I saw a sensational documentary last night at the Eastman (Kodak) Dryden theater in Rochester, perfectly timed to kick off Bike to Work Week (check out the movie trailer here: Bill Cunningham New York trailer). Few people have the mastery of urban riding in NYC, let alone at the age of 80. Bill Cunningham, on his 29th bicycle, not only rides the streets of NY but has been doing so in search of fashion trends for the NY Times, Women’s Wear Daily and a host of iconic publications. A cross between a war photographer and a Manhattan bike messenger, Cunningham shoots around by bike, wearing trousers, industrial blue jacket (worn by the street workers in France), tweed cap, sensible shoes, a simple cross-body bag in which he keeps his camera and many rolls of film.
You’ve no doubt seen the “on the street” page in the Style section of the Sunday New York Times or watched the onthestreet segments he narrates online. That’s all Bill, armed solely with a bicycle and his camera. This marvelous 88 minute documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, is a fashion joy ride that gets to the heart of his incredible passion and extraordinary humility. The world he sees is a delight for anybody who wonders how trends emerge. He lets the street to speak to him. He jumps off his bike and literally spins in a circle on a NYC street corner snapping photos of what he sees that’s fresh and original. He’s a fashion legend who attends all the best events but lives like a mouse without a kitchen or closet.
The movie is full of colorful characters and a point of view about creativity and vision that’s really inspiring. A feel good, look good, ride good movie that I personally can’t stop thinking about.
Currently playing at select theaters. DVD will eventually be available through Zeitgeist films or on Netflix.
When I first started building bicycles for women some 25 years ago, it took only a quick glance at a man and a woman of the same height to see that her legs were longer than his. Her shorter torso was clearly the reason why she felt “stretched out” on a bike and had to endure discomfort in her shoulders and back. So Terry bikes were built with shorter top tubes on all sizes to address this concern.
Around 1990, I decided to get a more analytical and less anecdotal about the root causes of some women’s discomfort while riding. There’s a lot of information about men’s and women’s anatomy and I was looking forward to finding out just how much shorter a woman’s upper body was proportionate to a man’s. Guess what? Women have proportionately longer arms and trunks than men. Looks can be very deceptive, thanks to women’s higher waist lines.
Yet, women’s discomfort on bikes was very real. But what was the underlying cause? We were doing the right thing but for the wrong reason. We needed to know the right reason.
Enter Laura Lund, then working on her Masters in Mechanical Engineering-Bioengineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She did some research and came up with some possible causes for women’s discomfort. In doing so, she confirmed why our designs were working.
So what was going on? It has to do with the distribution of body mass and the location of the center of those masses. They differ between men and women. More of a woman’s body mass is in her trunk than a man’s. And, speaking in simple terms, it’s higher on her trunk than on a man’s. Think of it like this: if you put a five pound weight on your lower back and then bend over, it will be a lot easier than if you bend over with the same weight on your shoulders. Your total weight is the same in both cases, but in the latter case, you’ve moved the center of that weight up and away from the muscles that are doing the work. This higher “center of mass” means more effort is required by the lower back muscles. A similar situation exists in the arms with regard to the forces exerted on the rider’s shoulders.
Add to this the fact that women tend to have smaller muscles than men to support these forces. Not a good scenario!
Start planning for next April. This trip should be near the top of every cyclist’s bucket list. Not only is the spring scenery tremendous, but for a couple of weeks in March/April, certain roads in Yellowstone Park are open to cyclists only. That’s right–just you and Yogi.
The only traffic jam in Yellowstone in early April.
It’s unbelievable to ride there without any traffic except buffalo and elk herds. Filled with animal activity, this is when bear are coming out of hibernation, wolves can be spotted trotting along frozen lakes and hydrothermal geysers, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents gurgle and sputter away. That said, riding in Yellowstone is not for the faint of heart and requires respect, self sufficiency and preparation: http://www.cycleyellowstone.com/road-biking/
Logistically, our favorite home base is Chico Hot Springs, a funky historic resort an hour’s drive south of Bozeman, MT. Chico is a quick 20 miles from the park entrance and has its own great hiking/mountain bike trails, horseback options and road bike routes right out the front door. Fly into Bozeman, rent a vehicle and drive through Livingston and Paradise Valley, following signs to Chico.
Cabin #501 at Chico is a blissful choice with gorgeous views of Paradise Valley.
Here are three unforgettable rides that require self-sufficiency (no services in the park) and a camera. (See http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/springbike.htm for additional park information as things do change and areas are subject to closure when grizzlies wake up). Roads are very simple to follow and you really won’t need much in the way of maps to navigate these simple out/back itineraries.
Riding Paradise Valley is quiet, flat and view-tastic.
