Survival by bicycle

Remember when A. moved to Salt Lake City and we weren't sure whether it would be long-term? Well, almost one year later, it's long-term.

The past year has been, for both of us, one of those periods in life that test you far beyond your comfort zone.

A. had moved across country in the hopes that an exciting but risky internship would jumpstart his non-existant career. I was balancing a full-time position with an intense search for a new job. My mother—who has forever been my rock and confidant—continued her two-year battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Months of hard work, sleepless nights, and emotional strain dragged on. 

Then, in one surreal week, my mom landed in the ICU in a Connecticut hospital and I received an amazing job offer in Utah. My life seemed to be screeching to a halt and just beginning at the same exact time. The months that followed faded into a blur.

I remember riding a lot. 

I remember taking the train to Connecticut a lot. My bike, of course, came with me.

I remember bursting into tears while biking to work one morning, and being unable to stop crying until I ordered and ate a side of bacon.

I remember packing boxes and moving furniture at all hours of the hot, humid night. I remember the friends and family who helped me.

Now, I live in Salt Lake City with A. I love my new job, and A's internship has turned into a full-time position. I still ride my bike to work, and we hike together on the weekends. I miss my family, and while my mom's struggle has continued along a roller coaster track, her doctors are working hard to move her out of the hospital and into a physical therapy rehab facility. 

Things aren't perfect. The journey is far from over. There are many times when I wonder, à la Monday Morning Mantra, "What the f**k have I done?" But this past year has taught me that determination can reap amazing rewards; that a loving and supportive family is an invaluable gift; and that a bicycle is one amazing piece of survival equipment. 

Adventure Fridays: Experimenting with food

When eating for your adventures, experimentation is key. Everyone experiences different cravings — sweet treat or salty snack; cold drink or hot meal —as well as different levels of hunger. 

Lately, I've been experimenting with the amount of food I need to pack for a bicycle commute. Packing my own lunches and snacks is healthy, cheap, fun, and a lot easier than running out of the office every other hour to buy a granola bar. 

Planning your meals for a bicycle commute depends on the length of your commute and your body type. A relaxed 15-minute commute may not require a significant change in eating habits, but a fast-paced 45-minute commute may leave you feeling ravenous. While I am a fan of using instinct to tune into your body's needs, a basic calorie counter can help you identify your target range for losing, maintaining, or gaining weight while cycling.

The food I eat changes with the weather and seasons (lighter meals during a heat wave and more oatmeal on cold mornings), but I think I've nailed down a basic pattern that works for me.

Morning

• Before hopping on the bike, I eat a small bowl of oatmeal with honey and ground flaxseed, or homemade granola with plain yogurt.
• I drink water with breakfast, and water on my ride.
• Within 30 minutes of getting off my bike, I follow up with a snack: banana with peanut butter, or a hardboiled egg and a slice of toast with honey. Don't forget coffee! 

Afternoon

• For lunch, I bring a home-cooked meal to reheat in the office microwave. Hearty fibers and proteins keep me full. I drink water instead of soda or juice.
• To stave off my inevitable afternoon craving for chocolate, I finish off my lunch with sweet fruit like grapes or homemade applesauce. Or, I go straight for the chocolate.
• Later in the afternoon, I munch on homemade popcorn—not from a buttery microwave bag, but popped on the stovetop with some olive oil and sea salt.

Evening

• I always pack an emergency granola bar or energy gel for my ride home, just in case my body can't wait until dinner. 
• I'm still drinking water. Really, the only beverages I consume are water, coffee, and the occasional beer. 

What foods do you eat to fuel your outdoor fun? What's your favorite meal of the day?

Blogspiration: Companionship of bicycles

The trouble with having an outdoor-themed blog is that the subject-at-hand too often serves as a convenient distraction from writing.

Encouraged in part by the sheer joy of exercising and in part by the recent and unfortunate loss of my 30-day subway card, I have been cycling a lot lately.

When I stumbled across this article in my Twitter feed, the following line caught my eye:

"Bicycles will refuse to do anything for you, but [they] will gladly do anything with you."

Oh, how wonderfully true.

