Greetings from Clapp Park, Lubbock, December 2022

 

The old Specialized received a new pair of sneakers. It sounded like a good excuse for a sneak-away ride.

I hope you are well, thriving, and thankful!

An Egret in the Right Light - Leftwich Park

 I don't ride the bike to work much lately. There's always a hurry. There's always some distant errand to run. There's always somewhere inconvenient I need to be.

But yesterday I rode. And yesterday was good. And I feel better. (Thank You, Lord!)

And....I was fortunate enough to catch a snowy egret in wonderful light on the way home. My officemate said I needed to do a blog post. She was right. (No editing, no cropping, straight from the camera)

May you be well and catch something in just the right light today.

(And a special thanks to my wife who provided the bike and the camera (and so much more!)

A New [NEW!] Huffy BMX and New Life for Mesquite Hugger on YouTube

Love me some big(ger) wheels!

Thanks, y'all - I have missed you too!

Okay, it's not like me, but I broke down and bought a new (really new) bicycle. I've wanted a plus-sized BMX for a while, and I have a bad habit of bringing Huffy bikes home. Those two stars aligned at a time when I had a little bit of money itching to be spent. I hopped on Huffy.com and five days later a new Huffy Symbol 26 arrived at my house.

We make fun...

It took about 20 minutes to put it together. And since that point I've been riding like a (really heavy, fearful, and creaky) 13-year-old! The neighborhood kids are extremely impressed with my mad bunny hopping skills and the guy who often sleeps near the skate park gave me a bleary thumbs up!

...you can sit on!

I even got so excited that I made a video about it and plopped it onto the very dusty YouTube Channel.

(Click here to see the vid)

The Huffy received the Greg wave of approval!

Since the Huffy arrived, two other bikes left the herd and went to people who are appreciating and riding them more than I would (since always I'm always out practicing fakies on the big BMX). More people riding equals fewer people sitting around soaking in the news and biting their fingernails.

May your fingernails live unbitten and may you find joy is as easy as riding a bike!

Ride (a bike) with me.

People often tell me that my town - Lubbock, Texas - [feel free to insert your town name here] really sucks for bicycling. And they are right. But I have to say that walking, driving cars, and riding buses all suck here too. 

Morning rides are the best! 

When I got out of bed this morning, the wind was blowing a sustained 20 mph with bigger gusts. But it didn't look that bad out my window...

Or maybe I didn't want to burn the gas.

Or maybe I believe morning commutes are better on a bike,

and that every car drive is an annoyance...

...but every bike ride is an accomplishment.

And I had an ace up my sleeve - I have a bike with pedal assist.

So I took a five-mile ride/commute on the e-bike and put out about the same amount of work as I would have on a non-electric bike on a much less windy day.

On less-windy days and on shorter trips the e-bike stays home and I ride a regular ("analog"? "non-electric"? "real"?) bicycle and I still enjoy the ride, save money, burn calories, release endorphins, and sleep better.

On really crappy days I take the car. 

I read this week that traveling by bike is five times more efficient than walking. I am not sure how much more efficient the e-bike is than an analog bike, but I know that it opens the door to longer trips taken in rougher conditions.

It also makes it easier to leave the car at home - I really, really like leaving the car at home.

Find more Andy Singer cartoons here

This cartoon resonates deeply with me. I feel more evil, more anger, and more judgment when I drive. When I ride, I see a lot more beauty and feel much more humble and compassionate.

And the people around me end up dealing with a kinder, more enjoyable me.

I don't know if any of this will be true for you, but I invite you to try it. See if you don't find a lot more benefits than you expected.

And you might find that riding a bike in your town doesn't suck at all.

May you (and the people around you) find yourself (themselves) dealing with a kinder and more enjoyable you!

May you be safe and well, amigos!

Earth Day on Broadway 2022 Follow-up #2: A little more about e-bikes

 Yep, the Earth Day on Broadway event did not go off without a hitch this year. The winds kicked up, the skies turned brown, and everyone went home before it even started.

And I did not get to tell anyone how awesome e-bikes are on the personal, the societal, and the ecological level.

So here goes:

Pedal Assist: 

I love riding bicycles, even the ones without electric motors. Because of that, the coolest part of e-biking for me is pedal assist.

