14 Random Pics, Updates, and a Mockingbird Serenade

 

 

1. This morning's sunrise - all taken on Salem Avenue on my morning bike commute. (Good ride!)
2. Table display from last night's Heart of Lubbock Community Garden Fundraiser (Much fun - donate!)
3. AJ article from Tuesday about Texas Agrilife's Russ Wallace and his amazing strawberry operation. (Be watching for the Strawberry Edition of the Lubbock Downtown Farmers' Market in the next few weeks.)
4. A blurry pic of our first tomato flower from the new MH Instructable planter.
5. Life springing (from what we thought were) dead prickly pear fragments on our back porch
6. Knippa rocking some cool shades from our epic adventure to the Goodwill Pound Store to get messenger bags for my bicycle pannier project.
7. What's left of my grandfather's armadillo sign (I have loved that sign for years)
8. The geckos are growing (in the compost box)
9. Things are getting cheap at the Sun Adventure Going-out-of-Business sale. It stinks that they are closing, but it is a great time for you to get ready to ride this spring and summer. Do yourself a favor - ride a bike as often as possible.
10. Lost and Found Goat on Lubbock Nextdoor this week
11. Feeling all legit with my new upcycled business cards!
12. West Texas Cycling Association bumper sticker spotted in the Covenant parking garage.
13. This giant soccer ball brought mirth to my Monday morning ride.
14. Little purple flowers from Saturday's Yellowhouse Coffee stroll. 

We have been blessed with lots of mockingbirds this season. This one made my day.

 

May your photos reflect growth, joy, progress, hope, and may they help you to recognize your blessings.

Lubbock Community Garden Party Animals and 10 Tips!

If you find yourself in the vicinity of  21st and Avenue X, you need to check out the Heart of Lubbock Community Garden. If you can't make it by, you can check it out on this video.

The Video (and Gofundme campaign)

 

While I do encourage donating money online for this cool and worthy campaign, I would rather use my money to party and still support the garden. On any other day of the year, that might be tough, but not today...

 

Yep, there is a fundraising party this evening right there at 40th and University. Check out the details on the pic. If you go, wink at Beth, start talking about dwarf seahorses, and then tell her the Mesquite Hugger sent you!

 

For those of you who are feeling jealous that Heart of Lubbock has a community garden and you don't, here is a link to a site that can help you get your own darn garden started.

 

10 Steps to Starting a Community Garden

 

May you and your neighbors grow something great, donate money to people who are trying to do the same, and create a better place for us all!

Fossil Free Friday: Powered Wheels (for bikes) Overview

This is a weird but very promising category. The hard part is the Copenhagen Wheel.

Have you ever watched a food commercial that made you really hungry for something, but the place advertising was too far away so you went to a closer version of (virtually) the same thing? It's like that. The early videos and Kickstarter and promos for the Copenhagen Wheel had us e-biker and wannabe e-bikers drooling and scrambling to come up with money to send them to reserve our expensive but oh-so-cool Copenhagen Wheels. I was, at the time, broke (for which I am strangely thankful).

So, competitors started developing similar products and the race was on, or so it seemed. The competitors built their products, got them to market, and are now putting out updated versions and spin-off products. And those poor people who ponied up the reservation money a few years ago are starting to see some light at the end of their CW tunnels, but you still can't just order a Copenhagen Wheel, snagit!

So, what it so cool about these products? They are ultrasimple in installation and operation, and shipping for them is relatively cheap.

How simple are they? To be a fully capable powered wheel installer/e-bike rider you have to have two basic skills.

1. Can you fix a flat on a bicycle? (Or can you get your bike to a bike shop?)
2. Can you install and operate an app on a smartphone? (Or, do you know any teenagers who are willing to help?)

If you can answer "yes" to a few of those questions, you are ready for a powered wheel install and operation. There are even how-to youtube videos to show you how in case you have a few struggles with answering "yes".

The concept is simple. Motor, controller, throttle, and batteries are all contained in a wheel. Slap it on your bike, download an app and pair it to your wheel. You're good to go. In some cases, the setup has a dashboard, so you don't even need the smartphone.

