Hey Robyn, yeah, the scene w/ franks rescue was crazy, it probably happened in about 6-7 seconds, i was having a hilarious conversation in front of the bakery, great bread, heard this caucaphony of horns, looked in that direction and saw frank tearing ass down the street and hot on his tail was this elderly dude blasting the horn and yelling @ the dog, it was pretty insane, i looked to my left saw my opportunity walked into traffic and lured frank toward me, yup, his little heart was pounding, but as my friend and i were talking i was surprised how fast it came down, if i don't keep frank, we will find a caring home for frank, frank pretty much rocks, have a good one!

Hi Robyn,
I just wanted to let you know about a new women's cycling group in Albuquerque called Women Riding Well. We have about 25 members and we have classes, rides, clinics and personal training all designed to teach us how to ride.....well! It's a great group of women of all ages, interests and riding abilities and our coach is fabulous. (I'm a fabric artist too, btw) Check out womenridingwell.com for more information and come on a ride with us sometime!

You make a good argument Robyn. Along with the idea of 24-hour bus service, maybe some security...

Hey Robyn, I just wanted to say kudos to you for getting on a bike even if it's scary at first. The more you ride, the more comfortable you will be w/ it. I also wanted to say, if you can, try to come to a Critical Mass. There's one today that meets at the Duck Pond on UNM campus. The ride leaves at 5:30 pm. It's a mellow, low-key ride and in my experience, it has helped me feel more at ease on Albuquerque streets and in traffic. In some ways you can feel much safer riding in a group because cars have to notice you and that's the purpose of the ride, to raise drivers' awareness that bikes are traffic too. If you can't make it to this one, there is a Critical Mass the first Friday of every month and the next one is on the 4th of July (should be exciting!). They always meet at the same place and time. Hope to see you there!

Having a friend show you the ropes is even better than the shop guys. Remember, enjoy yourself and have fun!

Congrats and kudos to you for jumping on the bicycle!! I totally understand feeling intimidated by all the mechanics of bike maintenance and agree that going to a local shop is a good idea. You can ask to make an appointment at most shops, too. Some friendly, helpful shops are Sportz outdoors on montgomery, High Desert Bicycles on the W side, and Two Wheel Drive on central near UNM. Sportz outdoors and High Desert also do "Divas night" where they do women's specific stuff which may help with stuff like finding the right saddle, etc. Also a little less intimidating with other chica's around. Good luck, and feel free to ask as many questions as you want! Stay safe out there -- bonnie
P.S. Totally love your Etsy store. Muy cute!

Robyn,

LOVED your bike ride story! And if you're ever doubting the efficacy of your helmet, I can show you some of mine that have saved my life.

If I could be so bold, I'd like to recommend that you (well, actually every cyclist) take a Bicycling 101 class put on by the City and by BikeABQ.

Congratulations on your newfound freedom!

I have no idea. I'm not that familiar with anywhere other than the Central Ave area. I met another girl who is interested in learning how to knit, so I am going to invite her if thats okay.
I will be out of town on Thursday for work, but I should be back by 6:30... maybe we could meet around 7 or 7:30?

Thursdays would work great for me, I think. Maybe we should tenatively plan on meeting next Thursday? If that works for you, we could post it on the Purls of Wisdom page to see if anyone else would like to meet up. I live downtown; where do you think would be a convienent place to meet? Coffee shops usually work nice for knitting.