Utilitaire #12 - Finito!

I’d been trying to get to a “Sporting event or concert” but changed my mind for the last ride of Winter Cycling Challenge, thought out by chasing mailboxes d.c..

The past few days I’d been dreaming of Mission Workshop’s beautiful bags, and I had an invitation for another mug of delicious Bicycle Coffee over at the Berlin Pop-Up Shop. Fresh banana-bread in my well-worn shoulder bag I rode down one of Berlin’s Fahrradstraßen (bike road) and discovered a couple more cafés on my way. Mental note: Explore Berlin-Mitte neighborhood!

Biodegrable coffee mug in hand I sat down with the nice Mission Workshop & Bicycle Coffee Co. team. I love the shop design of bag & apparel presentation, all made from salvaged wood and huge metal thread spools & hooks found in scrap yards. See pictures of it on their website.

Later on another guest joined us. She turned out to be a bike mechanic in training at Radspannerei where my new bike is being built. Glad to know it is in such good hands.

I left the shop with my, as Bicycle Coffee roaster deluxe put it, “new favorite bag”. And she’s so right. That rucksack is so much more comfortable to wear than a shoulder bag, and while it looks wonderful, it also has the best design with several pockets, some with zipper, lots of room without being bulky, waterproof fabric, lifetime warranty, and the best closure system. Happy!

Stopped for some groceries on the way back. Nice bike parking spot someone chose here.

Utilitaire card will be scanned & emailed later on today. It’s been so much fun! Thanks for setting this up, reading our blogs, posting, tweeting, and retweeting about it, @gypsybug! Glad to know I’ll read you again at #30daysofbiking.

Utilitaire #10 & #11 Dinner & (Facial) Hair

It was planned as a bike ride, but since my friend, a virgin to Berlin cycling, wasn’t thrilled about riding in drizzling rain, we turned it into a walk.

From Katie’s Blue Cat in Neukölln via Berlin-Mitte (and the rare sight of a Food Truck! Look at the Happy Dance the two customers are doing) to Prenzlauer Berg’s The Bird. I am not a big meat eater, never cook it at home, or store it in my fridge, I also tend to choose veggie options at most restaurants, but I couldn’t resist the “Jack” with Blue Cheese Dressing, their fabulous fries, and a small beer. The Bird is run by two New Yorkers, and they obviously know what they’re doing. The place was packed right after 6pm, reservation highly recommended. On the walk back through dark Mauerpark we had a wonderful clear sky with lots of stars and the full moon to admire. This picture doesn’t do it any justice, but it is the only one I took.The light on the left it is…, I swear!                

I am working on growing my hair back to a good length, means ponytail as my first goal. So, no haircuts for me in the near future. Instead I decided to try out one of the many waxing places popping up all over Berlin. I remember very well how shocked I was that my friend in San Francisco would get her eyebrows waxed. It was such a strange concept to me letting hot, sticky liquid get so close to your eyes and various other body parts. Then I moved to San Francisco, and got hooked. Yesterday night was my first visit to the very sweet, affordable, fast and nice place called Waxing Cat. They are open until 9pm most nights. Wonderful service! I rode my cheap bike over with its dynamo powered light-system. Great in the rain, it never fails me.

#30daysofbiking

…is the Twitter hashtag for the third round of 30 Days of Biking, starting April 1st.

There’s only one rule: “Bike somewhere every day for 30 days - around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you - then share your adventures online.”

30 Days of Biking is the brainchild of Patrick Stephenson and Zachariah Schaap, read their story here, register (free of charge), and join in on the fun.

I am especially happy about this next fun & challenging bike community event since the Winter Cycling Challenge: The Utilitaire 12 is nearing its end.

See you on Twitter, I am looking forward to everyone’s posts.

Beautiful 30 Days of Biking poster art by Adam Turman. Check Facebook event page for purchase info which should be up soon.

