July 2015 - Smarty Girl Leadership

Many of our readers have been participating in independent filmmaking as cast or crew for the past two summers. Our blog featured filmmakers Joe Nicolosi and Niall Doran. For this educational report, Susanne Bruesch joined us via Skype from Germany to answer our questions about electric pedal assist bike touring in Iceland. During this adventure she produced a short film together with filmmaker Andreas Gutmann.

Fast Facts about adventure Smartygirl Susanne

She coined the term pedelec as a journalist in her college thesis to describe electric bikes powered with manual pedaling and a boost from an electric motor in contrast to electric throttle powered bicycles
Bicycle Retailer And Industry News reported that Currie Technologies, the leading electric bike distributor in the US, hosted live shows by Susanne Bruesch about her Iceland Challenge project at Interbike (a convention for the cycling industry) where their film had its USA premiere.
She is a photojournalist who likes to push pedelecs to the limit through bike touring. She has toured with speed-pedelecs that support up to 28 mph pulling solar trailers in Morocco and Mongolia. Iceland was her third project under the Pedelec Adventures flag.

One of our guest contributors, Bicyclist Michael Zack, shared his Morocco bike tour diary with our readers. According to Bicycle Retailer And Industry News (BRAIN), Susanne’s travels on pedelecs attract many locals who request test rides of the electric bikes during her filming schedule. This was no exception in Morocco. Our Editor-in-Chief found Susanne Bruesch to be delightfully funny, vividly descriptive as a journalist and inspiring as a maker of documentaries during the video call. Why inspiring? Because she is just like our readers: she is a maker and thusly a creative problem-solver!

BRAIN reported that Pedelec Adventures modified the eflow pedelecs they were using in Iceland with suspension forks, off-road tires to be more suitable for cross-country riding. A major challenge in Iceland was to cross rivers. For this reason, the team used silicone seal to waterproof the motors.

ICELAND CHALLENGE – eflow through ice and fire (Short film Extended) from Andreas Gutmann on Vimeo.

Susanne’s answers from Sunday, June 28th are paraphrased by our editors below.

How did she prepare her equipment (cycling, battery charging and film), crew and self for her tour in Iceland?

In Iceland there wasn’t enough sunlight to recharge our batteries with solar panels as we did in Morocco and Mongolia. So we had to come up with a different solution. We purchased a 4×4 offroad truck that was formerly used by the public technical aid (THW) in Germany to use in Iceland as a support vehicle that would carry the stuff for 4 people, 4 weeks and 4000 kilometers (2485 miles).

What were some challenges unique to the terrain?

Hundreds of miles of vast lava desert, temperatures between 32 and 59°F and lots of rivers to cross. The weather constantly changes. The Icelanders say, if the weather is bad, just wait for 5 minutes. And they are right. By the way, if they say bad weather, they don’t mean rain, they mean rain that hits you like this (shows a horizontal line). All of this is no problem because you are rewarded with spectacular scenery that completely changes within short distances as well. Standing at Europe’s largest glacier, the Vatnajökull in the morning, we arrived at a lovely green valley in the afternoon and spend the night in the hot springs.

What is something unexpected in Iceland that you’d share with first timers on a pedelec bike tour and as filmmakers?

The white summer nights of the north are just too beautiful to go to sleep. We mostly traveled at night time when we had the natural sights such as the big waterfalls, the geysir and the glacier lagoon of Jökulsarlon to our selves in the most beautiful light for filming and photo shooting.

For example, we chose to have dinner at 6 A.M. , went to sleep for a few hours when the sun was already high up in the sky (if it was not raining) had breakfast at 10 A.M. and continued our journey.

Pedelec Adventures Iceland Challenge 2013 Susanne Bruesch

Here’s more about Susanne in her own words:

I started working in the electric bike field in 1997 when this new bicycle species had just started its growth in Asia and was an absolute novelty in Europe. Communicating its benefits and potential in a worldwide network while closely working with promotion and testing authority ExtraEnergy, I soon hit the limits of available terminology. Using the words e-bike or anything connected to assist caused a serious image problem. At least in Europe, back then. While I was still studying languages in Heidelberg, Germany, I dedicated my diploma to this topic and the result was the word pedelec which is now widely used in the industry to describe the sensor controlled type of electric bike.

Publishing pedelec in the international bike media was my start into journalism. Today I am a regular contributor to the leading bike media internationally.

