Our January 2016 winner is Jess from outside of Des Moines, IA. You can get to know her a little bit better through the Q+A below. Thanks, Jess!
Each month we will be choosing our favorite Po Campo fan photo to display on the blog. We see all of your beautiful pictures on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook, but if there are photos you’ve taken with your Po Campo bag that you haven’t posted online, feel free to send them our way! You can email your fan photos to photos@pocampo.com or tag your photos with #pocampo for a chance to win a FREE PO CAMPO BAG.
@jessrundlett with her Six Corners Handlebar Bag in Petals
1. Tell us a bit about your hometown. Where do you insist on taking out of town guests?
I reside in Ankeny, Iowa a suburb of our capital city, Des Moines. Even though it’s a suburb, Ankeny has lots of great things going on in our historic downtown, Uptown Ankeny. I always take guests uptown for local beer at Firetrucker Brewery and my favorite thin-crust pizza at Leaning Tower of Pizza. Cycling guests are treated to a 25 mile bike ride up the High Trestle Trail to see the High Trestle Trail Bridge, a ½ mile, 13-story high bridge across the Des Moines River. (And if my guests aren’t cyclists, I’ll drive them to the bridge because it’s THAT COOL!)
2. Where is your favorite place to take your Po Campo?
My favorite place to take my Po Campo is everywhere! My Roscoe Crossbody is my go-to, everyday purse. I love the front pocket for easy access to my iPhone. It’s big enough to hold what I need, but not big enough to be loaded down and hold me back. My favorite place to take my Six Corners Handlebar Bag is anywhere I ride my bike! I like that it’s easy to swap between any of my bicycles and is the perfect size for sunglasses, chapstick, wallet, keys and my iPod!
3. A favorite tip (or two) about how you incorporate mindfulness and healthy habits into your daily life?
Almost every morning I eat Overnight Oats, based on a recipe from: http://leafparade.com/2013/03/
And here is my modification:
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup steel cut oats
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1-2 tablespoons chocolate chips
On Sundays, I make five servings in separate containers. I mix everything together in each container except the milk. Then the night before I add the milk, and leave it overnight in the fridge. Wah-lah. Minimum effort and a (mostly) heart-healthy breakfast is served.
4. A suggestion for women who are interested in biking but have safety concerns?
Find a buddy to ride with, and ride where you feel safe. The more you ride, the more confident you will be in your skills. Never wear headphones! That iPod I keep in my Six Corners Handlebar Bag isn’t connected to headphones. I Bluetooth connect it to a Outdoor Tech Buckshot Portable Speaker so I can still hear what’s going on around me. If I know I’ll be on roads, I use a solid-colored red taillight and wear highly reflective clothing. I am a big fan of Moxie Cycling’s High Vis 2.0 collection: http://www.moxiecycling.com/
Finally, follow your instincts. I rode 2,015 miles in 2015 - which means I ride a lot. But there are some places I would never, ever ride by myself, because I’m aware of where I feel safe. Trust your intuition.
5. Secrets for managing helmet hair?
I’m not sure that I “manage” helmet hair, but rather I work around it. My hair is long and I braid it for bike rides, and then throw on a cycling cap under my helmet. The cycling cap stays on even when the helmet is off.
6. Favorite biking memory?
My favorite biking memory was when I completed my first RAGBRAI. After years of riding only partial weeks, I joined the “Every Damn Mile” Club in 2013. It was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, to be rolling down the bluff in to Fort Madison, knowing that I had started in Council Bluffs and pedaled my way across my home state. That hot day in July, I achieved a goal I had dreamed of since I was a child – dipping my front tire in the Mississippi River and hoisting my bike over my head, relishing the sweet success of victory!
7. If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead) who would it be, and why?
I would choose to have dinner with Voltaire Paine Twombly. He was a native Iowan, born in 1842 and died in 1918. Between those years, he lived a storied life: earning the Medal of Honor in the Civil War, operating several businesses, serving as State Treasurer and founding a bank. I would love to chat with him about the early years of Iowa Statehood and what life was like at the State Capitol a century ago. You can read more about his remarkable life here.
8. If you could be amazing at playing any one instrument, which would you pick?
Guitar. If I could play guitar and sing on key, I’d be a country singer like Jamie Lin Wilson.
9. What song do you always sing when you sing karaoke?
My go to karaoke songs are “Goodbye Earl” by the Dixie Chicks and “Gunpowder & Lead” by Miranda Lambert.