Utilitaire #9 - Community Meeting

I had planned to go to Berliner Fahrrad Schau, a bicycle convention, for a while. One day before the show I was the lucky winner of a ticket giveaway by Bike Blog Berlin! They were hosting the Blogger Lounge there, a perfect #utilitaire Community Meeting to tick off the list.

It was a sunny and quiet ride over to Kreuzberg. I took a new route to cross Berlin-Mitte past Französischer Dom and Checkpoint Charlie. Despite the early hour there were already tourists, armed with cameras, totally oblivious of bike lanes. I need a better bell, one that’s easier to reach, for my Panther…! Glad I got to the convention early, no lines and a cozy couch for my second cup of coffee. Wish there were more people using KeepCups and the likes. There were already piles of paper cups in the trash. 

Plenty of really beautiful bicycles to look at, I think I found my dream bike: A Berlin based bicycle line by one of the most established shops called Paripa. I love the pure design. Will hopefully test ride one this week. I was too busy chatting with a lot of really nice people at the convention such as the Nutcase crew, Chrome, Bookman from Sweden, Electra, Mission Workshop and Bicycle Coffee who came all the way from San Francisco, and Knog.

My favorite finds: Electra coffee cup holder, Mission Workshop’s beautiful bags and jackets, and Bookman with their colorful, tiny, bright & affordable bike lights.

I enjoyed more chats in the Blogger Lounge about upcoming events like Velothon, and a wonderful reading by Elmar Schenkel from his book Cyclomanie, a collection of stories from writers like Mark Twain, Zola, Tolstoi, Beckett, even Goethe, and inspiration they drew from riding bicycles. It also includes fascinating travel reports from cyclists like the first woman who cycled around the world, Annie Londonderry.

I joined a friend for coffee afterwards, rode home in the dark, and was happy about the extra visibility added by my new lights, thanks Bookman!

Oh, and I learned that the English language doesn’t compare Apples & Pears like in German, it is Apples & Oranges! Thanks for the language class, Matthew & Lyle. ;) Can’t wait for Mission Workshop pop-up store opening on Thursday, March 8 on Torstraße 66. Party from 7-11pm. Bicycle Coffee Tasting March 22 1-4pm. See you there!

More pics on Flickr.

Utilitaire #8 - Monday Movie Day

I have a dear friend in San Francisco I used to go on movie & wine dates with. How I miss them! But this Monday I discovered the beauty of going for an afternoon movie all by myself, quiet theater, coffee, and a story that got me thinking. 

I had not heard about the film, but I like the old, independent “Kino” at Hackesche Höfe in Berlin-Mitte. It showed in the early afternoon. And it was in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish, yet, but love the melody of the language. También la lluvia - Und dann der Regen - Even the Rain was my pick. It is the story of a Spanish film crew in Bolivia making a movie about Columbus, but more importantly, it is about the “water wars” of 2000 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Here is a detailed review from a Canadian blog which sums it up nicely: “This shit is awesome.” Read more about the protests against the privatization of water here.

I highly recommend this movie. I”ve been thinking about it at least every time I use or drink water. I’ve realized how much of it I don’t use consciously. Especially when doing the dishes.

My desire to recycle and reuse more, consume less, or at least more consciously, and to leave a lighter footstep overall has been growing strongly in the few months. Maybe because I’ve been riding my bike more, being outside in the more or less fresh air, trying to fuel my body with healthier food. There will be a longer blog post coming up soon, including this beautiful little pop-up store named Upcycling. I walked in because I was looking for a handle bar bag, and didn’t find anything cycling related (besides the card by Deaf Messanger posted below) but at least similarly exciting,

                                                  P.S. Bike Crush on Linienstrasse in Berlin-Mitte

Utilitaire #7 - Museum

First week of shift work which means Friday and Saturday off. The weather didn’t look too promising yesterday, so I decided to look for a museum in the neighborhood, or at least nearby. The Sugar Museum was a little too far for a possibly rainy day and since I’d be indoors anyways, why not go underground?