Bicycling eases feelings of stress. It inspires some of my most productive and creative days. It carries me through my city and to new places. It sparks conversation with complete strangers. It encourages confidence, health, and joy.

It's not the bicycle, though, that causes these things to happen. It is I. The bicycle is just along for the ride.

Blogspiration is a meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

Survival Mondays: Learning to love the rain

Sure, I've ridden my bicycle in the rain. Once.

Two summers ago, I signed up for the Discover Hudson Valley Ride sponsored by Bike New York.* After what seemed like an entire summer of brilliantly sunny weekends, it poured all day long during the 2010 Hudson Valley ride. We had paid good money to register for that tour, so we rode despite the rain. In fact, once we resigned ourselves to the reality of being absolutely soaked to the bone, we stopped caring. It was fun to speed through puddles and feel the rain on our faces. (Although, that was a day when I sincerely wished I owned contact lenses. Or windshield wipers for my glasses.)

Just a little damp.

When it comes to my commute to work, however, I haven't sucked up the courage to bike in the rain. My cat-like reaction to a few raindrops stems from a combination of many small annoyances: wet clothes, wet hair, no contacts. The biggest deterrent? I carry a laptop and cell phone when I commute.

Now that I've signed up for the National Bike Challenge—a free program that aims to get 50,000 people to bike a total of 10 million miles by August 31—I feel a little more pressure to take my cycling commute seriously. I rode my bike to work this morning under sunny skies, and I took my bike home on the subway under the threat of evening showers. All the way home, I found myself dreaming about waterproof commuting gear.

For small items, like a wallet or cellphone, a Ziplock bag should keep things dry. Cheap and easy rain protection!

For my laptop, and maybe even clothes, I have some research to do. Some potential options for waterproofing gear:

• SealLine computer sleeve looks professional and reliable, but perhaps too bulky (and expensive!) for my needs.
• ExPed or Sea to Summit dry bags work well for my camping gear. Why not for cycling, too?
• This website suggests getting creative and making your own weatherproof case out of a Tyvek envelope.

Do you bike in the rain? What do you do to protect your gear from getting wet? Leave a comment!

*Tip: If the 5 Boro Bike Tour isn't your thing, try the Hudson Valley Ride. It's beautiful, fun, and a lot less crowded than its New York City counterpart.

Local Wednesday: Women rule and women ride

My favorite month of the year is almost here!

May is National Bike Month. For me this usually means three things: I debate whether or not I want to ride in the Five Boro Bike Tour; I finally start commuting by bike on a regular basis; and I get free bagels on Friday mornings from the friendly folks at UWSSR.

As if that wasn't reason enough to love May, Girl Bike Love is now celebrating women, bicycles, and women on bicycles with CycloFemme.

Like the elegant simplicity of a bicycle itself, CycloFemme's mission is straightforward: "Inspire more women to ride, in their own femmetastic way." 

More specifically, CycloFemme provides a forum for women's bicycle love stories and calls women (and men!) to ride together (everywhere!) on May 13. Check out the ride list here.

Are you joining or hosting a CycleFemme ride? I'd love to hear about it!

Adventure Friday: Marcia's Mile & Glenclyffe Loop

On St. Patrick's Day, while New York City streets teemed with green-clad revelers, some friends and I chose a different means of celebration. We went where the green greets the spring—on our first self-planned day hike.

It took a bit of effort. We were looking for a trail easily accessible by train or bus. While many trails are advertised as public transit accessible, hikers often have to walk a few miles on roads before even getting to the trailhead.

Finally, my friend zeroed in on the area around Cold Spring, N.Y., and I found a simple hike called Marcia's Mile, just 75 minutes north of New York City by train.

Take the MetroNorth Hudson Line train from Grand Central to Garrison station, just outside of Philipstown, N.Y. A trailhead sits right at the southeastern corner of the train station parking lot. I don't think you can get much closer than that.

Highlights of the hike?

We found a small pond of loudly singing frogs.

We paused to swing on a rope.

 

We stumbled upon thickly growing bamboo jungles.

We had a picnic lunch on the river.

Best of all, our bodies enjoyed every moment of sun and exercise.

