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Phoebe Sinclair Writes

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Tag Archives: bike-commuting

Winter Bike Break – Read and Listen

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life, Readin'

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bike-commuting, book-love, fandom, podcast-love, winter

Of my identities, one of the most commented-upon is city cyclist. I’ve ridden through sun, snow, sleet, 5:30 AM sleepies, whatever. People call me hardcore but I’ve got limits to my desire and ability, though perhaps not what you’d expect (i.e. heavy traffic, extreme cold, the occasional near-monsoon.) It’s more like: I just haven’t been reading enough or, I fell in love with this new podcast. Or I’ve been overwhelmed, yet again, by this unshakable fanfiction habit.

There’s only so much time in a day, right? Work must happen. Laundry folded. Litter boxes cleaned. As well I’ve been experiencing low-grade hip ache (here’s looking at you Cambridge Dance Party; here’s looking at you, late 30s.) So came December 2015, Desmond Puddin’ went down for a bit of a break so I could spend my 45-min morning commute squished between puffy coats on the MBTA Orange Line, wrestling my earbuds into compliance or dragging out a paperback while eyeing just how many of my fellow travelers worship at the shrine of glass/plastic/metal (many!) or paper (more than you’d guess.)

What siren called me off my bike this winter? Thought you’d never ask.

Fav Podcasts/Winter 2016

Another Round – My number #1. Heben and Tracy soothe and validate my inner, lonely high school weird-girl. Real. Honest. With laughter that rivals the breathless contagion of Click & Clack, their energy and synergy are utterly unique. I’ve converted at least five people to this podcast, and counting . . .

Dear Sugar Radio – The Sugars open doors. Together, Cheryl and Steve are compassionate, thoughtful, clever and clear-eyed, often moving the conversation and their advice in a direction you wouldn’t expect. I listen almost as soon as episodes show up in my feed.

FanBros – As a kid, I sometimes watched a TV show simply to listen to the opening theme (yup, Disney’s Gummi Bears). FanBros begins each episode in an equally joyful and compelling fashion, but then I’m happy to experience the rest (unlike aforementioned cartoon). Comics I Copped is one of my favorite segments, and I’m always interested to hear what co-host Tatiana King-Jones brings to the table. Overall, I love the range of ‘black and brown’ voices. Yum.(Also, it’s my secret desire to one day attend a show DJ’ed by BenHaMeen in NYC.)

Black Girl Nerds – Jamie Broadnax keeps me connected to a wide, wide word of nerddom and geekdom (with a focus on the POC experience) that I’d otherwise completely miss.

Reading Lives – You know how magazines and websites feature interviews that ask public personalities about their favorite books? Reading Lives is better. There hasn’t been an episode in a bit, but I hope host Jeff O’Neal brings back this gem.

Popaganda – Feminism and pop culture. I’ve listened to some great essays and been exposed to voices and perspectives I’d otherwise miss via this Bitch Media podcast.

Note to Self – Newest on my podcast feed. First, can I say how much I enjoy Manoush Zomorodi’s speaking voice? I do. The show openly and throughly examines how we live with technology, how we want to. Great production sound.

Fav Reads/Winter 2016

Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith (illustrator) -appears to be a children’s picture book; is actually a meditation on the mindful life

Revolutionary Petunias by Alice Walker – oh, you know. Some verses from Queen Alice. My favorite poem from the collection: “For My Sister Molly Who in the Fifties”. Look it up

Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 & 2 – by G. Willow Wilson – I was surprised into loving this. Tell your daughters, your sisters, your mom! Also, jackalope

Between the World and Me by Ta’neshi Coats – finally made it through the kazillion holds on the audio book at my public library to listen to what everyone, (including an author I most admire), was talking about. Yup. It’s beautiful. It’s painful. It’s good

At My Back by SallyExactly on A03 – a new chapter prompted me to re-read the whole shebang, all 474,300+ words of some of the best, most context-filled, and comprehensive writing about archer-spy Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and spy-assassin Natasha Romanoff/Romonova (Black Widow.). This Avengers fic -breakneck, adventuresome, serious, humorous, artful- is one of the best I’ve read. Ever. This is what comics and superhero tales could be

 

 

 

Snapshots From My November Commute

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life

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bike-commuting, cambridge, jamaica-plain, trees

Late November is one of my favorite times to bike commute.