After having tested, photographed and written about electric bikes for so many years, the first e-mountain-bikes appeared on the market and changed my work focus. I really wanted to ride these myself.

This was the birth of Pedelec Adventures. Developing, organizing and riding multi-week expeditions on electric bikes allows me to combine my expertise in the bike industry with my skills and passion as a journalist, photographer, public speaker and cyclist.

Together with my team of bike enthusiasts and professionals in media, e-technology and travel I want to show what’s possible on electric bikes even in the toughest conditions and how much fun they can be even if you’re not lazy!

Helping this industry and market evolve over the past 18 years has been an extraordinary experience and I am looking forward to being part of what is still to come.

Best & thanks for spreading the story!

Photo Credit: 2013 Andreas Gutmann Susanne Bruesch Team Pedelec Adventures

Photo Credit: The Pedelec Adventures team just before their departure for Iceland Challenge, Berlin, June 2013

What if your best friend was in charge of your wardrobe for one month? Let’s say that you were given a stipend to buy 5 new investment pieces but the rest of the makeover depended on your usual budget? The difference? New criteria for fit, rise and pattern mixing.

Smart dressing doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. Fashion is an expression of personal style and our educational report is made to help readers look and feel their best.

Artisan Books Senior Publicist Patrick Leonard of New York sent our editors a review copy of creative couple David Fung & Yena Kim’s guidebook on blending classic and modern menswear on a budget. The timing? Perfect. Our editors reported on Oakland’s Queer Fashion Week that showcased modern menswear for all bodies this Spring. Previously our editors reported as guest contributors for Black Girl Nerds for fashion and technology in Vegas that included an analysis of musician Janelle Monae’s choice of menswear.

Our readership, male and female, expects our practical guides to include humor. SmartyPet Bodhi, the model Shiba Inu dog, brings a light-heartedness from his Tumblr-fame and demystifies: dressing for the gym, date-wear, and unflattering rise and fit to avoid. Fashion principles shared by David Fung and Yena Kim and modeled by Bodhi can be borrowed by all readers. Think of the androgynous fashion example of Comic Tig Notaro.

Photo Credit: David Fung & Yena Kim Menswear Dog

Fit

Armholes! Paying attention to armholes can make a world of difference how the wearer is perceived in a t-shirt, polo, or long-sleeve dress shirt. Wear a size that is snug but does not display your nipples. For example, ribbed trim on polo sleeves flatter your arms by highlighting your biceps. Think of sleeves as arm hugs! Smaller armholes = slimmer sleeves for a tailored look says Bodhi.

Rise

Crotch! To avoid an unintentionally old timey look, select mid-rise for suit pants and for jeans. Bodhi explains that the rise measurement is from the middle of the crotch to the waistband. Dad-jeans have higher waistbands, at 12″ for instance. A modern rise is closer to 7″.

Pattern-mixing

A pop of pattern! Late Comic Rodney Dangerfield was known for wearing loud madras plaid sport coats to match his loud comedy. Bodhi gives the reader the option of more subtle ways to introduce fresh patterns such as gingham, floral and plaid by using small accents. Our editors think it’d be fun to add a surprising floral pattern on the shoes. But readers may be more comfortable with a starter gingham pocket square before diving into a collared floral shirt.

Photo Credit: Hawaiian Floral Dr. Martens Shoes via Asos.do

Check out the New York Times article on Menswear Dog and summer destination weddings smarts also from Bodhi.

As Seattle bike commuters and fog-dwelling San Francisco readers prepare for autumn they might consider Bodhi’s idea to layer a quilted vest under a modern suit jacket when cooler temperatures hit. Central Time Zone and Eastern Time Zone readers might already be adopting Bodhi’s advice for layering fisherman’s sweaters over oxford shirts and henleys under tweed blazers. What’s new as a contemporary fashion tip for cold weather dressing? Seek a shorter crop such as windbreaker jackets that end at the hip and slim-fit hooded sweatshirts that are shorter than mid-thigh.

Bodhi’s fashion wisdom summarized by our editors? Choose clothing that hugs you back and don’t hike up your pants too high!

Iceland Challenge Bike Tour Short Film: An Interview with Pedelec Adventures Ebike Photojournalist Susanne Bruesch

Fashion Book Review of SmartyCouple David & Yena’s Menswear Dog The New Classics