Not so bad again.

Another uneventful commute on the snow and ice. The weather report claims we're experiencing January temps, so I continue to feel good about getting through the winter. I'm starting to wonder why I haven't done this before. I'm enjoying the winter riding and it is so much better than sitting i=on the stationary bike.

Received a package in the mail today. Trekking style handlebars for the bike. I probably won't have a chance to install them until the weekend but will definitely post some picts once it's done.

Time to reflect on Armageddon

I was home with the flu on Monday and spent the day on the couch. Had way too much free time to look into gasoline/enrgy blogs. There's a lot of gloom, doom, and prepare for Armageddon. Perhaps gloom, doom, and Armageddon are what the future has in store. I don't know that choosing to reduce my car use will have any huge effect. I don't know that we're headed for an energy crisis end of civilization as we know it. Fact is, nobody does and please feel free to argue.

I'll tell you what I'm certain of. My car pumps out some fumes, that in the proper concentration, will kill you pretty quickly. God only knows what a sub-lethal dose does over time. Bottom line is that there doesn't seem to be any argument that the stuff coming out the tailpipe is generally unhealthy. I'm sure of one thing. The gas I don't burn is that much less of this stuff. And that's a good thing. Enough to save the world. Likely not, in fact definitely not, but it's in line with my values and it's the best I can do for the moment.

Another thing I'm certain of. I used to drive one-block to the store for cigarettes. Now I ride my bike to get cigarettes. Fine, I know, it's so incongruent. Ride a bike, cut back on gasoline, smoke cigs. This doesn't seem to go together. You know what? It's true. Anyway, the time I spend riding my bike, or walking to the store is time I don't have to smoke. We probably all agree that cutting back on cigs and increasing exercise is a good thing, eh? It's the best I can do for the moment.

One more thing. The days I ride to work, or the store, or wherever. I'm leaving one more open space on the road, cut back on the noise my car adds, and leaving another free parking space. Good stuff. Probably. It's the best I can do at the moment.

I know I'm not saving the world with the way I live. It's the best I can do at the moment. And it's good enough. And I know that I shouldn't be starting sentences with "and".

Cold and slick

Cold with slick roads today. Temp about 20 degrees F on the ride home. We had freezing rain and snow last night so a trip on the roads were a decent test on a fairly miserable winter day. Set the tire pressure on the studded tires to about 50 lbs of pressure. Nice fat footprint and the hills feel that much steeper.

I never really felt the tires slip and feel reasonably comfortable on the road. The right clothing, tires, and fenders seem to make the ride very bearable. I haven't tried it with a load of groceries yet, but the time will come. I had the flu this weekend and it was still hanging on today. I considered driving the car but knew the parking would be filled and that it would take as long to walk from from parking lot as it would to bike and have front door parking. I decided on the bike and glad I did. Ain't so bad. I'm starting to think there won't be a problem biking through the winter.

More later. You take care.

Try it

What we do is important

I was reading a book, "Our Endangered Values", by Jimmy Carter, this morning and was reminded that there is more than just my pleasure involved in my action, small but action nonetheless, of wanting to promote energy conservation through this blog.

People may differ but I'll maintain the obvious. The war in Iraq is about one thing and one thing only, OIL. Huge surprise eh? We'd have no concern for Iraq if the bulk of the world's oil wasn't there. Maybe the most immediate contribution we all can make is to reduce our dependence on mideast oil. Conservation is a viable alternative.

This "war" in Iraq is both unnecessary and immoral. We have one of the highest standards of living in the world. It is well within our reach to both explore new forms of energy production and to reduce the disproportionate amount of energy we consume. Not easy, by any means, but is the current approach working?

What was our budget surplus last year? Nothing. You know why? We're financing a war to destabilize the oil producing nations to justify our continued military presence and influence in the region. There are options. The current political leadership exists to promote an environment of domination and to fill the pockets of their corporate cronies.

Possibly the most disturbing issue I discovered in this book was the issue of torture. According to Mr. Carter's book, the following is an official declaration of the Department of Defense

"The President, despite domestic and international laws constraining the use of torture, has the authority as Commander in Chief to approve almost any physical or psychological actions during interrogation, up to and including torture."

Mr. Carter follows with a quote from Alberto Gonzales, then White House Chief Counsel and now Attorney General on the Geneva Convention provisions on torture.

"In my judgment, this new [post 9/11] paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions"

In my opinion, the vast majority of the American people would not condone the use of torture. I don't. History is bound to mark this period of time as a particularly shameful time for our country. I don't think many consider Mr. Carter to be a voice from the extreme left. I don't agree with everything he has to say. I have no doubt as to the accuracy of what he has said in his book. What I am promoting is not radical. However, I believe that the current state of affairs has been shaped by a determined radical minority.

So. What is the point of my little diatribe?