Long shadows across Olmstead Path

There’s something about starting out crisp; covered from head to toe in wool and sporty synthetics. Just one layer to start, before December and January demand more.

Bike & rider silhouette

Standing in the acorns

My favorite little urban woods between Jamaica Plain and Cambridge are similarly dressed for cool, but not yet snow or ice. Muddy River park

Reflection on underside of stone bridge Bright yellow tree in Brookline

And fellow commuters, they’re still out there. Not yet chased to public transit.

Cyclist on Hubway bike

Rocking that Hubway like a pro

What Is It: Street Sign Guy

09 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in What Is It

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Tags

art-attack, bike-commuting, cambridge

Not so long ago, I noticed this drawing on the back side of the Rindge & Latin High School in Cambridge.

IMG_0200

I thought: hmmm. Then, one day, I biked past at around dusk and discovered this:

IMG_0304

Ah ha! A perfectly placed street sign turned this bit of silliness into a full-on character, with personality. (Maybe that’s why no one has yet painted over it?) Other than graffiti or street-art, I don’t know what one calls this type of offering, but I’m a fan. Every time I pass, makes me smile.

Long live the Street Sign Guy.

Lane Change

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life, Community

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bike-commuting, bike-love, community, giving

A criticism I’ve heard applied to sea-change efforts/programs, like Teach for America or the Peace Corps, is that the true aim is not to directly impact the people and places served, but to change the person doing the serving. To drive that individual to action beyond the current actions.

Snacks and tunes

In this sequence, it appears that the people and places that should be benefiting are instead being sacrificed for a mere idea of Greater Good; that far-off star we may never touch.

All those young people out there, sweating towards the unreachable.

And the struggle continues

I don’t share that bleak view. Important people in my life, some whom I haven’t yet met (I’m sure), are out there doing that work, systematically affecting change, though what change they may not know. And while they strive, I continue working at the micro-level: one Feminist Culture Club, one pie sorting, one bike ride at a time.

Lane Change is a new Boston-area group uniting cyclists of color. With a few rides under our belt in the warmer months of 2013, we’re looking forward to what 2014 brings. Perhaps not a sea-change, but ripples of fun, joy, and positivity.

Suiting up to ride

Lane Change group 2013

Street Gratitude

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life

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bike-commuting, cambridge, gratitude

One of the many benefits of bike commuting is finding those little gems a person encounters only by slowing down. Here’s one I discover while waiting at a traffic light.

Gratitude

The Well-Trained City Bike Commuter

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

bike-commuting, bike-love, community

IMG_3872

Riding in a city can be tricky stuff. First there’s the cars and how to behave around them. Then there’s the potholes and how not to tumble into them. Finally, and perhaps most challenging, your own naughty self to contend with.

Helmets. Bike lights. One-way streets. Stop signs. Night riding. Relating to fellow commuters who may or may not be running said stop signs as they shoot down one-way streets, sans helmet, in the middle of the night. It’s complicated.

Although I wore a helmet from the start, I admit it took me about two years to complete a contract with myself to stop at every red (it’s so easy to just fly through.) Stop signs are fuzzier: I slow significantly but rarely stop (unless it’s a four-way) because of the effort it takes to get started again from a dead halt. Several years and some nasty verbal clashes have convinced me to self-ban screaming at drivers who pull rude or unaware moves (like the dreaded right-hook.)

I do harbor a few guilty cheats. For one, my apartment sits at the bottom of a steep hill, so I ride the wrong way every evening to get home. My other guilty cheat, discovered when I observed another rider take the easy way into Brookline after crossing the BU Bridge and Commonwealth Ave., was recently resolved, much to my delight!