Every good getaway should start with a ride right out of your hotel room. This one starts at Chico and is a flat, drop dead gorgeous, low traffic ride through one of the most beautiful valleys in the country. The toughest challenge may be the headwind you face in one direction. Leaving the hotel, take a right on East River Road (#540) toward Pray and follow the Yellowstone river 24 miles through open fields and grasslands surrounded by the Absaroka and Gallatin mountain ranges. At the junction of Highway 89 (mile 24) you have 3 options: double back and re-trace your route (quietest); turn left and take the highway back; turn right and ride 5 miles into historic, downtown Livingston for lunch, then retrace your route.
Gardiner – Norris (52 miles)
Eat a big breakfast and then drive 20 miles to Gardiner, MT, Yellowstone’s North Entrance. You’ll leave the car here today. Ride heroically through the historic stone arch and check in at the ranger station just ahead. They’ll let you know if there are any things you’ll need to watch for as you prepare for a nice climb to Mammoth Hot Springs, 5 miles and 1000 feet up a series of moderate switchbacks. Look for big horn sheep along the cliffs. If you’ve never been to Yellowstone, you’ll be stunned by the limestone terraces at Mammoth and the gigantic elk hanging out on the lawn of the lodge.
This is the last outpost of civilization for awhile (and as far as cars can drive) so continue on through in 2-wheeled, non-combustion bliss, following signs to Norris (21 miles one way). You’ll ride through meadow marshes, steam vented areas devoid of life due to heat, lava-created Obsidian Cliffs, streams, lakes and aptly-named Roaring Mountain. At Norris, you’ll double back and retrace your route to Mammoth, then down the mountain back to Gardiner.
At the top of the climb, the riding's sublime for miles – flat and wide open.
Mammoth – Madison (70 miles)
Ride #3 starts at Mammoth and repeats the route to Norris, but extends another 14 miles south to Madison Junction, the place where Yellowstone was born around a campfire during the exploration of this area in 1870. It’s filled with geysers and surreal, multi-colored, mud paint pots. You’re very likely to encounter all that Yellowstone has to offer in geothermal activity and animal sightings. From your hotel, drive to Gardiner, then into the park. You can leave your car right at the Mammoth Hotel. Follow the signs from Mammoth to Madison, out and back, yielding to any animals (if you encounter buffalo on the road, stop/turn around and give them time to clear the area).
The geothermal pool at Chico is all the post ride entertainment you'll need.
Where to:
Stay: Chico Hot Springs
No phones or televisions, but the lobby has wifi, dogs, board games, stone fireplace and one of Montana’s finest restaurants. Room rates from $55 – $350 per night, depending on type of accommodation you prefer (including separate cabins for larger groups), but all are entitled to use of the hot mineral springs. chicohotsprings.com
Eat, Drink & Bathe
Breakfast & Dinner: Chico Dining Room or Poolside Grille
In general, it’s all there at the resort and once you’ve experienced one of their famous breakfasts and indulged on lake trout or a Montana Angus steak au poivre in the dining room, you’ll be planning your next evening’s order.
Downtown Livingston
A variety of quaint western outposts await, with surprising local & celebrity encounters. We sat next to Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan at the Pickle Barrel sandwich shop a few years ago. Fine dining at Livingston Bar & Grill at 130 Main Street.
Post Ride: Take the plunge in Chico’s famous, huge, outdoor mineral springs pools (average temperatures of 96º – 103º) The perfect post-ride therapy.
Saddle up at the bar in the Saloon and watch people succumb to the healing power of the hot springs just outside.
Getaway Gear Recommendation
On-body, on-bike portability is key and layering this time of year is essential. We recommend a hydration pack with storage capability. For apparel, temperature variation makes anything Windstopper® a good choice. Base layer, jersey, arm warmers, jacket, knickers or tights, full finger gloves and an under-helmet beanie. Critical; dual bottle cages or hydration pack; tubes, pump & repair tools; bear spray.
Encountered this sub-adult who was feasting on a winter-kill buffalo near the road. Roads get closed when grizzlies get this close but in our case, we had no choice but to ride by to get out of the park.
Based on a quick review of bike manufacturers’ websites, women’s bikes don’t seem to have gone anywhere, but a little probing shows the industry might to be in retrograde mode. Having made so much progress in the last 25 years, it would be a shame to lose sight of the goal: bountiful offerings for all riders. Although there are more choices than ever for female cyclists, the true distinctions between those bikes and unisex bikes are disappearing quickly.
Last month, Bicycling magazine’s annual Buyer’s Guide hit the news stands and for the first time in years, there was no mention of women’s bikes. Poof! Gone with the wind! I haven’t been able to find the reason for this — so far, all Bicycling will say is women’s bikes will be covered in their Editor’s Choice and in individual bike reviews. Gone, but not forgotten.
