It’s been a long winter, friends, but we made it! We’re back On Solid Grounds, sans snow and ice. Let’s celebrate our survival at North Loop’s newest bike-lifestyle shop, Handsome Cycles. (And don’t forget to hop next door for a little pre-show coffee from One on One.)
To honor the changing season, our Espresso Yrself team has changed up our structure. From words and music, to words, music and a little cinema! Join us Thursday, May 23, at Handsome Cycles to stimulate all your senses. Doors at 6:30 p.m.
I’m excited to be included in the lineup this month with other amazing artists including: singer/songwriter Stacey Karrie, producer Tony Franklin of Royal Antler and producer Adam Estreem of Iron Tumbleweed Pictures. I would love to see you there! RSVP here.
Poster Credit: Kelsey King
Second Script
Happy it-officially-feels-like-summer-now day! Unashamedly, I have another new project announcement! This summer I’ll be co-writing a script (script #2) for a collaboration film project with Tony Franklin of Royal Antler and a team of other creatives.
When the story line was pitched to me, it immediately touched me and I knew I had to be a part of the project. The story is not about death (although it might appear that way at first glance); the is a story about living.
The film follows the life of a middle-age man. At first glance, he is average, so average his name might be Joe. He likes his coffee with one Splenda packet. Every Monday through Friday he arrives at work at 9 a.m. On Saturdays he’ll sleep to 11. His parents live less than thirty miles from his home, a fact he’s never thought about.
With impending news, the main character decides to start to living every day. Each morning when he wakes, he discovers new ways to best spend his energy, his love, his laugh. This is a story about life, perspective and choice. It is about not waiting for something bad to happen to start living life meant for you.
While I represent only a small part of the team that will help bring this film to life, I feel lucky for the chance to contribute my ideas. It’s hard for me to exactly what this opportunity means to me. Imagine all the good things you’ve ever dreamed possible start to come true—work and tree escapes, creative projects, friends and open windows. Now imagine something even better.
Looking back on the past six months, I never could have imagined that I would get to meet—and collaborate—with so many talented artists. The work I get to do with them is as refreshing, as it is inspiring, as it is rewarding.
Sure, it’s May, and 30 Days of Biking ended, and it’s snowing outside (again). Regardless, I keep pedaling—in style, of course!
I’m excited to be featured in two Star Tribune articles today: Bike fashion: Ditch the spandex for new commuter clothes and Style stars: Bike fashion edition!
Find out what I have to say about ditching my car, my sexy new Handsome Cycle bike, pedaling in cowboy boots and how it all completes my bike fashion!
Photo credit: Kedar Joyner Photography
Happiness is a choice like singing or drinking or swearing or painting your nails or staying in bed or combing your hair or picking pumpkins or trusting. Today I found happiness in my walk between coffee shops, in the sunlight hitting the chair and in reconnecting with an old friend. I also found it in this kwollet bear, specially made for me by a co-worker.
Happy to share another post on the 30 Days of Biking blog. The best writing advice I ever received? Don’t write unless you’re going to be 100% honest. Honestly, the best families are bike families.
Katrina: Bike Family
I never thought I’d still be all sweaters and boots (and prepping for yet another snowstorm) as the 2013 challenge pushed the end of April. Compared to last year, this has been a completely different (maybe opposite) 30 Days of Biking (30DOB) experience. I’m pretty sure I didn’t wear a single sweater last April. I know I wasn’t planning any rides that included down jackets under rain coats. I am positive I wasn’t considering a studded tire purchase. It’s probably fair to say that the weather in Minneapolis this year has made the challenge a little extra challenging.
At the end of March, before I knew April weather would be so mixed, I was asked to submit a creative piece to the new cycling publication Bunyan Velo about my biking experiences and the 30DOB challenge I love so much. As I’ve been writing (and rewriting) the piece throughout the month—and reflecting on how bikes have redirected my life—I’ve realized that something is happening that’s bigger than health or convenience or lifestyle. There’s community (and that’s one thing the weather can’t touch).
After I first moved to Minneapolis almost two years ago, I was met with a city that’s hard to break into and even harder to get over a break up in. Through 30DOB I have met my best friend, made new friends, reconnected with old friends and maybe even fallen for a Spanish-speaking friend. 30 Days of Biking is a two-part pledge: 1.) Ride your bike every day in April, and 2.) Share your adventures online. I can say easily that it is both of these components that make 30DOB so powerful. It has made me a healthier person and more importantly, a happier one. I don’t have any blood family in this city, but I have a pretty kick-ass bike family.
Photo Credit: Kedar Joyner Photography
This past Saturday was the fourth Espresso Yrself reading. We were lucky to have Kedar Joyner Photography join us to capture some amazingly beautiful images of Blue Ox Coffee Company, the readers, musicians, listeners and even the co-curators, too.
Here’s a sneak peak from my photo session with Kedar Joyner Photography this past weekend. I’m so honored to have been included in her documentary series, “Day in the Life.” Watch for her upcoming blog post capturing our session together on her website: www.kedarjoyner.com