Installing a FlyKly Smart Wheel (4-minute video)

 

What's available now: the FlyKly

 

The Flykly Smart Wheel (click here)

 

Yep Flykly got their product to market quickly. Their Smart Wheel will cost you $999, regardless of which size (20", 26", or 28") you choose. It can only be had as a rear wheel, which complicates installation a tiny bit, but many people (like me) prefer the ride characteristics of rear-wheel motors. The Smart Wheel can carry you up to 16 mph for  25-60 miles. And it's pretty stealthy. Most people won't know you are riding an electric bike. By the way, the FlyKly is an assist-only product. If you don't pedal, you don't go.

 

You can also buy a FlyKly Smart Bicycle for $1590 (cool, basic, with 20" wheels) or you can buy one of the coolest folding people movers on the planet, the FlyKly Smart Ped, for $999. I don't even like kick scooters (it's a fat middle-aged guy thing) but I have to admit this thing is a great execution of a phenomenal idea.

 

What's available now: the Evelo Omni Wheel

 

Evelo Omni Wheel - Definitely not stealthy! (install video on site)

 

 

The Evelo Omni Wheel is also available for immediate shipping. While it has similarities to the FlyKly, there are some very big differences. At 350 watts, it is considerably more powerful - so it should be faster and/or capable of carrying larger loads (like me, for instance). It is front-wheel only, it comes with a digital display and an actual throttle - it can go with no pedaling at all. Evelo also offers in-house financing, FREE shipping, and a 7-day trial period. It is also not rare to catch the Omni Wheel on sale. (The Omni Wheel available now is the second-generation model - fewer early adopter kinks.) Evelo also sells complete e-bikes, but not one with the Omni Wheel.

 

Available soon (We Hope): Copenhagen Wheel, Daymak DDS, GeoOrbital

 

 

You can learn more about the Copenhagen Wheel at superpedestrian.com

 

Daymak Shadow

 

Daymak has an interesting place on this list as a once and future provider of powered wheels. Five years ago they offered up a bike with an integrated power wheel - the Shadow. It was a very interesting early approach, but it does not appear to be available now.

 

Daymak DDS (available soon)

 

For about a year now Daymak has been showing off the DDS, a powered wheel that has the novel approach of solar panel charging. They hope to offer it as a wheel or a complete bike. It's a rear wheel setup with a 250 watt motor. You can sign up for email updates on the site.

 

 (You may be more familiar with Daymak as the maker of the Beast.)

 

The GeoOrbital Website

The MH post about it from earlier this week

 

Last up, we have the GeoOrbital Wheel. I think I like this one a lot. It's a very different approach, and (as of today) we will have big news about it 31 days from now. The GeoOrbital idea is to keep the internals stationary while spinning only the rim. It also has the most powerful motor (500 watts!) of the bunch and the 36-volt battery can be upgraded for more range.  (This wheel seems to have more options for those who'd like to do some hot rodding upgrading. Sigh.

 

May the wheels in your head be spinning as you dream of these wheely appealing products! May you be safe and may you travel clean!

Getting Ready for a Talk - Should I wear a cape?

[Before we get started, I know I'm no Marvel superhero or DC antihero, and I am definitely not Captain Planet - just an average joe with an average blog, but I do have a bit of an alter ego in the Mesquite Hugger.]

See what riding a bike to work did for my physique?

I am a pretty quiet guy with a pretty quiet life. I ride a second-hand bike as much as possible. I drink coffee in the same place every morning with the same grouchy guys. (Hi, Grizz, Knippa, and the Kanadian Knievel!) I work on the third floor of an office building where I share (with a considerably less grouchy co-worker - Hi, JG!) a room that was a closet before we moved in. I live (with a really hot executive director of a non-profit) in an average 2.5 bedroom house in the middle of a non-glamorous city-town. I don't live off grid in a grain-bin-silo-tiny-house-earthship. I don't drive a Tesla-Leaf-Volt-Prius-CMax-Citicar. (I did buy a new-but-defective electric motorcycle, but it was a terrible ownership experience and I am glad it is gone.) I ride a bike when I can and I drive a worn out (but paid for) pickup when I can't.

All of this is to say, I am an ordinary, average guy with extremely green beliefs and dreams. And when I am not behind a keyboard, I don't wear my Mesquite Hugger cape in public (much).

But that's changing lately. Last Saturday morning, I stood in front of 100 people and talked to them (through a microphone!) about climate change, Citicars, and (most important) the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL).

