New Bike!

I have something to share... my new bike: The Schwinn Sprint (not to be confused with the shin splint)



I was innocently walking through the neighborhood yesterday and I saw a bunch of bikes in a parking lot sale. Something red and shiny caught my eye, and the next thing I knew I was making a deal.

Backstory: I sold my old bike when I moved to Portland. I obviously needed a new one. My attitude towards bikes has evolved a bit over the years, and I keep making new rules about the kind of bike I want.

And then, I break them.



Rule #1: No more Schwinn bikes.

Reason: To be fair, I have always considered vintage Schwinn bikes to be the very best in classic style and overall fun. This has always been my go-to bike. Of course, I could never go very far on one, and after one hill, I was pretty much spent. SO, I decided my next bike would be newer, lighter, and faster.

What happened: I don't have the money to get that bike. Besides, the Sprint is slightly newer and lighter than the Suburban I used to ride.

Rule #2: Girl-style bikes are dumb.

Reason: I was hung up on thinking girl-shaped bikes were the modern day equivalent of riding side-saddle. It was old fashioned and meant to keep you from going anywhere good.

What Happened: I tried to mount a boy-style bike in a short skirt and flashed a bunch of people. Lightbulb moment: a lower crossbar serves a purpose if you want to wear a skirt and ride a bike. It turns out the design is not dumb, and is in fact, quite smart.

SOLD!

New bike, Day one: Adventure!
I already have a helmet, and I also picked up a lock. I rode with a sense of freedom to meet some friends for pub-style trivia.

I quickly learned not only am I not in very good shape, the destination was a bit further than I thought it was and mostly uphill. By the time I got there, my legs felt like cement. I just had to lock it up so I could get some water and eat inside.

10 minutes of struggling with the u-lock later, I caught myself accidentally flashing the folks hanging out in front because of the contortion I had to put myself in to get it all working properly... making this the second time in one day I pulled a Britney. Or is it a Lindsey? I don't know.

Still, it was fun!

When it was time to go home, surprise... darkness! Thankfully I was able to ride the whole way in a convoy of bikes that had flashing safety lights - another thing I need to pick up if I ever want to ride at night again.

Having a bike teaches you a lot about life, mostly things you don't expect to learn. I thought I was going to develop a relationship to the road yesterday, but instead I learned to be better prepared. That and to be more lady-like with my legs if I am going to wear short skirts in public.

Tour de Fleece Wrap up special

With nearly 500 participants in this year's Tour de Fleece, I have to declare this year to be a success... in many ways.

I've been keeping tabs on many of the other spinners and I'm impressed with the quality and quantity of production out there. My goal was smaller, to recapture my lost spinning mojo. I'm happy to say that I have started spinning again, after a long hiatus.

HOWEVER, as one mojo returns, another starts to slip away. Perhaps it is already obvious which mojo I am hinting at: Blogging mojo.

I don't know what kind of meta-universe I am living in where I can say I've lost blogging mojo in an actual blog post, but here we are.

It's not like I'm not having adventures to write about, either. I'm falling in love with my new town, Portland. Evidence:


Exhibit A: Tanner Springs Park, in the Pearl district. Classic Portland - ecologically sane and sustainable resource park. Plus it looks cool.


I have no explanation for the llama I ran into in front of Hot Lips pizza in the Pearl. I love her sparkled headgear.


Another great city feature: old metal rings embedded into the curbs to hitch your horse. Imagine my joy at spotting someone did just that: hitched their horse right on up.


Over on SE Division there is a falafel cart called Fat Kitty. The falafels are fantastic and made to order. While you wait, you can check out the review on the counter. (click on this to read the post-it)


Even the most hard-hearted of souls has to feel a little softening at the sight of a devil bubble man making giant bubbles for the kids on SE Clinton, in front of Dot's.

So you see, I am still here. I am knitting and spinning, working, dreaming and eating. I still love the Tour de Fleece, and I love Portland.

Stage 17: July 23, 2008 - Challenge Day!

Stage 17: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Embrun to L'Alpe-d'Huez

------------------------------
Welcome to Challenge Day!

