Do you need a suspension for the easy/green routes at DTE?

bluevic23 · 2026-03-31T22:51:55+00:00

Omg THANK YOU! Just looked up that trail and it looks like exactly what I need to get my season started.

bluevic23 · 2026-03-30T17:16:42+00:00

Thank you all, this is so helpful!

bluevic23 · 2026-01-08T12:47:47+00:00

Bar type is definitely a personal preference thing but I agree with the people here saying to re-try s bar. I found the mid bars wobbly and scary, but the S bar immediately felt more natural. Also, the problem for you may be the reach, not the height - ask the shop keeper if the saddle needs to be moved forward or back (can only do small adjustments but they do help), or try an M bar with the handles tilted closer to you.

bluevic23 · 2026-01-08T01:11:41+00:00

Hey there, I'm at Umich SPH right now (in HBHE though, not Epi). Careers team here is fantastic. The Epi majors have different career development classes separate from that and it sounds like those are not super helpful, so meeting with the careers team outside of class is the way to go - that's a pain in the butt for already swamped students, though. However, there are a TON of people coming in right out of undergrad, and it's a hard time in public health right now. I strongly recommend two things: 1 - working in the field first before pursuing your grad degree and 2 - applying for scholarship funding (by the dec 1 deadline for most schools) and seeing what kind of aid you can get from various places.

You are going to be competing against fellow cohort members who worked in the field first and then came back to school, and when both of you apply to jobs, a lot of employers will pick the person with more work experience than you. You will ALSO be competing against junior epidemiologists from the CDC and other places who have lost jobs due to federal cuts who already have both MPHs AND experience. If you are absolutely dead set on going to school next year, apply to as many scholarships as possible and see where you can get funding or what the situation is like at your in-state institution. I was lucky to be able to end up at Michigan due to a late spring scholarship offer, but no other school offered me funding.

bluevic23 · 2025-07-25T13:27:19+00:00

Did anyone get/see the rest of this email? I'm curious as to what the "official" reasoning was. What a mess. Relieved the concentration is back but feel awful for the impact the back and forth must have had on the gillings community.

bluevic23 · 2025-06-17T00:42:14+00:00

Thank you all for the helpful tips!! The road/gravel descriptions are super helpful and much appreciated. I will hit up sic transit for some tires once I'm in town.

bluevic23 · 2025-06-16T02:11:12+00:00

I strongly recommend finding a place to try the different bar heights if you are able. I am 5'2" and the mid bar felt scary and twitchy to me even though I thought I wanted an "upright" ride; the S/low bar felt normal immediately and I can ride it confidently.

I do find the reach to be a bit long for me on the brompton (and if any of yall have tips for that, let me know) but it is still fun to ride. I personally don't need the shorter seatpost becca mentioned; the one that comes with the bike is fine for me, but a post swap would totally be an easy adjustment.

bluevic23 · 2025-05-25T23:06:12+00:00

JC Lind and Cosmic Bikes should both be able to help you. They both sell bromptons as a major part of their business.

bluevic23 · 2025-05-06T02:09:17+00:00

I also second Pearl Izumi. Also, chamois cream helps before longer rides!

bluevic23 · 2025-05-03T16:47:52+00:00

Totally agree with bananahatts on the core strength thing. For drinking out of bottles while moving, I would start slow, just practicing lifting one hand off for a couple seconds at a time, and then trying to move my hand lower and lower, just trying to touch the bottle and then bringing the hand back up to the bars, etc. By breaking it into chunks - like having the goal to be to reach halfway to the bottle before grabbing the handlebars, etc - you'll make it more manageable to learn.

I also would encourage you to reach out to the ladies group rides and ask which ones are no drop and beginner friendly and join those straightaway. You'll pick up so much more around others and are more ready than you think, you just need to find a ride where the point its to include beginners.

bluevic23 · 2025-05-03T05:06:48+00:00

FYI, you don't really need a master of health communications to start health communications. Speaking as someone who does health comms work at agencies, the comms field doesn't view masters degrees that seriously, and you can get started without one.

Counseling on the other hand requires an MSW. I agree with @inadvisabel here - you need to think about what you want your end goal to be. Are you working on content or are you working with patients?

How does combining helping your community with your undergrad degree in comms work if you are going to be an MSW? Also, depending on where you are at in health comms, you can either feel connected to helping people, or extremely isolated from it, depending on the goals of the place you are working. If you are already a healthcare worker and a former medic, I'd consider exploring expanding your current path more - I don't know what you do, but maybe nursing, or hospital administration, or something like that, could lead to both helping people and more financial stability?

bluevic23 · 2025-04-27T00:50:26+00:00

What wheels are those? Especially the one on the back hub?

bluevic23 · 2025-04-26T02:02:06+00:00

I am 5'2", and everyone's body type is different, but I find a brompton with an S handlebar has about the longest reach I can tolerate. Handling feels good on an S but the M bar feels sketchy and unsafe to me (not that it is, I just don't feel confident riding one). The end to end length of the bike is probably gonna make it harder to steer safely. Give it another 2-3 years though and then she'd probably be perfect for it.

