Burn it Off and Warm It Up.

Winter riding can be a challenge, but there are mistakes you can avoid, according to Gearjunkie.  To use the parlance of Glamour Magazine without the inanity: Do wear a balaclava so that you look like a combination between a terrorist and a snake.  This will cause drivers to fear you, and it will keep your neck warm.  Double bonus.  Do consider a fixie since it has fewer moving parts to hold salt and gravel.  Don't ride your best bike that has no fenders, and don't forget to use more lights than your crazy Aunt Betty puts on the front of her split-level every Christmas. #wintercycling  #fixedgear
http://gearjunkie.com/winter-bike-commuting-10-tips-to-ride-safe

bikenyc.org

How far and how long do you have to ride to burn off Thanksgiving dinner?  Very far and for hours, which can provide you with the excuse you need to mollify the spouse.  It does not burn calories if you stop for beers along the way, but there is probably a study - a dubious one, but a study - that shows stopping for beers helps burn calories and/or counteracts the effects of tryptophan.  #bicyclingthin
http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/nutrition-weight-loss/how-far-should-you-ride-burn-thanksgiving-dinner

Some people admire great novelists, brain surgeons, doping running backs, or powerful CEOs.  A lot of us admire the people who help us bike around cities.  If you are of that ilk, read this interview with Kimberly Lucas, Washington, D.C.'s Department of Transportation's bike planner.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/72432/planning-career-help-people-share—bikes-course

Care to ride on the sidewalk in San Jose, California?  Then be under 12 years of age or a cop.  Otherwise, risk a ticket.  Or worse, find yourself cast as a bully who knocks down senior citizens.  #whaaaaa?????
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27040183/san-jose-may-ban-sidewalk-bicycling-downtown-contentious

Electric bikes are still picking up speed in the U.S., and this blog gives some basics on what you need and what it will cost.  The post was made by a couple in Eureka, California who decided to make the change.  What sort of pack should you buy?  How far can it go?  What extras do you have to get to make it actually work?  Will you fly like a rocket? #electricbike
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/the-new-magic-carpet/Content?oid=2770644

Or would you prefer to be a rocket cyclist?  Yup, they existed at one point, before the plaintiff's attorneys' bar had grown quite as powerful as it is today.  Now a rocket bike definitely should not be ridden on a sidewalk crowded with seniors.  Nor with a long coat that looks suspiciously combustable.  Nor with a leather helmet that seems unlikely to protect any part of the brain, let alone the parts you especially like and need.
http://mashable.com/2014/11/22/rocket-cyclists/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

So if I see you in the bike lanes, and it has started to snow, and you have a rocket pack on your rear rack, and so many lights that drivers think you are the actual White House Christmas Tree, let's be smug.
Elisa P.