Posts by Vanessa

Progress, not perfection

Posted by Vanessa on May 24, 2013 in Blog | Comments Off

I don’t like to fail. Nobody does, of course, but I really don’t. When I fail to execute something as planned, I obsess over what went wrong, lose sleep over what could have been done better, and beat myself up for a long, long time. “Progress, not perfection” is what I tell myself in an attempt to snap out of these funks. We lost the bike lanes on Fruit Ave. yesterday by a...

Act NOW to help save bike lanes in Fresno!

Posted by Vanessa on May 20, 2013 in Blog | Comments Off

We were at a conference earlier this year, and the speaker said, “Government is by the people, for the people…who show up.” It’s time to show up, people. We’re at a critical crossroads here in Fresno. In 2011, the League of American Bicyclists awarded the Bronze Medal Designation to the City of Fresno as a Bicycle Friendly Community. In 2010, we spent more...

Live Inspired!

Posted by Vanessa on May 19, 2013 in Blog | Comments Off

Last year, John and I ran the California Classic half-marathon as a relay team. It was a triumphant day for me, a celebration of a long road back to my fitness and being able to run again after a frustrating 2.5-year recovery from a severely sprained ankle (an ankle that I sprained running alongside John as he finished his first full marathon just hours after finishing my first half). ...

We Ride Together

Posted by Vanessa on May 14, 2013 in Blog, Events | Comments Off

I’ve lead a ton of rides over the 10-plus years we’ve been at this, but Sunday’s Cyclofemme ride was by far the most important to me and will be hard to top as my official Favorite Ride Ever. Cyclofemme is an annual Mother’s Day ride “designed to unite riders, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or bicycle preference to share in the joy of...

Bikes 101

Posted by Vanessa on May 5, 2013 in Blog, Events | Comments Off

They say the expert in anything was a beginner once, and I vividly remember not knowing much about bikes, feeling uncomfortable walking into a bike shop, and feeling humiliated when the salesperson laughed at me for putting my gloves on upside down. I want to help as many people as I can avoid that feeling so that they can feel the same sense of freedom/fun/empowerment/I-just-did-that/joy that...