Beautiful by Bike - by Susan Wiggins

This past May, I fell in love. I’ve been happily married for 7 years but when I found “Bluebird,” my Linus Mixte 3-speed, my whole experience of biking changed. And my husband was all for it. Now, I easily and effortlessly keep up with him. Our Sunday rides to the farmer’s market are faster and more fun. I ride more often, almost every single day and often multiple times a day. I am undeterred by windy Long Beach afternoons, and for the first time since I was a kid, I have a bike that really fits me.

If you have a bike, perhaps you know that experience of riding when your body and bike are in perfect harmony, terrain or weather conditions hardly matter. On my old bike, adding any variable like wind into the mix or heavily loaded panniers from the market or grocery store made riding feel like a chore. I always felt like I had to work so hard to get anywhere. Still, I rode because I like living at a walking or cycling pace, and I‘ve always done everyday errands on foot or by bike when I can. But the old bike never felt comfortable and no matter how I sat on the seat or adjusted the handlebars, I felt like I could never get any power in the pedals.

I can’t remember where I first learned of Linus Bikes, but I researched them and went and rode a few in the showroom on Abbott Kinney in Venice. I wanted to buy locally, so I found the shops who sold them here in Long Beach and went in to ride some more. Nicole and Evan at The Bicycle Stand really helped me understand what kind of bicycle would suit me best. They spent several hours with me, setting up different models for me to ride so that I could feel the difference. It was an empowering buying experience. I knew exactly what I was getting when I left their shop that day. They told me to work the bike on my rides and then to bring it in so they could make adjustments to enhance the experience. Since I bought it, they have obliged with appropriate tweaks here and there, making my riding life even better. For a woman on a bike, it’s very important to feel confident and a bicycle that really fits makes this possible.

My husband has been using his bicycle as primary transportation for the past 10 years, riding to work in all weathers. I will be riding Bluebird to work too. In 2013, I will open Long Beach Community Acupuncture, a clinic dedicated to accessible, affordable treatment. Acupuncture works most effectively when a person can receive it frequently. A community clinic provides a quiet, common space for treatment at rates that allow people to receive as many treatments as they need. I believe this model is a perfect fit for Long Beach’s diverse population of hardworking, creative individuals. With over 200 community clinics operating in the U.S., I look forward to adding Long Beach to that list.

The car-congested environment of Southern California is the last place I thought I could make a home, but I’ve enjoyed living in Long Beach for almost a decade now. I tend to like smaller towns. While Long Beach is nowhere near a small town in its population density and diversity, it often feels like one to me. I think it is because the city is largely accessible by bicycle, walking, and public transportation. And bicycling in Long Beach is only getting better. I am excited to be part of this wave of innovation by contributing to sustainable business, affordable healthcare, and keeping Long Beach a desirable place to live.

 Susan Wiggins graduated from Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the spring of 2012. In 2013, she will open Long Beach Community Acupuncture. For more information, email: infolongbeachca@gmail.com. To learn more about community acupuncture clinics nationwide, check out the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture (POCA) at www.pocacoop.com.

Bicycling Into the Good Life - by Barbara Torres

The media message of the 1960's was, “You can’t be too rich or too thin.”  These were the days of the anorexic fashion model, Twiggy and before Title IX created school sports opportunities for girls. As a teenager I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, but it should involve being thin, rich and preferably famous.

In the 1970's I read an article about a senior couple who vacationed by bicycling from San Francisco to Santa Monica.  I wanted to do that but I got sidetracked when I got married at twenty-one, had a family, and began working as an elementary school teacher.  Then in 1991 I read a book about a group of middle aged riders who bicycled across the US.  I thought, “I could do this.” 

I bought a bicycle and began training to ride across the US even though I didn’t have a month's long time window to consider such a trip.  Instead I  began randoneering, riding ultra-marathon distances against the clock.  I’d lived in the San Fernando Valley for twenty years while complaining vehemently about the summer heat.  Through cycling I fell in love with where I live.  I learned how to take care of myself so I could ride in heat, rain, wind, even snow. I found a community of cycling friends. I experienced new environments as I rode my bicycle all over California. 

Along the way, I discovered our national advocacy organization and became a lifetime member of the League of American Bicyclists.  I read about their course, Effective Cycling, now Bicycle Ed 101.  I was eager to take the course but it was never available within a reasonable proximity to my home.  Finally my friends Nancy and Richard Wedeen invited me to a weekend course in Davis, CA. The purpose of the course was to train riders to be LCIs, League Certified Instructors.  I jumped at the chance and passed the course.  The crash avoidance techniques were challenging for me to learn, but they have helped improve my riding and build my confidence on our LA roads as well as roads in cities from Paris to New York City. 

I have also been privileged to teach these techniques in Bicycle Education Classes, offered through the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.  In addition I’ve had so much fun introducing cycling to my two young nieces ages five and eight as well as my four year old grandson. 

I did attain some awesome cycling goals.  The biggest was qualifying for and completing Paris Brest Paris. I rode 750 miles in 87 hours.  The compulsive person in me loved every minute of that training, but after four years of grueling mileage, my body rebelled.  I was getting sick too often, and I rode much of that grueling mileage in the dark to beat the clock. Now I wanted to SEE where I rode. To keep bicycling in my life I would “ride today, so I could continue riding tomorrow.” 

I improved the quality of my life by commuting to work, which allowed me to arrive in high spirits after a cool morning commute. In winter I had to leave home in the dark, but a bike light took care of that issue. 

There were times I cycled home in triple digit temperatures.  I felt great when the young male teaching assistants on our campus exclaimed, “Don’t mess with Mrs. Torres, she is TOUGH, she rides in this heat.”

When we taught units involving protecting the environment the students recognized, “Mrs. Torres is the greenest, she rides her bike to work.”

My favorite memory was cycling home wearing my helmet and sunglasses and having the young neighbor say, “there’s a hot babe.”  His brother, who recognized me was mortified and quickly jumped in with “That’s not a babe, that’s Mrs. Torres.”  When he apologized to me I told him “please don’t worry about it,” as I secretly reveled in his brother’s “mistake.”

In addition to commuting to work, I continued to ride with my friends on the weekends.  Every ride allows me to revel in the fact that I can visit a contrasting environment under my own power in just one day.    

Getting back to “never too rich or too thin.”  Cycling has not made me too thin, however it has allowed me to maintain a healthy weight and to   appreciate my body for what I can do.  I get to feel physically and emotionally powerful with every ride. Though I’m not rich in dollars, I feel like I’m on a vacation every time I ride my bike.  As far as famous, when I arrived at work on my bicycle all the students in the school went out of their way to say, “Hi, Mrs. Torres.” or, “I saw you go by on your bike today.” 

Oh yes, I did find a window to fulfill my dream of cycling coast to coast.  I am looking forward to cycling to many more far flung destinations and with luck getting to share these destinations with up and coming cyclists, like our four year old grandson.