Becky (Chain Reaction Redwood City)

New York is awesome! The city is all that I thought it would be and more! Yellow cabs (To my mom’s chagrin, we did not find the cash cab), skyscrapers, and tons of dogs! I had no idea that New York was such a dog city. People walk their dogs everywhere, at all hours, it’s great! The only thing is that most people aren’t super friendly about letting you pet their dogs. I come from a family where it was totally cool to ASK someone to pet their dog, but don’t just go up to them and start pawing at their animals (No pun intended). And here in California, that seems totally cool and ok, but it just seemed like New Yorkers aren’t down with the pooch petting. Oh well, I still thought it was cool to see all the puppies!

Emily and I went to the Met in the morning and I must say, the Met is an amazing museum! It’s like a combination of the best of the Louvre, The D’Orsay, and Le Centre Pomidue in Paris. You have the best of Ancient and Classical Art on the ground floor (Where Emily and I spent much time, she being a Classics almost grad student and me being an anthropology and archeology buff) alongside the best selection of Post-European American Art and Aboriginal Art I have ever seen! Then we went upstairs and they have an amazing Impressionist section. Rooms and rooms full of Van Goghs, Monets, Degas’, Renoirs, and Seurats. I was in impressionist heaven. My mom loves Monet, so I took a virtual picture tour for her, every single Monet there is now cataloged in my computer for her and she really liked them. The only downside to the trip to the Met was that the Modern Art section was closed for refurbishment, oh well, it looks like I will have to go back again!

After spending the morning immersed in amazing art, we decided to fill the afternoon exploring a whole other, but very important, culture: SHOPPING! We took the metro down to SoHo and lazily walked the crowded streets while stopping into shops we wanted to. Their Bloomingdale’s is pretty awesome, and I came really close to buying a cool DVF dress that made me look like a bird (Really, it was pretty cool, not tacky) but decided to not completely drain my bank account that day. After wearing ourselves out on shopping overkill, we went to Dean and Deluca, which is this amazing gourmet grocery store where I got a superbly tasty chocolate-peanut butter brownie and some special cinnamon for my mom. We took the subway back to the hotel and decided on a low key dinner (We had to get up really early to get me to the airport). All in all, I really really REALLY liked New York, and I can’t wait to go back.

Took the mega bus from Philly to NYC today. We had tickets to see Wicked and it was AWESOME. Everything in it was amazing, the songs, the sets, the costumes, it was great. The only downside was that Kristen Chenowenth and Idina Menzel were not playing Glinda and Elphaba (I’m a huge Glee fan, and they have both had guest roles), but it was great all the same. And I think it’s pretty cool to see a show on broadway.

We then went to pizza at a place by the David Letterman Show and it was superbly delicious. I must say that I have been converted to the east coast way of eating pizza, folding it. Then, we went exploring a bit and spent some time in crowded Times Square. Walking back to the hotel, we grabbed some cheese cake from juniors (HIGHLY recomended!) and are now having a quite night in watching silly girl shows. Tomorrow should be a big day of museum hopping an sight seeing!

That’s right, I’m in the home of cheese steaks and the Declaration of Independence. I’m out here to see my best friend Emily and having a great time. And yes, it is sunny here. The weather is interesting because I seem to have hit the only 2 days of the year where the weather here is decidedly California-like. I’ve never been here but so far I really like Philly. The people here are super nice, the streets are reletively easy to navigate, and it’s been a good mix of bus/subway/walking trasportation.

Speaking of transportation, I took a mix of planes, trains and taxis to get here. Everything was fairly uneventful until I got to the train station in Newark to catch my train to Philly. My Amtrak train went from on-time to 1 hour late to 15 minutes late to 22 minutes late to 7 minutes late to 27 minutes late to arriving at the station no more than 5 minutes off schedule. Is this normal for the east coast trains?

Today we went to Old Philidelphia, saw Independence Hall being renovated (no, we did not get in the horrendous line to see the Liberty Bell) and Betsy Ross’ house, went to the best bakery in Philly (Tartes, AMAZING!), found a pretty awesome costume shop, and basically spent the day exploring and eating pizza in a combination East Coast/West Coast style (Folding a slice of pepperoni in half and dipping it in Ranch dressing). Lady Gaga dance parties, a Gossip Girl marathon and homemade chicken parmesean are making this girls weekend the best ever!

The cycling world here is pretty active. Being as it is a town with 2 universities, there are a ton of bikes around. A lot of hybrids and college bikes but it’s a really cool bike city. They are locked to trees, bike racks, fences and street lamps. I peeked into a couple of shops here and they sell these really cool “I (bike symbol) Philly”, I’d like to buy one, but seeing as I haven’t ridden here, it didn’t seem right to wear one.
Off to New York tomorrow. More to follow!

Sundays are supposed to be the days that my dad takes my brother Kevin out on a killer ride, but this Sunday, Kevin had some major kidney stone pain, so my dad took me out instead. Now, when I think about riding with my dad, I get a little nervous because he is so fast and strong and I am, well, neither. After voicing my concerns to him numerous times, he suggested that I ride my mom’s E-bike. This is the bike that she rides to work and back on and it’s got an electric motor on the back that doesn’t pedal for you, but it gives some power back to you. It’s a “pedal assist” and super fun to ride. We went out to Portola Valley and did “The Loop”, and yes, it was HOT. I think I might be a bit like my brother on rides though, it takes me a little bit of time to get into riding and then I am good to go. Stopping off at the “New Roberts” to get a soda was pretty cool for me because I have seen so many pictures of my brother drinking sodas on rides and it was nice to be able to share that with my dad myself. It was definitely nice to spend the day on the bike with my dad.