Since we were feeling ambitious, we decided to combine the Marcia's Mile and Arden Point hike (2.2 miles) with the Glenclyffe loop (1.6 miles), as suggested by the Open Space Institute. While the added distance made for a satisfying hike, the Glenclyffe loop seemed slightly disappointing in comparison to  Marcia's Mile.

Marcia's Mile, with its dry leafy trail and second-growth forest, seemed typical for a southern New York hike. The trail was well-worn, but the area was quiet and picturesque on this early spring day.

The vegetation of the Glenclyffe Loop created greater challenges, particularly for new hikers. It was here where we saw long lines of thickly growing bamboo. In some places, the bamboo allowed only a very narrow passage. A bright green creeping plant—perhaps wooded sorrel—stretched across long portions of the trail, obliterating any previous sign of a path, and a few large downed trees forced us off the trail. Mostly, I was disappointed by the frequent reminders of human presence: old tires, broken fences, and abandoned buildings.

Recommendation: 
Stick to Marcia's Mile and Arden Point for a leisurely day hike. Add the Glenclyffe Loop for a better challenge, but make sure you can read trails and blazes. These trails are relatively quiet now, in early spring, but they will likely get crowded in the summer months—if the rope swing by the river is any indication.

Resources:
Since I'm still a novice, I always rely on two types of hiking information.

1. Narrative hiking directions (i.e. "continue straight on the red blaze trail past an old stone wall..."), like those on this Philipstown map or the Open Space Institute website.
2. Official trail conference maps (for more reliable trail orientation), like this NY-NJ Trail Conference East Hudson set of three. These maps, and others, are available in-store at Paragon Sports.

Frog and bamboo photos courtesy of Dan Cabrera.

Survival Monday: How to protect yourself against ticks

"Dan, there's a spider on your hat."

Dan threw his baseball cap to the ground, and Katie bent down to pick it up. There, on the underside of the brim, was a small black-and-red bug. It wasn't a spider. It was a deer tick.

For all my outdoor adventuring on the east coast, I never encountered a tick until I spent a week in Shenandoah National Park last summer. In one day, we brushed a lone-star tick off my hiking pants and pulled a deer tick off of ARA's shin. 

Now, on this St. Patrick's Day hike near Garrison, N.Y., my friends and I suddenly realized that we should be checking for ticks. In fact, we should do this after spending time in any wooded or grassy area, as ticks have been reported in many Manhattan and outer borough parks. 

Only deer ticks (picture) are known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, but lone-star (picture) and dog ticks (picture) can pose other health risks.

To protect yourself against ticks, the New York Department of Health recommends the following:

• Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
• Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
• Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors and check again once indoors.
• Consider using insect repellent. Follow label directions.
• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid contacting vegetation.
• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.
• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
• Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (of yourself, children, and pets), and remove ticks promptly.

If you find a tick, don't panic. Do familiarize yourself with the tips in the graphic at the top of this post.

Survival Monday: My travel mug got me through Daylight Saving Time

When it comes to outdoor sports, an insulated mug isn't necessarily a key survival item. In the urban jungle, however, it's an entirely different story.

While I enjoyed every last drop of evening sunshine yesterday, the first Monday of Daylight Saving Time is no joke. My slothful reaction to my morning alarm ("It's really 4:30 a.m., you can't fool me!") meant that I didn't have time to make my usual pot of home-brewed coffee. Even worse, I really needed that coffee.

No big deal. Just grab a cup on the way to work, right?

Well, somewhere along the line, the great outdoors gave me a little bit of a green conscience. Or, perhaps, I've simply stopped isolating my life on the trail from my life in the city.

On hikes, Andy and I try to practice leave no trace (LNT). On its most basic level, LNT means carrying your garbage out of the woods and respecting the trails that everyone comes to enjoy. After numerous camping trips of lugging around our empty food wrappers, drink cans, and other unmentionables, we eventually started to think about reducing the amount of garbage we created in the first place.

I also took a fresh look at my city life. As much as New York can feel like a bubble, it's not. All those disposable products come from somewhere, and they go somewhere, too. What if we had to carry our garbage with us all the time, and not just on the trail? 

