Ride to Work Week & Day, National Bike Month, the National Bike Challenge, and...Encouragement

Tomorrow, May 17, is National Bike to Work Day.

There hasn't been a lot of time for blogging or riding lately, but I'm doing both as I can. I love it when the National Bike _________ rolls around. It's just one more motivation to suck it up and ride (almost) every day. I'm thankful for the National Bike Challenge - it's the dare I needed five years back to get started commuting by bike. I can't believe I was actually scared to attempt it. Nowadays I'm scared of the impacts of not riding.

I've been commuting to work on the e-bike and bombing about on the klunker. And the winter funk is melting away nicely.

E-bike throwin' shade on this morning's commute

So I wanted to offer you a bit of encouragement - get out and ride, snagit! Get off the couch and ride! Put down the phone and ride! Quit fretting over the news and ride! Quit snacking on Dorito's and ride! Stop biting your fingernails and ride! Stop pouting and pedal! Stop whining and wheelie!

Modern life is not easy. It's nerve-wracking, anxiety-inducing, and downright stressful, but study after study tells us that moderate activity and time spent outside are powerful tools in relieving stress, improving health, and pushing depression back.

HuffKlunk in the 'Hood - peace!

So, if you're like I was, get over your objections and ride. Ride around the block once a day, or ride to someplace nearby that you really like - a park, a friend's house, or Holly Hop (ice cream is a powerful motivator for me). Or do something practical - ride to the grocery store, to work, or to run an errand. 

It ain't much, but May ain't over yet!

Stick with it for a week.

See, I've got stats and badges, britches!

If you absolutely hate it, stop. Go try something else.

But if you find yourself enjoying it or seeing some positive benefits, keep at it. The more I ride, the better I feel. And it's amazing what that has done for my outlook when facing tumultuous times.

Consider yourself encouraged! Wishing all of y'all the best!

PS. Here's some previous Mesquite Hugger encouragement:

Bike to Work Day 2014: Bring it on, Lubbock!

Lubbock (Not) on a Bike: Happy Ride to Work Day 2015, Snagit!

It's almost here - National Bike Challenge 2016

Lubbock on a Bike: National Bike Challenge is Back! (2017)

Woohoolio! The National Bike Challenge Begins! (2018)

Fossil Free Friday - (Shut up and) Pedal!

Something cool happened a few nights ago - I got to talk to another blogger who writes about life on a bike.

I posted recently about the loneliness of blogging or hugging mesquite or something like that, but here I was talking with a guy I know rather well even though we'd never met or spoken.

Talking to Bob, I realized a couple of things.

• I don't know anyone (here in Lubbock) who commutes on a bike
• I don't know anyone local who blogs about similar stuff
• I need to shut up and ride.

So, today I am posting one of Bob's more recent posts to encourage you to ride. All you really need is a bike. (Thanks, Bob! Great talking to ya! Keep spreading the magic!)

If You Want to Cycle, Just Cycle (Bob Sharpe)

May somebody, somewhere encourage you to do something clean and green and good for your soul! (And may no one actually encourage you to shut up!)

Is it really bike to work day in Lubbock?

I rode the bike to work today, but I didn't know. Yep, the Mesquite Hugger calendar update system is needing some help. It was when I arrived at the java distributor and paused the Strava app that I saw a pop-up informing me that it is ride to work day. Man, am I glad that I rode!

 

 

Of course, I am always glad on days that I ride. But how did this sneak up on me? (Actually, it's pretty easy to sneak up on me these days.)

 

So, I Oogled it:

 

 

I learned that today is  Global Bike to Work Day and it's Bike to Work Day in the Bay Area. And it's Bike to Work day a week from tomorrow here in the States. Yep, I am still confused, so I have a new goal - I want to try to ride on every Bike to Work Day and on lots of days that are just plain old Snagit, I Still Have to Go Work Day days.

 

Why? I am going to defer to the NBL on this one:

 

Check it out at the National Bike League site

 

So, how about you? Do any of those reasons appeal to you? Then try it, snagit!

• Pick a day (like maybe May 19th -  US Bike to Work Day.)
• Air up your tires (or borrow a bike - call me!)
• Plan your route
• Do it! (You might actually enjoy it, or save money, or get healthy, or become a Mesquite Hugger hero by fighting pollution!)

May you get out and pedal yourself to a better life for you and all of us!

For One Lucky Lubbock Business: Be More Bike Friendly for $45

[By the way, traffic congestion in Lubbock is a very real problem. Fewer cars would be very helpful. More bikes could mean fewer cars. It's that solution to vicious cycle thing.]

