Mitey Miss to the rescue!

Her real name is Ulrike Rodrigues, but she writes a column titled The Adventures of Mitey Miss for Momentum magazine, one of this year's Seattle Bicycle Expo sponsors.

Speaking of which, Expo starts TOMORROW, March 12, and Ulrike, aka Mitey Miss, will be there. She'll join certified coach and exercise physiologist Susan Forsman and artistic cyclist Corinna Hein in presenting a strong, confident voice for women in cycling at Expo. We need more of that, eh?

One of the coolest things about Ulrike is that she has traveled almost EVERYWHERE by bicycle. Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Laos and Goa, India, where Ulrike lived and researched family history for six months in 2008 - 2009. I've started reading her blog of that journey and can't wait to delve more into its mix of adventure, history, impressions, reflections and the honesty that comes from baldly confronting oneself and one's past.

Ulrike in Goa

Reading her travelogues makes me want to BE her.

When she's not travelling (which she does as a solo, single woman -- rock ON!), Ulrike lives north of us, in Vancouver, B.C., where she writes about sustainability, transportation, tourism, culture and cycling. And boy -- I mean, girl! -- can she tell a story. Check out the aforementioned Goa blog, the Mitey Miss chronicles and the writing here.

Here's something she wrote about cycling:

What I know for sure is that I am not myself unless I can explore. The most authentic, efficient and balanced way to do that is with a bicycle. Cycling lets me move, meditate and mingle at the same time.

She sums it up, doesn't she?

We have an important voice for cycling in Ulrike Rodrigues. She speaks for strong women but also transcends gender by staying open -- outwardly and inwardly -- to the voices that all of us could well listen to in the quest to live authentic, connected lives. Bicycles are as good a vehicle as any (perhaps even better than most) for that journey.

Take advantage of this weekend's opportunity to see Mitey Miss in person. She'll be at Expo on Saturday, and you'll have three chances to catch her:

  1. 12:15 - 1:15 p.m. on the Raleigh Stage. Ulrike will reveal how she went from biking locally to cycling globally, with stories, pictures, tips and tricks.
  2. 2:25 - 3 p.m. Traffic Stoppers fashion show in the Performance Arena, where Mitey Miss will model with her Dahon Speed TR bike.
  3. From 4:15 - 5:15 p.m., she'll make her appearance on the third of Expo's three stages -- the REI MainStage -- with BikeSnob NYC and Seattle's own Will Weir in a panel discussion called  "Laughing at Ourselves."

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