winning random contests have never been my thing.

well, all of that changed yesterday! Over at Bike Frenzy, I entered a contest and was thrilled to see this when I checked back today:

And The ActionWipes Giveaway Winners Are


in Free Stuff Friday, Product Review

To read the original review of ActionWipes and to get contest details check the post title: Free Stuff Friday: ActionWipes Edition

The Winners Are
In no particular order:
(other names are listed here, but who cares about them?!)
Elisa M
Free Stuff Fridays are somewhat new but I really hope it grows. Here are more Free Stuff Friday posts.

Yep, that's me!! I won some Action Wipes, which is strange and wonderful since just yesterday I emailed my LBS and asked them to consider carrying them. Great timing, huh? Now I can try them and let the shop know if they are, indeed, a product they need to get behind.

woot woot! A bikecommuters.com profile and winning Action Wipes...life is sweet.

(review of Action Wipes to come)

Thanks Bike Frenzy. You rock!

Also stay tuned for a review of Everlight Safety Vests.

We have arrived!

Check Anna out at BikeCommuters.com today! This site is amazing and offers tons of support, tips and general bike commuting wonderfulness.

They asked each of us to submit a profile, so stayed tuned for BikeSkirt Part II!

UPDATE: My (elisa) profile was just posted. We feel so cool!

Thanks Ghost Rider...it was a blast doing this!

Everyone-stop what you are doing and head over there. Bookmark it. It is that good. for a bike commuter, it is an indispensable tool.

We. Are. Awesome

Check us out in the Birmingham News. A photo ran in the paper as well...in a skirt of course!

I think my favorite part is the last line. Our own Anna let them know the real reason we ride to work: "And I hope to have really nice legs"

couldn't have said it better myself.

Federally-funded program pays cyclists for pedaling to workCyclists
get cash to pedal to the office instead of driving

Wednesday, January 14, 2009
MARIE LEECH
News staff writer
What started out as a good-natured competition among her friends has turned into more of a way of life for Elisa Munoz.
Vowing to exercise more, Munoz pulled out her bicycle and began to research safe biking routes around Birmingham. Then she got the idea to commute to her office in Irondale - a seven-mile drive - from her home in Highland Park.
"In my car, it takes about 25 minutes to drive seven miles because of the traffic and driving through a lot of neighborhoods," she said. "It's exactly the same amount of time by bike, but I get to work feeling a lot better and not feeling like I just wasted 25 minutes of my life."

Originally, Munoz and two friends decided to get fit and keep a blog for three months to record their improvement. One chose running, the other swimming and Munoz biking.
She enjoyed bicycling so much that she set a goal to make biking her primary form of commuting by March 1. She does it about twice a week now.
"I am so much healthier and have so much more energy now," she said. "I do have to say, though, that drivers here are not biker-friendly at all. It's definitely not for the faint of heart."
Munoz actually gets paid to commute to work via bicycle through CommuteSmart Birmingham, a federally funded program that used to be known primarily for its vanpools and carpools.
Sean Saffle, project manager for CommuteSmart Birmingham, said not many people know about the biking aspect of the program.
"Only about 4 percent of the people in this program are commuting by bicycle," he said. "This city is not exactly conducive to bicycling with all the hills, but we are trying to promote it."
As part of its GetGreen program, CommuteSmart offers cash incentives of $2 per day, up to $120 over a three-month period, to those who live or work in Jefferson and Shelby counties and change their commutes from driving alone to such alternatives as a carpool, vanpool, bus or bicycle.
Anna Carrigan, who also lives in Highland Park, commuted to work via bicycle for the first time last month. She is not yet part of CommuteSmart, instead trying it for the health benefit.
It's only a three-mile ride to her work, but the hills make it a good workout, Carrigan said.
"I feel like I've accomplished something when I get to work," she said. "And I hope to have really nice legs." On the Net
CommuteSmart Birmingham: www.commutesmart.org/birmingham/index.html mleech@bhamnews.com

Almost famous

This morning CBS 42 came to do a story on me and my commute. It was a fun (if tiring!) experience that I hope will help make people aware of us cyclists on the road.

You can catch it tonight (Sunday) at 10 on CBS 42.

Thanks to Mike McClanahan for making it a fun experience. Also to CommuteSmart for setting it up.


crossing my fingers it looks good!