Next Tuesday night, I will be doing something similar. The Lubbock United Neighborhood Association - or LUNA - is having one of their quarterly meetings with an Act Locally theme. A world renowned climate scientist will be speaking and other people will have booths set up to teach about healthier ways to live. I will have a booth set up to discuss carbon-free/carbon-neutral transportation. (Really, it'll be electric bikes and cars.)

It's such a big deal that I made up some high-tech, upcycled, compostable business cards!

 

Tuesday, March 29th

Lubbock High School Cafeteria Building

6:30-8:00pm

There will be cookies! (At least I hope there will be.)

 

(I will be the guy without a cape.)

 

May we all find healthier ways to live and thrive by working together!

A cheaper, more efficient Morgan 3-Wheeler? Yes! (Sort of...)

Sometimes it just all comes together.

Here on Mesquite Hugger we talk a lot about bicycles, electric bicycles, and carbon-neutral vehicles. We talk occasionally about velomobiles. Once in a great while we talked about an electric Morgan three-wheeler. If only we could pull them all together into one glorious machine...

Yep. You know where we're headed:

Morgan Three Wheeler gets the Velomobile Treatment

Yep, it has pedals!

I just learned about it, and had to do some websurfing to learn more.

I learned:

• originally built by Ekomobil in Russia
• unsuccessfully Kickstartered as a πCar (PiCar) in the States in December 2015
• available now from Velomobileshop.com for $5000 (with some type of Sondors ebike tie-in)
• it can be pedal-only or come with a 48 volt hubmotor (maybe)
• it would make (another) great Mesquite Hugger "official" vehicle/birthday present

You can see a little video action on youtube

 

What more can I say?

 

May saving the world really be this much fun!

Falling in love again (again); Isetta Electric (Drool!)

[Steve Hanley, you are an evil bringer of eco-friendly temptation - keep 'em coming!]

Ah, microcars. Everyone loves them. Very few really want one. My first microcar love was the BMW Isetta. Strangely enough, I knew of four separate ones around the dusty, Texas, oilfield town where I grew up. I loved them and had no intention of ever being seen in such a thing. My second microcar love came when I fell in love with ALL things Vespa. I want a Vespa 400 to this day and I would happily be seen in almost all vintage microcars. Any time I see one, I think to myself, Mesquite Hugger, that would make a really cool electric car!

Apparently, I am not the only one. Check it out!

Gas2: BMW Isetta Reborn as EV, Still Cute

 Technologic Vehicles - Microline Isetta

 

If you are in North America, the only important piece of knowledge is this - it ain't coming here, snagit!

 

All of the other information makes that first piece even more frustrating.

• cruising speed around 55mph (Would you really want to risk this thing at 80?)
• range of about 75 miles
• room for 2 cozy people
• people would ask it was the Erkel car
• targeted price $10,000-ish

If you do not want one yet, just watch the video:

 

Microlino Isetta Video

 



 Micro is a Swiss company that is best known for making an electric scooter, the eMicro One, but it's hard to get excited about a little scooter after seeing the electric Isetta.

 

In case you are now curious about the Vespa 400 microcar, I am throwing in a pic of my dream vision of the MH company car.

Find the real pic and many other Vespa 400 pics here

May you someday live your dreams!

 

 

Where are they now? The GeoOrbital (Powered Bike) Wheel

It's getting close!

Back in November of 2014, two new powered-wheel protoypes appeared on these pages. One was the Daymak DDS, the other was the GeoOrbital Wheel. Both were pretty cool.

The prototype was much chunkier, but it had primary colors!

 

Occasionally, I like to go back to see how things are going on these projects, so today I popped back over to GeoOrbital's site to see how things are looking. In this case, things are looking good!

 

It takes 2 minutes to install on yer big honking scooter (or bicycle)

You know I love a good wheel pun! And I love to see a plan come together!

 

I am glad to see that GeoOrbital added a bigger motor (500 watts! Big enough for bigger people like me!) I am curious to see how far they have veered from their original goal of keeping it under $500. To be honest, I expect that number to double, but they may surprise me. I would also love to know how it rides on non-inflatable tires.

 

It is a cool approach to the powered wheel, and I like the fact that that it does not hide what it is. People are going to know that your wheel is something different. There's no mistaking the fact that this thing is powered. My armchair verdict? I want one! A 20mph and a 20-50 mile range with a 2 minute install time - that sounds great to me. What's not to like?

 

May your bike take you places easily, cleanly, and wheely quickly!



