Single Speed Stella

You know how you can have a rad day, and then there's just one thing that happens that bums you out? My day (yesterday) started rad as always, with a tasty breakfast provided by the local 7-11...

So, we have a fence that divides our place of living from a side street - the same street that I commute down, that also leads to a Starbucks and a movie theatre - a popular fence with a door in it that has been locked and unlocked, hopped and abused, until finally one intrepid person took the lock out at 1 am on a Wednesday. To keep the fence from swinging open in the wind, a latch was put at the top on the opposite side - meaning all one has to do is reach up and flip the latch. It worked for many weeks, but there's always that ONE dork who can't understand WHY the gate doesn't open...so they just KEEP PULLING....

Until they happily break the fence and keep walking...which totally bummed me out....

See, for two years, we have heard all manner of fence hopping and shenanigans at 3 or 4 in the morning, as a result of said fence being locked or unaccessible, so i'm fairly certain that over the summer, management will "fix" the fence, and said shenanigans will resume, leading to a loss of peaceful sleep. Poor, sad fence...

I didn't let the broken fence keep me down for too long, I had enough minutes to create an amazing gourmet dinner, which totally got rid of the bummer-ness of the desecrated fence...

And to top it off, I got some new kicks, so I went to bed a happy camper. I HATE spending money, but a new pair of sneakers once a year isn't too extravagant, and my feet are an important part of my daily transport..

Going through grad school and working to make ends meet here in Silicon Valley, i've had lots of jobs - part-time, full-time, contract - you name it...i've never thought i'd find the one you know, the job you love, the job you want to settle in at, the one that you're stoked to get up every morning and go to...BUT I DID!

...it's true, I love my job. And the thing is, it's not just the job duties, yes, they kick-ass, but it's the overall kick-assness of it, perhaps better shown in pictures....

First, I really like all my co-workers

The one who runs the place is pretty chill,

This is the sum total of my commute, (no, really, this is my commute...)

I have enough time in the morning to enjoy a tasty breakfast

There's always someone around to lend an ear when faced with a particularly perplexing problem

There's still time for family at the end of the day....

One of the reasons Stella is a single-speed, for me, is all about the simplicity of it. There's no gears to fuss with, if you go up a hill you just have to pedal harder...I don't have to worry about maintenance except for brakes and tires, and derailleurs just look too...complicated.

Which segueways into another quirk that my husband and I both have...we hate stuff. I hate shopping, I don't like the mounds and piles of stuff that serves no purpose that people keep getting told they need. NOW!! Need. it. right. now!!!!

For example, we went to a shindig and our hosts for the evening had a video game thingy...so we played, and it was fun, but not $300 fun. And definitely not something that we need. And, truth be told, not really fun after an hour of it. Definitely something destined for a landfill...but to each their own, right? Here's the rub...I know people who are so deep in debt that even if they paid three times the minimum every month, they would still be there for ten years or longer. But they keep buying this stuff. And they justify it, they need it to have something to do since they can't afford to go out, or whatever...

riding is free...that's all. Yes, the bike costs money...Stella cost some dollars, but she's paid for herself many times over, and riding never gets old.

rather than a bunch of things and a TV screen, i'd rather look at this;

I was supposed to be in four different places at the same time this weekend...but I didn't end up at any of them. On Saturday there was a party, but we went by and there were no lights on...an open door and no lights. So we went out to dinner and roamed around. On Sunday, I found out in the morning that we had a BBQ to attend, and so I went - which means the three other places I was supposed to be, I was not at...but I made some new friends irregardless...

the BBQ;

Perl; the code dog

 

 

  

Today was all about Stella and Beretta (Stella's partner in crime...) and this is why I ride everywhere when there are errands to run. In a car, you miss all the little things...the details, the people who are out for strolls in your neighborhood, the squirrels doing their thing... and in my neighborhood, just how much of Mt. View Google really owns....

the Ride;

 

 

  

 

Srsly, good times all around...

There was a huge fire in the Santa Cruz mountains, and when I woke up on Friday I could smell it all the way down in Mountain View...the smoke and haze made it's way down the peninsula...I love the smell of campfires, but NOT forest fires...

Having had family that lost everything in the Oakland Hills fire, my condolences to those in the Santa Cruz hills who were affected...

ANYHOW...yeah, to make up for a bummer pic, here's one I unearthed from Nate's B-day party, delicious snacks -

Who doesn't feel instantly cheered by delicious snacks?

This morning was supposed to be a riding morning, but my husband is, ironically, on his way to Zeitgeist right now and i'm off to spend some quality time with my cousin, whose husband just bought her a new bike, so i'm going to try to convince her that she loves the bike and will love riding the bike (she's not convinced....)

I'm a big believer in conspiracy theories...it's part of the reason I don't have TV...but I don't think it's any huge surprise that when gas prices are at their highest...GASP...Big Oil celebrates record breaking profits...i'm just sayin'....

That being said, on a trip to the Duke of Edinburgh - I didn't miss the drive, the gridlock, or the parking hassle..and I used my gas money for a few pints....:)

This is Stella and this is Stella's story...well, parts of it are, anyway...
Stella is a bike, A single-speed cyclecross bike that is my preferred form of transportation and really, just a great bike. Part of the reason that Stella is now going to exist on her own little slice of the internet is twofold - first: to share that riding a bike is good times, and second: um...to let people know that riding a bike is good times. And cheaper than driving a car. And more fun than sitting in traffic.

Here's Stella;

Here's some background about her; Stella lives in Mt. View, Ca. and is a trusty commute bike. The reason she's such a great bike is that she's not complicated...one speed, two brakes, a seat, and two wheels. A year ago, I got fed up with driving everywhere, with paying for gas (way before it hit $4 a gallon) and I was tired all the time. So I decided to start riding to work. Now, background on me...I'm a 30-ish female, married, not all that athletic, a little bit lazy, who works in an office-ish environment. Not a jock, not a hippie, not a revolutionary...just fed up with driving and feeling sluggish and irritable.

So, I started riding the six miles to work...from Mountain View to Sunnyvale. The first week sucked ass...hard. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt, I hated sweating, there are A LOT of people who ARE jocks that ride their bike to work in their spandex and scoff at the plebes in jeans...

The second week was better, but still sucked...my legs still hurt, but I was sweating a little less...I got heckled by a couple motorists, but whatever...

The third week was even better, I started to notice the trees and the squirrels, and I was a little bit faster...and I had more energy. Really, a lot more....

After my first month of riding to work everyday, I felt really good. My skin was clear, I was always in a good mood, and my legs starting looking...better. I got up in the morning and really looked forward to getting out and riding my bike...it began a whole new perspective.

There's a lot more to be told, but this is Stella's first time getting introduced, she likes to start off slow...I talk to a lot of 20-ish and 30-ish ladies who are afraid to ride a bike, or have a dozen excuses as to why they can'tride a bike anywhere for transportation, and I believe that as California feels more of this recession, and higher gas prices, food prices, entertainment costs...you name it, i'll hear a lot more about how they can't afford not to ride more often...