I'm trying really hard to eliminate my use of disposable items, like paper and plastic cups, but it can be difficult in a fast-paced lifestyle. That's where my favorite piece of Monday morning survival gear comes in: my insulated 12oz Klean Kanteen. Why do I love it so much?

1. It's insulated. The Klean Kanteen uses double-walled vacuum insulation. In normal words, this means that the insulating liner is nothing but an empty space with all the air sucked out of it. (Remember science class, air particles, and convection?) Regardless of how it works, this thing can keep coffee (or tea, or soup, or so on) hot for up to 6 hours. I tested this on a cold hike, and it works. Exactly six hours after I had put hot chili in my little Kanteen, it still served up a satisfyingly hot lunch. 
2. It's a canteen. With a well-fitting screw top, it won't leak when you throw it in your bag.
3. It's a mug. If you like your coffee on-the-go, I would recommend purchasing the Klean Kanteen café top. It's comfortable for drinking, it has proven relatively splash proof, and it snaps apart for easy cleaning. No more coffee gunk stuck in reusable lids!
4. It's 12 ounces. Some New York City cafés like to charge for a large coffee, even if you only fill your tall travel mug halfway. Why pay extra for doing the right thing? Eliminate any chance of dispute and save money with this standard-size small container.

I got my cheap coffee fix, and I still lived to see another Monday.

What mug helps you get through the day?

Blogspiration: 5 Reasons to Go for a Walk

"Walking is life at its most immediate. The combination of people and places changes constantly and never repeats." Joseph Scher


That line stuck out to me while reading this New York Times "Opinionator" piece three years ago. The author is referring to the experience of walking on a crowded New York City sidewalk, but I think it describes small-town strolls or quiet hikes equally well. While cycling gives me the rush of moving fast, walking helps me feel rooted and connected.

So why should you go for a walk, right now? Use these five reasons to get on your feet and out the door:

1. Improve your mood. We've heard it from the experts for years—regular exercise can help relieve anxiety and stress. While you'll only get that "runner's high" from an intensive cardio workout, a brisk walk around the block can do wonders to relax your muscles, improve your energy level, and boost your confidence. 
2. Love your body. There are few things more satisfying than feeling a gentle ache in your muscles after a long city walk or a challenging outdoor hike. You're making yourself stronger and healthier, and that's something to be proud of.
3. See something new. I've discovered some of my favorite stores, cafés, and parks by taking a new path. If you need to escape your thoughts for a while, new sights can provide a good distraction. 
4. Take a break. Step away from that bad day at work, that fight with a loved one, or that horrendous case of writer's block. Walk it off, listening to music or taking in the sounds around you. I find that some of my best work comes after a long walk around New York City.
5. Go alone or with a friend. Connect with your friends, family, or partner. Relish your alone time by setting your own pace and path. Walking fits almost any situation.

Need a bit more convincing? Check out Every Body Walk, a "campaign to get America moving."

Blogspiration is a new meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

Try a Discover Outdoors Guided Day Hike in NYC

Two weekends ago, I finally accomplished one of my big goals for the winter: Bring friends on a day hike.

It happened quite by accident. Back in January, I received a Vital Juice email advertising a Sunday hike and organic farm tour.

Farmers market veggies

It may be important to mention that my second love, after the great outdoors, is farm-fresh food. On any given Saturday, you will find me at the closest farmers market. I've been a member of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) group for two years, and I've loved every minute and every vegetable of it. Sometimes, during particularly stressful moments of New York City living, a small part of me even dreams of running away to join the WWOOF program.

So, I jumped at the chance to combine two of my favorite things. The hike and farm tour was being offered by Discover Outdoors (formerly known as Outdoor Bound), a New York company that leads day trips, weekend excursions, and international adventures. I booked my ticket online and sent an email to my friends. My dear friends, always up for trying new things, reserved the last spots on the trip. I was thrilled!

5 miles and feeling good

The Hike
Everyone met at Union Square at 9 a.m., and we piled into a van: 12 hikers and 1 Discover Outdoors guide. It was a beautifully sunny, if bitingly cold, day.

The van took us up to the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center at Harriman State Park, N.Y. (map) From there, we did a 5-mile loop to Pine Meadow Lake. The lake served as our halfway point, where we stopped for a picnic lunch.