 

 

Fossil Free Friday: Leapin Lectric Leopards, Batman!

[Blame it on Ebay - again!]

You know me and the quest for funky vintage electric vehicles. (One day I will stumble across an Auranthetic Charger or a Citicar, snagit!) A while back a guy a few blocks away from me replaced his fence. And there it was, a boxy little French two-door hatchback. I saw it and my heart leapt! Could it be? Is there really a Lectric Leopard just a few blocks from my house? No. Upon closer inspection, it was just a Le Car.

How many of you remember the Renault Le Car?

I never really wanted one.

How many of you speed freaks remember the Renault R5 Turbo?

Oh, how I wanted one in 1986!

Okay, how many of you remember the Lectric Leopard?

Nope, that's a cheetah and a panther

Here it is!

 

Yep, it would be the second car at the Mesquite Hugger corporate office.

 

This one is for sale on Ebay...

 

...and it is practically in my state. Actually, it's in Sunland Park, New Mexico which is practically a part of El Paso, Texas and right on the border with Chihuahua, Mexico. It's a Franco-American with a heavy Tex-Mexican accent! This little sapphire is only $3500 (so far) and nobody is bidding yet.

Yep, I want one.

Loving the light switch!

 

The Lectric Leopard was built (or re-fitted) as an electric vehicle by U.S. Electricar, a company known for selling new, electrified versions of gas-powered vehicles. (I would love to have one of their Chevrolet S-10s, one of the most legitimate electric trucks ever sold in the states.) They produced electric vehicles until the mid-nineties.

 

Want to learn more? Check out this French site for a good start. Or check out these EVAlbum pages: http://www.evalbum.com/4342 http://www.evalbum.com/4679 http://www.evalbum.com/4150 http://www.evalbum.com/4142

(This is just a sampling - there are several others.)

 

In your quest for a carbon-neutral vehicle, may the car behind the fence be your dream come true. 

A Little Green List for St. Pat's 2016

Nothing native here grows without thorns

 

You have to know that the Mesquite Hugger staff loves any day where going green is a requirement (if you want to avoid the dreaded pinch.)

 

St. Patrick wants you - to go green!

 

In honour of the patron saint of Ireland, why not pick one green step to make before the wekend ends?

 

• Replace one car trip with a walk, a bike ride, or (at the very least) a car pool.
• Recycle or upcycle something headed for the trash.
• Plant something.
• Replace an incandescent bulb with an LED.
• Take a reusable cup when you go to a place that serves in disposable cups.
• Build a rain barrel
• Build a composter
• Hang a load of clothes up to dry
• Join the CCL.
• Plan for Earth Day
• Test drive an electric car
• Tune up your bike.
• Avoid meat for a day or (at least) a meal
• Go a day without buying anything
• Turn off the TV/computer/cell phone and do one productive thing in that time
• Pick your own green thing to do! 

 

Everyone can use a little St. Patty humour!

 

May the luck of the Irish be yours when it comes to healthier choices!

 

PS - Let us know what you picked!

 

 



Vintage Electric Car Dorks Rejoice! (Another Ebay Elcar)

Not all Ebay ads are created equal.

I am normally disappointed with Ebay ads for vintage electric cars - it's hard for the regular joe/jo to put together a great ebay ad, but once in a while you find an Ebay seller who transcends from seller to historian. Today, I have to give it up for 008hoopty!

I hopped over to Ebay this morning to tempt myself with the forbidden fruit of "electric car" and it appeared:

You never know what Tennessee is going to have to offer.

 

As I scrolled down, I found an online museum exhibit of everything Zagato Elcar. If you are interested in this "penalty box" on wheels, you owe it to yourself to get over to Ebay (before it sells) to read all the info presented there. Me, I am lazy, so I am just going to share some of the images from the posting.

 

 

Link to the Ebay ad

A Mandarin Orange on wheels

An Elcar for the unhinged?

Revised indeed

I have not seen this one with text

Poolside parking

Nice Coke machine!

Woohoo! the cutaway

Love that windshield wiper

Implied stripe?

You said it, Pops!

 

May you be delighted with knowledge and mirth today, and may you find your electric dream.

 

Bonus links: two previous Zagato Elcar posts

 

Vintage Electric Car Profile: Zagato Elcar

 

Vintage Electric Car: Double the Zagato Elcar Fun!