1. Get on your bike and ride. Exercise some control over the oil market by curbing your demand.
2. Encourage others to do so and remember that some will be able to do more than others.
3. Cultivate an awareness in yourself that even small actions have an impact. If we fail to act because our impact is too insignificant, we fail. Our moral outrage accomplishes nothing by itself.

Plenty of other ways to respond, act, and to make a difference. Let's talk.

Thanksgiving and the snow that comes with it

Had yesterday off, so spent the day catching up on some household chores. Dang those troublesome bills and checkbook! The morning temps were right around 10 degrees F, which was an excellent wake-up call to just how cold it can be. I was reminded to dig out the facemask. Spent the rest of the day hanging out with my wife, sister, and brother in law. No turkey or feasting, but nice and relaxed. It's way too far to consider biking to my sister's place, without serious advance planning, so out comes the trusty Toyota Echo, a car that gets good enough mileage to feel like I'm being responsible with the gasoline.

Today, had the day off and did some serious vegging, never straying too far from the couch, TV, or my cozy blanky. Eventually,I got moving and, since we were due for a couple of inches of snow, put the studded tires on. Kenda tires. Went for ~ $40 each, not cheap, but much more reasonaqble thn a trip to the ER. The toeclips came off and the seat height came down a little. Test flight went fine on a new coat of about 3" new snow. Slow down and don't make any sudden move seems to be in order. Surprisingly easy considering I don't think I'd ever ridden on snow. This set-up aught to help although it remains to be seen how long I'll keep this up. Still way more fun than sitting in the car and a challenge that I'm still up for.

Another day

Another day of commuting. Cold, but easily bearable. High temps look to remain in the 30's and 40's, so I haven't dealt with anything too tough. My goal's to ride through the winter and use the car only on the weekends. Hopefully saying it will keep me going.

I've pretty much settled on my 80's Trek mountain bike as the winter hack. After years of neglect I spent the summer working my way through the basic maintenance. Repacked the bearings, they were pretty sorry. Now that I think about it, it all started in the Spring, replacing the brake pads that had been squealing for at least five years. That made the bike actually rideable. Somehow a Springtime ride around the block turned into this.

A season of biking resulted in the loss of 20 lbs of flabby middle aged gut and much improved endurance. The approach of winter always brings out the pig in me and some of the weight has returned. No matter, I definitely haven't felt this good in years. In case you hadn't noticed, I am self centered. I'd like to think I'm commuting by bike to spare the environment at least a little, to stay in shape, to make a statement. I love moving around the city under my own power. I love the silence of the bike itself. Nah, I have have a pleasurable habit that just happens to have some beneficial side effects.

Final thought. I remember a day, early in the Spring, sitting at a stoplight waiting for a green. I hear a voice saying "excuse me, excuse me" I turn and a lady is leaning out of her car window trying to get my attention. I ask what she wants. She tells me "you're not a car" to which my response was I fully realized that I'm not a car. She goes on to explain that I needed to move to the sidewalk. When I declined, she persisted, saying "are you familiar with the law?". That was enough for me. I explained that in fact I had just read the state statutes a couple a days ago. I stopped listening. She kept pestering. Eventually, the green light released me from this moronic purgatory. Truthfully, I was pissed. I'm sure you all have your stories.

Now that I'm started...

I'm really not certain where this blog is headed, but I've agreed with myself to try and post daily. Low temp of 24 degrees F made for an average chilly commute, but no big deal and a perfect day for it. Balmy on the way home as the high temp must have been about 50. I'm lucky to be able to ride through a small city park, located on a hill, overlooking my neighborhood on the way home. When I frst got back into riding, I was obsessed with going fast, now it seems I'm obsessed with taking my time and enjoying the ride. The pre-ride ritual, unlock the bike, mount the lights, put on helmet, put on pack, take off pack, look for gloves, blah, blah, blah used to drive me nuts. I find myself taking my time these days. It feels better. I'm self-centered so "feels better" works for me.

Talk of snow next week so I'll be mounting the studded tires over the weekend. Last week's brief brush with winter, and ice, went well but I'd like a little more confidence on the ice. The studs should help. We'll see.

I'll start posting some pictures soon. You'll be amazed at my eBay stable of bikes. That's assuming anyone is even reading this.

Need to Start Somewhere

Well, I guess I need to start somewhere. This evening, I was looking through a phot blog I'd created and hadn't done much with in the past year, or to be more precise, since winter departed Minnesota. I was surprised to see that there were comments, actually very nice comments, posted and that I had been ignoring them through neglect.

When I first created the blog, I had a lot of enthusiasm. Gradually, I got tired of it and figured that my work would never be seen, much less appreciated. I was wrong and now I'm back. I've been rediscovering bicycling since Spring came around to Minnesota and it's been a trip. I got hooked and have pretty much biked every day since then.

All I hope to do with this blog is to share my thoughts about bicycling and to, hopefully, connect with some like minded people. More will follow. I guess I need to start somewhere