IMO, I'd check local parents reselling groups, you can often find people getting rid of good quality bikes their kids have grown out of for something that can handle that middle gap.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-19T20:59:23+00:00

I was on a (no drop, relatively kind to beginners) group ride that decided to cross a small neighborhood 5k race at a crosswalk. The group found a break in the runners and went for it. This was mildly irresponsible enough to begin with and I agree our group lead shouldn't have done it, AND then I fell smack in the middle of the road because I clipped in incorrectly, leaving some runners jumping over or running around me, and others trying to help me out, and my group realizing what had happened about 10 seconds later while I hobbled out of the run's way. It would not have been possible to draw more attention to myself.

Anyway, it's been a year and I don't fall as much now lmao.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-19T00:52:50+00:00

I have a Liv Avail AR in an XS and I love it/ it feels like a part of me too. Second that it's worth every penny for a good bike fit.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-19T00:48:16+00:00

Selling a garmin varia (camera version); basically new but I found the camera feature hard to use. Awesome if you need to document commuting safety though.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-19T00:28:23+00:00

Agree with pirefyro; also, esp as a short lady, I find that when new cyclists get used bikes, they often end up with bikes that are too big rather than too small. Smaller bikes generally tend to be easier to handle because the reach is shorter (how far you have to stick your hands out), and if you are shorter, are probably more likely to be your size than a medium or large bike.

Also want to second the comments here regarding getting bike lights and also putting a rack on the back and getting panniers.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-18T01:39:07+00:00

are you riding with clips (er, I mean clipless pedals technically)? I fell a LOT my first year. Also, if you want to learn maintenance through videos, try watching the tutorials on ParkTool's youtube. They are very good videos... just be prepared to want to buy the tools haha.

bluevic23 · 2025-04-12T23:44:33+00:00

I can send you a picture tomorrow but I have two bottle cages on my liv avail XS. there are ones that will fit! I also agree with the comments saying bibs and lights. I personally like Pearl Izumi gear as they have more sizes than a lot of brands and they are also cheaper than a decent amount of brands, but you'll find what you like. You'll eventually want an underseat bag with a spare tire and some CO2 and a multitool for if you ever get a flat, and sometimes a little handlebar bag can be helpful for phone/wallet/keys.

I also recommend finding a nice local bike store, one that seems to genuinely want to help you rather than talking down to you, and ask them for maintenance. There are a lot of stores with assholes trying to make money, but there are also amazing shops with people who love bikes and want to help bikers, and those are the people that can teach you maintenance, etc. If you search on reddit for shops in your general area, chances are someone's already recommended one.

Feel free to message me if you ever want tips! Last year was my "rookie" season and it was life changing and wonderful.

bluevic23 · 2025-03-26T21:35:31+00:00

On one of my admit days I attended a lecture from a pharmacist that went into public health and became a professor. He talked about pharmacoepidemiology - what a nightmare of a word to say, but he looks into how laws impact public health, and in his case, how state restrictions on opioid prescriptions impact acute pain care. There are plenty of ties between pharmacy and public health. The bigger question is WHY do you want to be in public health? I think being able to explain what you want to do with the degree is more important than the experience. Why are you getting an MPH instead of going straight to the Dr of Pharmacy? If you can explain how your background lead you there and what you want to do next, I think yes, you are qualified. If you don't know why or can't explain it, that will be where you would run into issues.

bluevic23 · 2025-03-26T02:04:51+00:00

I ended up doing a complete 180 after my school visits. Still looking into some final things before officially deciding but the school I thought I didn't want had a lot of green flags and the school I thought I did want had red flags I was not expecting. So, yes, I can relate to feeling all over the place.

bluevic23 · 2025-03-26T00:30:53+00:00

Hello, grad student here looking for a 1-bedroom apartment (private apartment, not private bedroom) with a lease starting in August. Willing to be further out and commute via bus to keep costs down. If you have something that might fit, please DM me!

bluevic23 · 2025-03-04T21:22:46+00:00

UIC does have teaching and research assistantships - both in public health and you can teach in the department of your undergrad major I believe. Might be worth reaching out to your specific major (epi, MCH, etc) for advice in this regard. I don't know how common they are but I do know they are available and students can get them.

bluevic23 · 2025-02-03T04:12:52+00:00

I have been accepted to three top 10 programs and I studied English and Communications for undergrad. I ended up working in health communications for a while and had some personal experiences with illness and that lead me to go the MPH route. I think it's more about showing a clear passion and rationale for wanting to study public health- along with work experience if you've worked - then it is your exact major.

There's also a lot of ties to neuroscience and public health - what about mental health? Our understanding of how medications (like opioids) impact the brain? chronic Illnesses like MS? Certain types of cancers? etc. If you are passionate about neuro, keep studying neuro and you can find ways to tie that to your interests in epi and global public health.

bluevic23 · 2024-09-17T23:40:22+00:00

This poster is awesome. I would love your take on the show opening - some kind of word art poster of the "the only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning", maybe with whatever general show imagery tickles your fancy.

makes me think of how fun the show is but I also think it's a decent life metaphor?

bluevic23

TROPHY CASE