Winter bicycling.  Yes, you heard that right -- riding a *bicycle* in the *winter*.  Some of you reading this are saying to yourself, "ho hum, riding in the Winter doesn't require that kind of tone -- it's no big deal!" and that's the idea I'd like to get across.  

I've always been a big fan of getting around on a bicycle and also of wintertime, so it was a natural for me to stay in the saddle year round.  Of course, not everyone feels the same and every year the numbers of my fellow cyclists I see out on the streets drops precipitously.

Enter Bike Winter.  Bike Winter is a grassroots effort to encourage people to become all-weather, year-round cyclists.  It was born in Chicago in 1999 to address the perception that the bicycle couldn't be a serious year-round transportation option because of the reality of winter.  Each year, cyclists from Chicago's cycling community come together to show others how Bike Winter can be met successfully.  Workshops are held to show cyclists how to dress themselves and their bikes for the winter.  Events are planned to give cyclists a social outlet where other cyclists can be met and where stories and ideas can be swapped.  (I personally lead the 'snow ride' from the Handlebar whenever there is 2" of snow in a day – we ride to the park and have fun in the snow.)

When people ask me for advice on navigating the winter on a bicycle, I tell them that some things are harder than they look -- like riding a unicycle.  At the same time, some things are easier than they look -- like riding a bicycle throughout the winter.  The perception is way worse than the reality.  With a bit of know-how and a modest investment in gear, you can keep on riding your bike as the temperature drops.  

For the bike there's one absolutely required accessory -- fenders.  Fenders will keep you and your bike clean in the winter slop.  Skinny road tires are just fine (and in fact preferred to fat knobby mountain bike tires). For their persons, I tell people to get a good, waterproof jacket; some rain pants; a pair of NEOS (overshoe.com); a windproof fleece hat; and a good pair of ski gloves.  The price of all that gear might seem high at the outset, but consider: the gear will last for years and if you add up the cost of taking the train or a car during the Winter months, riding bike, even after the initial gear purchase, is competitive the first year and far cheaper subsequent years (since you only need to buy that stuff once).  There are of course options for those operating on a budget.

Bike Winter is working.  When I first arrived in Chicago, it was a rare thing to see another cyclist in the Winter.  I like to say that if you saw someone, you probably knew them from the cycling community.  Now, there are so many people out there in the Winter, the chance of knowing any particular cyclist is slim.   If anyone reading this wants to find out more, please visit bikewinter.org.  The site (currently going through a complete rewrite!) features a calendar of events going on throughout the winter.  For questions, drop email to the Bike Winter chairs at chairs@bikewinter.org.

See ya out there this winter!

Todd Gee

So declared by Jan Christiansen, the talented artist behind Sock Monkey Ranch .  SMR is THE place to go for custom hand-made sock monkeys of all shapes and sizes. Each monkey is made with loving care, using a combination of machine and double hand-stitching. She also customizes monkeys according to customer descriptions.  

Jan began her sock monkey venture in 2007 and has since made more than 120 custom monkeys for kids and adults all over the world.  This is quite a feat considering that each is created by hand with a custom look and original back story.  

Using the SMR website as her storefront, Jan’s display brings the toys to life for her devoted customers. Take Ms. Millie, the owner of the ranch who keeps her own diary on the SMR website where she reveals her secret feelings for Dusty, the ranch foreman. Apparently, they even held hands a few times, but it was on the sly where the other monkeys couldn’t see them. The ranch staff includes a mechanic, a couple of cooks and Cletus Dean Baker, Miss Millie’s uncle and all around “cowmonkey.” Seems that Cletus, or Tumbleweed as folks call him due to his wandering nature, is a bit of a story teller and some of his fantastic adventures are posted under the heading “Tumbleweed’s Tall Tales.” 

This sort of creativity is rare.  So few people actually take the time to act on their ideas and fewer still are willing to share them. Jan not only shares them, but she offers a way for us to become personally involved. Among the custom monkeys she’s made is Bad Billy Blart, the pirate monkey, Conrad the Cubs fan, Jack Smack the one monkey you don’t want to mess with and Jake the fisherman.  

Check out her site, we’re sure you’ll be as impressed as we were. And if you have someone you think might be worthy of a custom, hand-made sock monkey then shoot Jan an email.

We’d like to give a big shout out to our friend Peter Mars who has recently been named an official artist of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Through his collaboration with EPE, Peter has access to over 60,000 images of Elvis from the Graceland Archives, which inspired his new series of paintings to be sold through galleries and to appear on high-end, officially licensed Elvis merchandise. You can listen to an interview that was aired on Elvis Radio by visiting his site.

I recently visited Peter in his studio located at 1139 West Fulton Market, situated below The Mars Gallery. Large screens and prints lay everywhere, images ranging from match book covers to concert posters and cartoon images. Vibrant splatters of paint are everywhere and on everything, somewhat messy but almost perfectly placed.

As in most cases, an artists studio can say a lot about their influence. True to that, among the tubs of paint and cans of brushes sits an ancient black and white tv, MeTv locked on to a dramatic episode of Leave It To Beaver.

Peter is one of the leaders in Pop Art in the U.S., with a unique style and palette that reflect images from the past and present. His work is instantly recognizable, much of Mars’ work reflects the pop culture of his childhood in the 1960s and 70s, notably the idealized American family, comic book figures, television and space age inventions.

Peter has been in Chicago since 1988. He began collecting interesting items at an early age: matchbooks, comic books, baseball cards, arrowheads, coins and later, old gas station signs. Rather than striving to compile exhaustive collections, Mars sought separate images of beauty, small treasures that tell the story of American popular culture.

You can see his work at The Mars Gallery – check them out for upcoming events, as well as information on custom picture framing.