I ride a non-electric mountain bike off-road with friends on the weekend. One guy, we'll call him Greg - because his name really is Greg - is about 25% faster than the rest of us and can ride at least 50% farther than the rest of us. If he weren't such a great guy, we'd all resent Greg. Instead, we all just aspire to ride as fast and as far as Greg.

I ride an electric cruiser bike to work and back during the week. It has five levels of pedal assist (PAS) and eight gears. On most days, I ride at level 1 in 5th gear - I get a moderate workout but still have energy to live life when I get home.  At level 2 in 6th gear I can ride at Greg level and not need a nap afterwards. On super windy days I bump up to level 3 and make it home in the same amount of time and have the same amount of energy. But I am always pedaling!

When picking out an e-bike...

If you plan to pedal your e-bike, be sure to buy a bike that looks like a bicycle - the more it looks like a moped, scooter, minibike, or motorcycle, the harder it will be to pedal.

Erasing Excuses:

When I started commuting by bicycle, it took all I had to get me to work. Back then, I wished I could ride as far and fast as I can now. When I arrived at work in the morning, I had to take a little time to catch my breath. When I arrived home after work, I had to take a nap. On cold days it was worse. On windy days it was a lot worse. On cold and windy days I'd just choose the car. The e-bike takes away a lot of excuses for not riding. (And the ride is always better than the drive.)

Whew! I am glad to tell someone all that.

Be well, be safe, and be kind to our planet and each other.

What more than hugging thorny trees? (Being Well - 7 of my Top 5 list)

Last week was mostly a crap week. My people were away. I was too busy for my other people. The bikes gathered dust. I was inside and mostly distracted. I grew quite tired of my own company.

But this week is feeling much better and more like my normal life. I want to keep it that way; so, let's get a list together:

• Take care of/spend time with your people (and animals)
• Ride your bike
• Build/Repair something useful
• Appreciate nature
• Read your bible and pray
• Write something down or record something else
• Give some stuff away

May your list look (at least) as good as mine!

Be well, friends!

[This next part is for those of you wanting a little more]

Earth Day on Broadway 2022 Follow-up: Bummer, man! What's up with this weather?

Oh, so close! (Click pic for previous post)

Into each life, a little rain must fall - unless you live around here.

I love Earth Day! Any time a whole lot of people deliberately gather to share and encourage ways to make things better for the earth and for all the creatures (people included) who live here, I am a truly happy mesquite hugger.

[As I write this post there are two guys, one with a gas-powered weed-eater and the other with a gas-powered leaf blower just giving it hell outside my window.]

But here's the kicker, for exactly the reason we need Earth Day to help us heal our struggling planet, we ended up having to cancel the Earth Day celebration.

South Lubbock, 4/25/2022

Yes, much of Texas is once again in severe drought and Lubbock is definitely there. This has been a windier than normal April with browner than normal skies. An hour before the celebration was to begin, the wind was 30mph, the sky was the color of Folger's Instant with a dash of original Coffee Mate. There was a higher than normal chance of rain, but nary a mudball fell from the sky. The conditions downtown were not fit for man nor beast nor prairie dog.

What's Plainview got to do with this? (Click pic for video.)

Just as the climate scientists over at Texas Tech have been telling us loudly for a few decades, if we continue to abuse our home by releasing too much carbon and if we continue destroying the natural systems that normally work at healing our environment, our climate will become increasingly inhospitable. This year's Earth Day celebration in Lubbock was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Yes, it is a bit ironic, but no, it's no surprise.

So, yes, I was a little disappointed. The more I had prepared the more excited I grew. I had put together the (previous) post, borrowed an awning and two really cool e-bikes, given my own e-bike its first bath in a few years, and created a sign with a QR code. (You know it's serious when I bust out a QR code.) I'd even figured out how to haul all that stuff with the family truckster. Then again, the journey is often better than the destination. It felt great doing Mesquite-Hugger-y things and being a little fish in the Lubbock Earth Day playa lake.

So, thank you to Barbara, Miola, Kaitlyn, and all the others who worked very hard on what promised to be a great event. I very much hope to work with you again next year!

May you all be well and striving for better.