First I stopped at Café CK to buy a KeepCup. I mentioned the company making reusable coffee cups in a prior blog entry. Check their website for more info on their cups, materials they use, and their philosophy.

Then I rolled over to Mitte and up Brunnenstraße. Crazy and dangerous how the bike lane ends going into Wedding. Those two neighborhoods are so different. I was not in the mood for fighting speeding cars and trucks. Luckily my next destination wasn’t that far to go. I somehow stumbled across Filter Kaffeebar on Twitter and saw they were serving Stumptown from Portland, and Ritual, my favorite San Francisco coffee. They are part of a co-working space called Supermarkt in a former grocery store. The coffee bar is run by really nice folks from both Germany and the U.S. with one of them having worked at Stumptown in Portland before. The Flat White I had was delicious and very moderately priced. I will seek out some quiet side streets for my next visit. Plenty of bike parking!

Final stop: Berliner Unterwelten or “Society of exploration and documentation of subterranean architecture” as it says on the website. Ever wondered what’s behind those heavy green doors you can see in some Berlin subway stations? At Gesundbrunnen station it is a bunker from WWII. Built in 1941 it was re-opened in 1998, renovated, and turned into a museum. It is hard to imagine that thousands of people were crammed into that labyrinth of small chambers. The guide turned the tour into a vivid history lesson and also an appeal to not forget that there are still wars going on in many parts of the world.

I am really glad that going to a museum was on the utilitaire list. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have found this place. Berlin has such a long and dark history. I am glad to live in this city but it goes beyond my imagination that recent atrocities happened only a little over seventy years ago. Not to mention everything that happened after the war.

Utilitaire #6 - Grocery Store

The bike racks at the office are still empty. My poor bike’s been pretty lonely. I was glad to see that it made new friends today.

I’ve been taking my other bike for the quick ride to work. It is an old bike from the 80’s I guess. I love it, especially the handlebars and loud bell I bought for it.

Since I’m still getting over that cold I decided to make a spicy soup for dinner. I prefer organic veggies and biked over to LPG, a huge organic only grocery with a big selection of all kinds of good food. I couldn’t resist to also splurge on some goat cheese and crackers. Hope the crackers are as good as my favorite ones I used to buy in San Francisco at Rainbow Grocery. Miss that place and the fabulous Humboldt Fog cheese.

I felt a little star struck when I realized that the lady in the beautiful coat checking out before me was one of my favorite actresses, Marion Kracht. Probably not known anywhere else, but a well known face on German TV.

The ride home was pleasant, especially because I hadn’t even thought about wearing my gloves. Nice and warm, birds singing, spring in the air. Maybe the Carrot Soup I spiced up with lots of ginger and some cinnamon is the last winter soup for a while. Salad, hummus wraps, sandwiches,…here I come!

Utilitaire #3 - Bike shop/s

Gorgeous winter weather yesterday and a ride to a bike store on my list. I had been drooling over Georgia in Dublin’s Leggits for a while and knew that Zweitrad in Mitte had them in stock. Biked down Schönhauser and into Choriner Straße, which is supposed to be a bicycle street with 30km speed limit. First thing I see on the first few meters in is a driver speeding past and honking at a couple on bikes.

Zweitrad carries a lot of Dutch bikes and accessories. Their bike fashion store Prêt-à-Vélo is just across the street. Unfortunately they didn’t have any Leggits left in my size, instead I treated myself to a Georgia in Dublin Rainwrap. Since I tend to wear a lot of dark colors, the rose red colored wrap will keep me dry and visible. The material is light and soft, doesn’t feel like the usual rain gear. Love it!

Berlin is filled with small bike shops, next on my list was Radkraft, just a few blocks from there. Some day, hopefully soon, I will have them build me a custom bike. Here is some bike crush eye candy parked in front of their store. Can’t wait to plan my own!

More info and rules of the Winter Cycling Challenge: The Utilitaire 12.