I commute on a bike and I often run errands on a bike. To lock a bike up in Lubbock, you gotta get creative.

I literally hug a tree each day I bike commute. (But it's not a mesquite.)

 

At work, I chain my bike to a tree. I have a self-recoiling cable that I wrap around the tree and slip through the frame and the rear wheel. It often slips from my grip and makes me a great candidate for America's Funniest Home Videos or Lubbock's Dorkiest Cyclist. I don't love the idea of picking on a tree that way (although the hugs are nice), but my other two options are to chain it to a light pole in the parking lot next door or carry the bike up three flights of stairs and park it in my already cluttered office.



U-Locked to a handicap parking sign - another not-so-great choice.

 

See - I really do recycle!

 

I will finally get around to the point:

 

Yes, I get a little excited about a bike rack!

(Look in the Bike Parts and Accessories section.)

 

The point is that life is better when there's a good place to park your bike. And we cyclists like to work and shop at places that hook us up with a nice rack or even a mediocre rack. We like to talk those places up to others - even those strange people who don't try to ride a bike everywhere.

 

So, Lubbock businesses, how about it? But before you answer that question, please read this article:

 

Bikes Bring Bucks: 6 Ways Bicycling Benefits Businesses and Local Economies

 

The CliffffffsNotes for Business Guide to that link above:

• Want more jobs, read Benefit 1.
• If you're trying to increase sales, read Benefit 2.
• If your business suffers from high health care costs and too many sick days, read Benefit 3.
• If your business does not have enough parking, read Benefit 4.
• If you're a city planner or economic developer, read Benefit 5.
• If your business wants to attract more students, read Benefit 6.

 

See more fun racks here

 

So, Lubbock businesses, how about it? Who's going to rack up all those benefits for just $45?

 

May we find better and healthier ways for us all to get around and treat each other much better!

Giving Tuesday Meets Carbon Reduction - Expand your reach!

Black Friday. Small Business Saturday.

Thank God It's Sunday.

Cyber Monday. Giving Tuesday.

The Story of Stuff. (Annie and Free Range, you are always in  my head.)

I lay in bed a few mornings ago with all of this stuff swirling in my head. I had to get up. I was getting nervous.

How do we make the world a better place? It's going to take a lot more than just parking our gas-powered cars and changing our light bulbs. (But those are a start.)

For me, everything goes back to slowing and stopping climate change. Yes, there are lots of other incredibly important causes to support; however, as it gets harder to live and breathe, all of those other problems get worse. As we see species quickly disappearing and cultures being wiped out, the term Pro Life takes on a much bigger meaning.

How do you slow climate change? You limit carbon release. (Yes, we've always had carbon release, but we humans have become experts at it and our ingenuity and creativity in that department is killing us all.) And we, the Americans, are doing more than our fair share of the damage. Look around you, do you see people near you working to limit carbon release? Do you see people near you working actively to increase carbon release? Answer the same questions about your immediate family.

Around me, most people want cheaper gas, a bigger car, a larger house, and more stuff.

Since today is Giving Tuesday, I thought I'd throw out a few of my favorite organizations that are working hard to slow climate change:

Citizen's Climate Lobby

Watch the Intro Video

I support the CCL because I am a cynic and the CCL offers me a different type of hope. The CCL is a multi-partisan approach to helping us reduce our carbon while supporting the economy and offering (financial) hope to all citizens. Their approach is not one that expects altruism to save our environment. They are offering a sensible approach that is based on a carbon tax and dividend (while making life better for all).

The Sierra Club

Watch the Intro Video on this page

The Sierra Club has been around more than 120 years. The original vision of the SC was to protect wild and natural places. Here in the 21st century that vision has not changed. but it has expanded to protecting the entire planet and all life on it - including us humans. The part of their mission that truly draws me in is their drive to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels. As times get more desperate, the Sierra Club keeps stepping up their game. (You can find the Texas chapter here.)

GreenPeace

Pardon me on this one, but all my life I've known Greenpeace to be a bunch of non-violent badasses who go after whaling ships in little rubber boats. That's how they got started back in 1971 and they haven't backed down yet, but they've definitely broadened their scope.

Learn more here

350.ORG

Check out the 350.ORG intro video here

(Yes, I had to throw in the bicycle screenshot)

Okay, so those are the biggies for me when it comes to saving the planet, but they are definitely not the only ones. So, if these don't fit your approach, do a little research and find those that do. Let this be one way your voice can be heard.

May your actions match your beliefs!

Bonus: 3 More Organizations near and dear to me:

The Haven - a Local, Non-Profit, NO-Kill animal shelter

People for Bikes

League of American Bicyclists