Fabulous Lady Cyclists of LFAR 23

Community Ride: LFAR 23, Tuesday, July 1

A small group of cyclists, fresh off the cycling highs brought about during Pedalpalooza, assembled for a lazy ride through the streets of Portland. Here are some of the fabulous ladies who attended:

Fabulous Lady Cyclists Lori Sills (L) and Renee Lazaras

These ladies are definitely stylin’, and note they are indeed wearing helmets, too! Lori and Renee are both bicycle commuters and live close in to downtown in East Portland. Lori and her boyfriend have been very active within the cycling community for years, and Lori is famous for dressing the part on community rides. 🙂 Our Renee once loathed bicycles but now also rides for fun on her own, with friends, and with her son, Julian.

Check out their cool bikes! I didn’t mention this in my list of things that make your cycling life easier, but they both are sporting water bottle holders, which are a great invention for making your water bottle easy to reach when you need it. Renee’s got some art deco and a bag tied up in front, while Lori is rocking her panniers and removable lights.

By the way, for a taste of Lori dressing the part, here’s Lori and I posing before Loud n Lit, the final ride of Pedalpalooza 2014:

Lori’s outfit and wings are lit up with lights. Mine’s just loud.

And here’s a pre-ride photo of Loud n Lit gathering in the park:

Loud n Lit totaled almost 1,000 funky, lit up cyclists surrounded by music and (yes) fireworks.

But OK, back to LFAR 23:

The fabulous Kristina Markel

Kristina and her boyfriend are also very active in the bike community in addition to commuting by bicycle. So much fun! She, also, always dresses the part to the nines, although I don’t have any photos for proof… yet. Kristina is an avid bike activist and philanthropist, too. Note she has a comfy-looking seat, cool bag attached to her rear rack, and a water bottle holder, along with sunglasses, bell, helmet, and lights. This bad-ass lady is always ready to ride!

#BikeSelfie

I’m pretty sure the above action shot was accidental.

Renee and fabulous lady cyclist Jayna Lamb (R)

Jayna rides for fun, transpo, and exercise year-round, a habit she perfected when she lived in Amsterdam for 6 years. (She’s got a water bottle holder too– I think this is a sign.) Recently she and a group of nuts friends (including her boyfriend, another rad cyclist who rode with us at LFAR 23) took their bicycles on a trek of about 150 miles from Eugene to Portland. Quads of steel much?!

Fabulous lady cyclist and birthday girl Kate Kilbourne

Kate celebrated her birthday with a relaxing LFAR through town, carrying this trailer with a stereo to play awesome music and serenade us for the ride! (Obviously she has the quads of steel, too.) As well as commuting and community, Kate’s heavily involved in bicycle activism, as the organizer of the PDX Women’s Bike Swarm and member of many other local activist groups.

LFAR in motion

The ride was at a leisurely pace on one of Portland’s treasured sunny days, with about 15-20 riders coming out to enjoy the Tuesday evening sunset.

Trying to hang back to get the photo. I’m usually not a picture-taker!

Low traffic, fresh air, no clouds. Days like this are how you get hooked for life! 

It’s hot but I’m trying to keep my style on. Photo credit: Hart Noecker

The LFAR ladies and bikes, minus Lori. Photo credit: Hart Noecker

Us and the Willamette River! Photo credit: Hart Noecker

Expect to see more in-depth interviews with these (and more) cool bicycle-loving women soon!

LFAR 23 was a “community ride”, aka a fun ride open to the public, led by the LFAR group. Community rides are great for remembering that cycling is fun and social and not just the means to get from Point A to Point B. It’s a time of jovial bicycle camaraderie, and a whole new way to have fun in the city without spending tons of cash. I’ve met many great people in the cycling community, and from them I’ve learned many tips, tricks, survival skills, and cool hidden spots. Plus, it helps me keep a pulse on what’s happening locally, nationally, and even internationally, that affect me and all of us as cyclists.

For those in the Portland area, the next LFAR, LFAR 24 is this Wednesday! (See the Facebook link for details.)

Ciao fabulistas!