Zeth’s Recent Comments

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  Biking in skirts

  I've been a bike commuter since I was 16 and running deliveries in Seattle. I've been car-free since I was 18, and now at 24 I have finally learned how to bike in a skirt. There are great comments on the board already, so I'm going to toss out just a few, especially as I have two bikes and zero chain-guards or skirt-guards between them.

  1. On the short side: I know that I can ride in any skirt with a hem within seven inches above my knees. Sit firmly on the back of your skirt and the front will stay in place.

  2. On the long side: I know that for the most part, I can ride in any skirt that doesn't come within 12 inches of my feet. There are a few that I pin up, etc., but I've never had the skirt-in-the-works problem. Not yet, at least.

  3. Trendy: So it might sound weird, but skirts that are shorter in the front than they are on the sides are perfect. The front sits nicely on the crossbar and the sides keep you from getting unwelcome exposure.

  4. I'm not for pimping brands, but a couple of (hint) sustainably-minded companies make practical, beautiful SKIRTS that are designed for biking in. Happy hunting . . . I bought three in different colors.

  Ride safe.On Umbra on biking in a skirt posted 1 year, 5 months ago 22 Responses

• Click here to view comment in original post

  Biking in skirts

  I've been a bike commuter since I was 16 and running deliveries in Seattle. I've been car-free since I was 18, and now at 24 I have finally learned how to bike in a skirt. There are great comments on the board already, so I'm going to toss out just a few, especially as I have two bikes and zero chain-guards or skirt-guards between them.

  1. On the short side: I know that I can ride in any skirt with a hem within seven inches above my knees. Sit firmly on the back of your skirt and the front will stay in place.

  2. On the long side: I know that for the most part, I can ride in any skirt that doesn't come within 12 inches of my feet. There are a few that I pin up, etc., but I've never had the skirt-in-the-works problem. Not yet, at least.

  3. Trendy: So it might sound weird, but skirts that are shorter in the front than they are on the sides are perfect. The front sits nicely on the crossbar and the sides keep you from getting unwelcome exposure.

  4. I'm not for pimping brands, but a couple of (hint) sustainably-minded companies make practical, beautiful SKIRTS that are designed for biking in. Happy hunting . . . I bought three in different colors.

  Ride safe.On Umbra on biking in a skirt posted 1 year, 5 months ago 22 Responses

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  A few modest suggestions.

  So what are your criterion for green campuses? Are Ivies getting props for spending the most money on their initiatives?? Are we looking at results or class offerings or student activism? The list feels patchy precisely because it is. Some of the schools are environmental by their charters. Some are throwing down the big bucks ad some have fancy-sounding institutions. If we're doing it grab-bag-style, here's a few more leads:

  Northfield, MN, is home to TWO of the more green-focused colleges in the country. You gave Saint Olaf props for it's focus and mission, but what about the school-run farm(StoGrow) that supplies food to the cafeteria in season? In a kind of strange move, the Olaf chem department "greened" thier chem lab to fit the new uber-green science center that is currently under construction. Both STO and Carleton College have aptly placed wind turbines on the property and both schools are involved in on-going savannah restoration projects.

  The law school at Lewis and Clarke in Portland has the nation's #1 environmental law program, but no mention here.

  Deep Springs, anyone?

  Just check 'em out.
  On 15 Green Colleges and Universities posted 2 years, 2 months ago 62 Responses

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  The mutual contract

  My high-school job was working as a bike messenger in downtown Seattle. I cut my biking eye-teeth commuting from Edmonds and riding up, down and around the Seattle metropolitan area. Now I live, carless, in Portland (OR) and commute to work, by bicycle five days a week (bar weather). A few quick, anecdotal, non-definitive observations:

  Portland has more bike lanes than Seattle, hands down. This does not, however, make drivers any more careful. My first month in Portland I was mowed over WHILST IN THE BIKE LANE. There is only so much you can do to avoid being hit. Drivers have to take some responsibility.

  Seattle's Burke Gilman trail is a marvel because it goes where people need it to go. The number of commuters that move along the Burke highlight the difference between a recreational bike-trail and a commuter bike-trail. It really ought to be extended as soon as possible.

  Portland has an incredible number of bicycle racks, which in my opinion may be what makes it truly bike-friendly. I can always find somewhere to park my ride. Waiters are also famously tolerant of folk showing up with helmets strapped to their bags and bike-gloves on, so props.

  As far as I'm concerned, bikes have no right and no right of way on busy sidewalks. I drive my boyfriend crazy by insisting that he get his ass back on the road, but by having a right to the road, bikers forfeit their right to the sidewalk. Sorry, dudes.

  In the end, it only works if there is a mutual contract. When I was in England, I was floored by how many riders didn't wear helmets. On the other hand, I didn't know anyone who has ever been hit. I've been hit three times in eight years in the States. Bikers have to wear a helmet, ride responsibly, and stay off of the sidewalk. Drivers have to get down off of their expensive, smoggy high-horsepower thrones(I'll admit to a chip on my shoulder) and check their blind spots.

  Oh yeah - and I'm really tired of hearing, "Get off the road, bitch!" I've heard it before. It's no longer shocking.On Is your town? posted 2 years, 6 months ago 17 Responses

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  A few other ideas

  Recent graduate, eco-freak. My family just went through this process with both my sister and myself. Looking back on my first year on my own, the most useful gifts I received were:

  1. A bicycle for my new commute.
     
  2. Cast-iron skillet
     
  3. Good knives (in fact, a really decent set of pots and pans)
     
  4. Cookbooks.
  On Umbra on graduation gifts posted 2 years, 6 months ago 3 Responses