The cyclists climb 4 mountains today:
Cote de Sainte-Marguerite
Col du Galibier
Col de la Croix de Fer
L'Alpe-d'Huez

The last 3 are beyond classification climbs, and Alpe-d-Huez is probably the most famous climb in Tour history. It means something to a cyclist to make this journey, and in some ways it symbolizes the Tour de France itself. Cyclists know what it takes to survive it, and it bonds them in a unique way. To me, that is the heart of our challenge day. I can't wait to see what you make of it!

I'm going to spin/ply roving for 6 hours. That's my challenge, considering I have a day job and plans for Wednesday evening. I'll have to get up early to do it. I'm looking forward to it because the actual Tour airs at 3:30 in the morning here on the west coast (!) The other part of my challenge will come later, when I knit myself something from this yarn to be.

Today is our day to really challenge ourselves. What are you going to do?/What are you doing/What did you do?

I thought I'd pop a picture in here of what I spun on last year's challenge day: It's a rainbow yarn with a lot of bright feathers. It was a challenging technique for me. It was my personal Col l'Aubisque.

Tour de Fleece - week two underway

How about a very quick check-in?



After a fantastic day trip to Sauvie Island for some berry picking, inspiration hit hard in the form of rainier cherries and boysenberries. (delicious, by the way)



I dyed some roving in the style of berries. I spun it up and finally finished plying it today. I look forward to showing it off soon!



I finally finished all 220 yards of the green yarn. See the pretty roving in the post below this one here.

I know this is quick, please bear with me as I adjust to a new job, house guests, test knitting, designing, and watching three to six hours of Tour de France every day. (!)

Tour de Fleece - Days 3-5

I think it's about time to check in regarding all things tour related. Yes, it's been a busy week but I do have some spinning to show off.

This year's tour is really different. Instead of a skein a day or more (I really did 8 skeins a week) I am only doing 2 skeins this first week.

What happened? I'm not doing bulky singles this time.



The last few days I've been working on this roving I picked up at the Black Sheep Gathering this year. It's pretty, soft, and easy to spin.



I took a little over 4 oz, split it in half, and spun up two fine singles. I started plying them together yesterday and hope to finish that today.

Yes, I've slowed down, sort of. It's okay. I think I'm spinning about the same yardage per day though since I'm aiming for fingering weight now.

I'm looking forward to a great weekend of spinning some roving I dyed recently and perhaps a bit of berry picking as well.

Happy Fiber Friday!

Tour de Fleece - opening weekend

I'm spinning again! After a long hiatus I'm happy to report that some real spinning happened this weekend.

Day 1: July 5, 2008: Brest to Plumelec

Despite opening day jitters, I sat down at the wheel and started spinning up some fiber as if I hadn't just taken a break for the better part of a year. Just like riding a bike, it came back to me.



The fiber is a blend of mohair, wool and alpaca in a natural charcoal color. I bought it from Bear Dog Fiber at this year's Black Sheep Gathering. It's soft, fluffy, and easy to spin.



I split the roving in half and spun up two singles as thin as I could do them on my bulky flyer. I used a trick I had read about where you zigzag the yarn through the hook to slow the draw... it works!

This is all rather shocking because:

1. I haven't spun in ages

2. I never spin thin or consistent

3. I rarely spin just one kind of fiber

4. I usually spin art yarns

So, my style is evolving. I thought this might happen after such a long break.

Day 2: July 5, 2008: Auray to Saint-Brieuc

A day for plying. I sat down at the wheel and watched the Tour de France and plyed the charcoal yarn.



I think it looks good. I'll have a better idea how I feel about this yarn tomorrow when I wind it onto the niddy noddy and can count the yards.

In summary:

Just like in the actual Tour de France, I declare my own spinning challenge to be off to a great start!

Tour de Fleece Eve

Can you believe it? The Tour starts tomorrow! This is what I spun on the opening day of last year's tour:



This year? Some things are still the same:

1. I love yarn

2. I love the Tour de France (despite the organization's intentions otherwise)

3. I love reading about what everyone is up to with their spinning

4. I love seeing pictures of what other people are spinning

5. I love the idea that we can turn a haircut into a wearable garment with a few steps

6. Homespun yarn is cool

7. Community is cool

8. I am still here

9. You are still here

10. We are still friends

Good luck tomorrow! See you on the finish line!