The trail was well-worn and fairly flat. The only challenging bit was a stretch of moraine that had us picking our way around boulders and over loose rocks. We finished our hike before 1 p.m., and we piled back in the van for the next leg our trip.

Decomposing compost heats
the pipes on these
seedling tables

The Farm
Next, we headed over to Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Tarrytown, N.Y., a 25-minute drive across the river (map). Stone Barns was originally a dairy farm owned by J.D. Rockefeller—in a response to milk pasteurization, Rockefeller wanted a private source of raw milk for his family. (The debate over pasteurized milk versus raw milk continues today.) Now, Stone Barns is a four-season sustainable farm and educational program; it is also a direct supplier to the famous Blue Hill Restaurant. We took a tour of the farm, seeing everything from rotating animal fields to compost-fueled heating systems. Best of all, we had time to grab fresh snacks from the farm café.

The van got us back to Union Square by 5:30 p.m. By that point, I think we were all ready for a hot and hearty dinner and a good night's sleep.

Recommendation: Perfect first adventure
While the Discover Outdoor programs can be pricey, they provide excellent opportunities for first-time hikers. There's no need to worry about transportation, planning, or getting lost. All you need to do is pack a lunch and get yourself to the meeting point in New York City! Discover Outdoors also does a great job of explaining what to wear and what to bring. Grab a friend and check out one of their upcoming adventures.

Find NYC hiking trails near you

November has obliged, and today is a beautiful day for a New York City hike!

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation website offers a great list of trails in the Bronx, Brooklyn or Queens.

If you're in Manhattan, and you're not interested in leaving the island, check out this site with quiet walks in Central Park. Don't be alarmed by the horrible website design. The suggested hikes are great, and the poetic descriptions may inspire your inner Thoreau.

Salt Lake City road trip & the secret society of women's cycling

I suppose I should have expected this. My preparation for outdoor adventures has been put on hold by the very thing that inspired me: A's move to Salt Lake City. The past few weekends have been filled with frenzied bouts of sorting, packing, selling, tossing, and donating. In a completely selfish maneuver, I also volunteered to drive out to Salt Lake City with A (and take a redeye back to New York). According to my reasoning, this would mean not only a few extra treasured hours with him. It would also be my first time out West. Wasatch Mountains, here I come!

I've always had romantic visions of road trips: winding roads, beautiful vistas, new people, and spontaneous stops. In reality, it always works out to involve a bit of grumpiness and misadventures, too. Since we're on a tight deadline for reaching our destination, the trip will probably feel a bit more like this (and at this speed):

Courtesy of Michael Bartolomeo

Or, it'll be a mind-numbing stretch of corn fields.

My research skills must be lagging from all of this packing frenzy. At least, I'm telling myself that, because I'm having a hard time believing that there aren't any women's cycling clubs in New York City.

I started researching groups to contact when I'm back from Salt Lake City, and I tried every search variation I could imagine:

• women's cycling clubs
• women's cycling groups
• bicycle clubs women
• girl cycling
• girl bikes
• cycling for chicks
• chicks on bikes
• chicas y bicicletas

Well, you get the picture. (I don't recommend looking up the last two.)

One group on Meetup.com with particularly pink fonts looked promising until I read this: "I started this group for the more leisurely paced rider who enjoys riding slower like I do." I found myself reassessing my strategy. Just why am I looking for a women's group? Am I afraid that I'd eat the dust of faster, dorkier bike dudes? (Maybe.) Am I looking for simple camaraderie in a male-dominated sport? (Yes.) Aren't there women who enjoy riding fast and breaking a sweat? (Definitely!)

It'll probably be more fun and productive if I try riding with a few diverse groups. Who do you ride with, and where do you ride?

Are two bikes better than one?

Cycling can easily be a solitary sport. Imagine yourself riding on the open road, the wind at your back. It's easy to get lost in the rhythm of pedaling and the hum of tires on the road.

Still, there's something beautiful about two bicycles. Just look at them.

I'm a solitary cyclist when commuting to work or running errands. I have much more fun on the weekends when I'm riding with someone else. Plus, it's often safer to have a road buddy.

Who wants to go for a ride?