Now, add to this the fact that, with the notable exception of Specialized, in the past most smaller women’s bikes have offered 650c wheel sizes to fit the rider properly. (At Terry, we go a step further with not only 650c and 700c, but 24” wheels as well.) But recently, 650c has been disappearing from the lineup faster than real sugar in soft drinks. No more 650c for Cannondale, Trek, Orbea or Fuji to name just a few.
So what’s going on??? I spoke to some manufacturers — those who continue to carry 650c and those who have dropped them. They all told me the same thing. 650c wheels are a must-have for a properly built small bicycle. But there is mounting pressure to build small bikes with 700c wheels.
Some told me the consumer herself is driving this change. Apparently there are quite a few women who would prefer to ride an ill-fitting bike with 700c wheels than a properly-fitting 650c bicycle. This may be driven by hesitancy about the availability of 650c or the need to conform.
Others think the “push back” is from those dealers who don’t really understand how a 650c wheel makes a difference in bike fit and choose to stay in the 700c comfort zone rather than educate the consumer.
Once a manufacturer has decided to embrace 700c wheels exclusively, just how will women’s bikes be differentiated from “unisex” bikes? Expect to see a lot more of this: “…a shorter crank and stem length, along with narrower handlebars, give it a women-specific fit”. Gee, that’s just what we did in the good old days of unisex! I can guarantee you that women on the tail of the bell curve, i.e. those very petite women are in for a rough time of it. As 700c returns, stand over heights are rising.
Are manufacturers really reading the market correctly? Is there indeed a trade-off between the desire for a properly fitting bicycle and wheel size? What say you, dear reader?
“Boundary-thinning” is the term I use for the exercise I engage to stay fit for taking calculated risk. I do live my life on the edge, but not recklessly. I think of “boundary thinning” as a conscious activity forcing me to an uncomfortable, yet manageable threshold of fear. It keeps my brain alert and geared for strategic and visionary thinking, my nerves steadied to act on the weighted average of emotion, and my point of view one of can-do optimism. As I very consciously and carefully test the edge, it also reminds me what my limits are so I don’t go blindly over.
As a child, my conscious “training” at risk-taking lead me to sneak out of camp cabins in the middle of the night in search of adventure. My boundary thinning in adult life takes the form of solo sailing my 34-foot racer/cruiser on Lake Champlain. Perfect concentration and great judgment are tuned when close hauled alone in a 30-knot wind. Most recently, I’ve taken up mountain biking to get me out of my comfort zone.
Boundary thinning has prepared me to take the real risks that have changed my life. At 13, I shocked my poor mother by singlehandedly applying to boarding school. At 19, I traveled through Italy during the fascist revolution. At 25, I left Bank Boston to marry a man 22 years my senior and together we built our own house and homestead on a Vermont mountain. Ten years later, with two very young daughters, I divorced him and left the homestead behind. In 1997, I stepped up from being CFO to take the helm of The Vermont Teddy Bear Company then a public company in a state of undeclared bankruptcy. And in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession, I acquired Terry, the Original Women’s Bicycling Company.
Now 55, I enter this New Year thinking a lot about aging. To hell with wrinkles and hair – I never really gave a damn anyway. The most troubling consequence of this is a desire to stick to routines, to dwell in my comfort zone. The counterpoint to this is the anxiety I feel when I travel to a new place, let alone to one where I have to adapt my cell phone, or execute on a novel new marketing strategy.
Perhaps I’ve learned to feel deeply the fragility of precious states of well-being. With more than a half-life of hindsight, I see what there is to lose and that makes it harder to take risk.
But I’m resolved on this New Year’s Day to continue the pursuit of calculated risk. I plan to ride new roads in unfamiliar places and ski where I’ve never skied before. And I will rise to the challenges of taking a company like Terry into modern marketing. With a mission to get more women on bicycles, Terry can help them thin their own boundaries. Climbing on a bike for the first time since childhood is taking a calculated risk, but it can change your life.
Late last fall, we shot the Terry Spring 2011 catalog in Santa Barbara. There’s no better place to ride in winter’s meanest months or get a jump on spring. In Santa Barbara, there are endless mountain, valley and coastal roads–you’re virtually guaranteed to discover something new each time you visit.
Here are three of our favorite rides. (See trimbleoutdoors.com for actual maps.)
Coastal Route (approx. 35 miles)
Get to know Santa Barbara with a scenic bike path ride through historic downtown. Follow the signs for Coast Village Road from the Montecito Inn (a great place to stay and ride from) to the Biltmore, along Butterfly Beach, past the Andrea Clark Bird Refuge and Santa Barbara Zoo. Finish by following Cabrillo Blvd to Shoreline Drive (http://www.sbbike.org/region/rides/rides.html). Tip: Bring a bike lock so you can stop and tour the Santa Barbara Mission along the way.