Do not enter sign

Cycle track in Brookline

A peaceful side-street ride just got more legit.

Lost and Found with Boston Nature Center

15 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Boston Moments, Green Life

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bike-commuting, city-farm, community

IMG_6562

On a bike ride home from Dorchester, I got lost.

One confused turn led to another, to another. Traveling down a road lined with brick homes that reminded me of the old military base I once lived near in New Jersey, I stopped in front of a welcoming yellow building. And then I was found.

View of Boston Nature Center

Boston Nature Center front

The best thing about getting lost in Boston is that it’s a fail-proof method for learning what is where and how the neighborhoods connect.

Stick lean-to in progress

The Boston Nature Center is an urban wildlife sanctuary located on the grounds of the former Boston State Hospital. It offers programming for elementary school age children as well as miles of trails and many bushes under which rabbits graze to their heart’s content.

Rabbit spots the photographer

Lots and lots of rabbits . . .

Rabbit with tail up

Rabbits just chillin

Two rabbits hide in grass

Look closely for two sets of ears!

Right nearby to the Nature Center are the Clark Cooper Community Gardens. Described as some of Boston’s oldest, this impressively large collection of community gardens probably does not welcome rabbits. In the past, friends and I once spotted some wild turkeys loitering around the edges.

Horse trinket on fence

Green roof at Clark Cooper Community Gardens

Fence post

Gardens in the sun

So what have you found when you were lost?

Morning Mind Modes

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

angry-bike-moments, as-we-are-living-it, bike-commuting, goals, gratitude

The inchworm hangs from the tree with bokeh

On my morning bike commute to work, I’ve noticed that my mind tends to operate in several modes. Usually: Morning Mind God of Destruction and Morning Mind Gratitude.

Morning Mind God of Destruction, as you can imagine, sounds something like this: Use your blinker! WHAT is WRONG with you? I can’t believe that other cyclist just did that -he’s definitely not long for this world. LMA buses are the worst. What am I doing with my life? The best thing about today will be when I can finally go back to bed. I will STARE you into submission! Hungry already.

Young fronds

Morning Mind Gratitude: Riding my bike through the woods every day, in a city, is magical. Hi. Hi! I love when drivers wave at me. It feels so satisfying to know what projects I’ll be tackling at work today. I wonder what’s for lunch. Should I stop at Whole Foods for some kombucha? I’m so lucky. I really should learn a blessing to direct at irate drivers so I can check that goal off my list. Hey, there’s that singing cyclist again!

What forms do your morning minds take?

Bike handle decoration with beads

What Is It: Bike Lid in Cambridge

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life, What Is It

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Tags

bike-commuting, cambridge

For at least a year, my bike commute route has taken me past a speckled white contraption located outside a brick building in the Cambridgeport neighborhood of Cambridge.

Bike hood 1

At first I thought it might be a type of sculpture (right down the road is a stone sculpture that reminds me of a dragon’s hindquarters.) Then I decided, since it’s vaguely bike-shaped, it must be a hood intended to protect bikes from weather. But that seemed impractical: what institution, business, or city-living individual would go through the trouble of purchasing and mounting such a bulky apparatus for the benefit of just one or two bikes?

Bike hood 2

So I decided, despite my hunches, that I really had no clue what it was. Today, I was getting my hair trimmed in that same neighborhood and grabbed at the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.

Bike hood instructions

That’s right, folks: a bike lid.

Friday Favorite – Little Pig

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by Phoebe (she / hers) in Bike Life, Boston Moments

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bike-commuting, friday-favorite

This little pig is a friend I pass daily on my bike route from JP to Cambridge.

Favorite ceramic pig

I enjoy him/her especially because of his/her small stature, big smile, and propensity to lean. Although, to all appearances, the pig was placed to keep the shrub upright and not vice versa.

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