There have been bike racks at Whole Foods since it opened, but for a very long time, they were out of the way and not very visible. This didn’t make much sense to me and my dad, considering that this is a store that promotes healthy lifestyles, and yet were making it a bit inconvenient to ride your bike there. So I was pleased to see that they had added a new bike rack right outside the front door. The location is super visible which makes me feel good about leaving my bike there while I grab a sandwich for lunch. Way to go Whole Foods!

Although awesome as it is that they have this new bike rack, it would be nice if it were set out a few more feet from the cart center so that we could put our bike’s front or rear wheels in it. As you can see, I (and someone else too) had to place my bike sideways after trying to make it work the “right way” for about 5 minutes. Still a few bugs in the system but much better than putting my bike far away!

Speaking of grabbing lunch, if you every drive between El Camino and Jefferson on weekdays between 11am and 1pm, you might seen me on my Gary Fisher Simple City heading off somewhere to get some food. I love this bike. It is so darn practical, not to mention cute. It’s great being able to stick my purse in the basket and go wherever it takes me. Although it did take some getting used to riding with a lot of weight on the front, it’s still a super fun bike to ride. I have been happy to ride it short distances that I would otherwise be taking my car and wasting gas. And although it may be a bit cliche, I love riding it to the farmer’s market on Saturdays and loading the basket up with fruit and bread.

No, not that season, I’m talking about pre-season clothing! We just received in some of our new Fall 2010 Pearl Izumi clothing and it looks great! There are a couple of pieces that I would really like to highlight here, simply for their pure awesomeness.

1. Men’s P.R.O. Aero Jacket: Every one needs a great all purpose jacket and this thing is amazing. It’s made of super light, packable fabric that will not only keep the wind off you, but keep you dry in the fog without turning into a sauna. The material is a 2 way stretch to provide the most breathable best fit possible. And it fits in a jersey pocket for when the sun comes out!

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2. Men’s Elite Thermafleece Tight: When I took these out of the box, I was amazed at how light they were. They have a combination of thermal and barrier fabrics for superior moisture transfer and warmth with out being too heavy. The barrier fabric on the front will keep the wind off your knees and thighs, while the articulated knee insures no bunching on the bike.

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3. Women’s Symphony Thermal Hoody: These jerseys just look comfy. It’s loaded with great details for making your fall/winter rides warm and toasty. It has a hood with a ponytail hole so you can wear it under your helmet, plus a zippered back pocket with 3 dividers. The thermal fabric that makes up this whole jersey is super soft but will still keep you dry and ready for more.

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4. Women’s Superstar Knicker: I love knickers, I think that they provide the optimal amount of warmth and versatility for year round riding while being one of the most flattering pieces out there. The Superstar knicker is no different. This one is built with brushed material that is soft to the touch but won’t over heat on warmer days. Made with the Women’s 3D Tour chamois, this is perfect for moderate length rides. The wide, yoga inspired waistband and gripperless legs take the comfort of this knicker to the next level.

More clothing news to come, and if you have any questions about the pieces shown here or anything about cycling clothing in general, I’d love to hear from you!

Yes, running. I know this is supposed to focus on cycling stuff, but running in a tri counts as at least being part of a cycling event right? So I’m trying to get more into it and have been forcing myself out almost every night. I say forcing because I have always perscribed to the idea that the only reason you should run is from fire and bears. I have NEVER liked to run. But I’m hoping to change that. Starting out slow has so far worked well, I run 1/2 mile and then walk (or power walk, whatever) a mile to cool down.  I’ve been focusing on what one of my reps told me “Don’t pay attention to how fast you’re going, focus on landing your feet as gently as you can on the pavement”, and you know what? It really helps… Until I get lazy and start “pounding the pavement” again. You have to understand, my mom calls me “The stomper”, I’m not exactly light on my feet. But hopefully, with more practice put in, I can find my groove and go on for miles…

If you have any tips for me, I’d love to hear them! I’d also love to hear if you are a runner for life or just getting into it, if I can start running, anyone can!

Well, at least hello to the people who read the website My name is Becky and Mike (hitherto known as “dad”) has supplied me with my own blog to talk about my experiences and knowledge of the cycling world. Here’s a couple things that I want to accomplish on this blog:

1. I want to be more physically active and maybe do a triathlon in the future. I’m not Iron Man material but I think it would be fun to go out on longer rides and be able to run a bit more. I also have to get certified for scuba so it all ties in nicely with the tri thing. The Trek Women’s Triathlon is a long term goal that I would love to participate in. I have a Trek Madone 5.1 that is silver and pink that my friend affectionately calls the “Barbie Dream Bike” and I am looking forward to taking it out on longer rides.

2. Speaking of Trek Women stuff… I’m the Women’s Specific Design guru at our Redwood City store. I think that women are a huge part of the cycling community and it is very important to have a place for them to feel comfortable when they are looking for a bike or just trying to get into it. I will be keeping you up to date with all of the newest stuff in the Trek Women’s lines and various events in the area that cater to women cyclists or triathletes.

3. I am passionate about Project One, which is Trek’s custom bike program. Being able to choose your color and components on your bike is a great way to make your bike uniquely yours. Project One is constantly changing and adding new and cool options, and I will not only be telling you about the newest additions to the Project One line, but also highlighting some of our recent Project One sellers.

4. What girl doesn’t like clothes? I do all of the apparel buying for our Redwood City store. Whether you are looking for something to keep you cool in 90*+ weather or a jacket to warm you up in below freezing, I’ve probably got some answers for you. I want talk about the latest in cycling apparel and how that can help you!

Well, I think that’s it for the first blog post. Thanks for coming along on the ride!