Gibralter Road/Camino Cielo (approx. 50 miles)
Gibralter Road:the Alp d'huez of the US.
A sweaty, heart pumping ascent from sea level to 9500′ with breathtaking vistas along the way, this ride is known as “America’s Alpe d’Huez”. From the Montecito Inn, head north up San Ysidro Road and take a left on E Valley Road through Oprah’s neighborhood. You’ll ride several miles along this tree-lined, winding road, which becomes Sycamore Canyon Road, then Stanwood Drive.
The type of traffic jam you may encounter.
Just past Parma Park, turn right on El Cielito Road for a preview to the climb, then watch for an eventual right on Gibralter where the climbing will take you out of the lush neighborhoods of Santa Barbara onto 11 miles of progressively steeper switchbacks.
At the top of Gibralter, turn right to ride out along Camino Cielo, the “road to the sky,” famous for its extraordinary views of the ocean on one side and sweeping valley views on the other.
Cycling nirvana along the "Road to the Sky."
At the pavement’s end, double back and retrace your route for an exhilarating but challenging descent (potholes and loose gravel on the shoulder). Tip: the descent can be cool. In winter, bring a wind jacket, arm warmers, beanie, full finger gloves.
Lake Casitas Loop (approx 60 miles)
A training ride for the pros, this one is rated 6/10 for difficulty by Bicycling magazine because it’s got 5300 feet of elevation gain. Lake Casitas has scenery, climbing and unfortunately, traffic, so leave early. From the Montecito Inn, ride south along the coast, eventually turning onto Highway 192, winding through miles of orchards in Carpinteria. At the intersection with Highway 150 begin the climb toward Casitas Pass. You’ll be treated to expansive views of brilliantly blue Lake Casitas, fragrant eucalyptus groves and descents on wide roads with sweeping turns prior to reaching the Ventura River Bike Trail back to the ocean. Pedal north along the Pacific Coast Highway and see world class surfers catching breaks.
Multi-elevation = multi layer approach to dressing.
Tips: Bring a wind jacket, and wear bright clothing since you’ll be riding with traffic. We recommend the Xenon from GORE BIKE WEAR.
Built in 1928 by Charlie Chaplin as an LA weekend escape, this charming inn has been restored to its vintage Hollywood glamour, and it’s riding distance to great restaurants and shops. Rooms are small, but winter rates are good and locked bike storage in included. montecitoinn.com
Eat, Drink and be Merry:
Breakfast: Jeanine’s for breakfast quesadillas or scones. jeanines.com
Guilt free after all that climbing.
Post Ride: The ride-to patio at Lucky’s for cold beer, slivered onion rings and
Tonal color blocking went out with disco shoes, but now it’s showing up everywhere from runway collections to the 2011 Terry Team kit. Yves Saint Laurent 70’s fever–electric and eclectic color blocking of orange on gold and pink on purple–fueled NYC’s fashion week in January. Gucci paired teal and cobalt, orange and red. Ditto Marc Jacobs with red and pink, purple and red (as profiled in Vogue, at right). Clothing, bags and shoes all sport the trend.
Terry is on board, too. This year you’ll be seeing a lot of tone-on-tone color from us: blue/teal in our tri group; fuchsia/red in our newly branded team kit and jersey prints with bright tonal patterns. Even our Terry Fastwoman bicycle is vibrantly color-blocked. Each season we develop a color palette that’s influenced not only by the art of high fashion but by the science of color forecasting, which predicts the colors that will be most popular based on the economy, current events and cultural phenomena. What forecasters see in their crystal ball for 2011: Exotic colors will take us back in time. Translation: pack your muted camo clothing away until it comes around again in 30 years, and search the back of the closet for your mom’s platform shoes and geometric print skirts—or check out ours. Energetic “70’s inspired” colors, from ultra-visible, color-blocked Lycra tights to bright and bold skirts and jerseys are back.
Terry Team Kit
Our all-new Terry Team Kit in fuchsia and red not only hits the mark on color trend, but is loaded with the technical features that make it the best female cyclists can buy. Check out the TT Jersey pictured above here.
You’ve no doubt seen the “on the street” page in the Style section of the Sunday New York Times or watched the onthestreet segments he narrates online. That’s all Bill, armed solely with a bicycle and his camera. This marvelous 88 minute documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, is a fashion joy ride that gets to the heart of his incredible passion and extraordinary humility. The world he sees is a delight for anybody who wonders how trends emerge. He lets the street to speak to him. He jumps off his bike and literally spins in a circle on a NYC street corner snapping photos of what he sees that’s fresh and original. He’s a fashion legend who attends all the best events but lives like a mouse without a kitchen or closet.
