I rode the bike today...

(Shots from several commutes over the last few weeks)

It was a beautiful morning! Very little traffic. A cool (but light) breeze. The bike was working well. My knees were working well. I rode a few miles on Sunday. I rode to work on Monday. I hope to ride tomorrow.

My wife and I saw an OmniMax movie last night - part of the BBC Blue Planet series. And it had astounding footage of all kinds of creatures. And it offered up some optimism for the future; however, like all modern nature documentaries, the ever-present villain was man-made environmental destruction.

They're too small to see here, but there's a cow bird,

a snowy egret, and a green heron in this one.

And that makes the bike rides even better. Every time a person chooses to travel by bike (in place of a single-occupant car) we all breathe a little better. I know it's very simplistic, but my greatest hope in all of this is to have thousands of people making incrementally better choices about petroleum and plastics and pollution. I know that would have a massively greater impact than just this one dork joyfully riding a bike as often as possible.

The view over the handlebars this morning

 

May you joyfully make a positive impact!

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!

Electric Bike Buying (and Building) Advice

Is this you?

If you're thinking about (or dreaming about) purchasing an electric bike, the choices can be a bit overwhelming. So, before you go buy one, let's look at some components you're going to want to know a little more about. We'll start with the motivation.

Hub Motors

Photo from Electric Bike Report

The biggest question on hub motors is whether to go GEARED or DIRECT DRIVE. (The second biggest question is front-motored or rear-motored,)

Geared  Hub Motors

The Vanmoof Electrified S has a tiny geared hub motor in the front wheel

The biggest advantage of a geared hub motor is that they can freewheel when there is no power being applied. In other words, you can (mostly) pedal it just like a regular bike. (If you run out of battery power on a geared hub motor, you can pedal it home. If you run out of battery power on a direct drive motor, two city blocks will wear you out!) Geared motors are also smaller, lighter, stealthier, and a tiny bit noisier than a direct drive. One thing that is not possible with a geared motor is regen (power regeneration - where the bike actually recharges the battery {a little bit} when slowing down or coasting downhill).

Direct-Drive Motors

The Radwagon (of my dreams) uses a direct-drive rear hub motor

For bicycles, I am not a big fan of direct drive motors, but that is because they are heavier, less stealthy (because of their size), and because I can't coast with one. But those same drawbacks become virtues when you want your bike to behave more like a motorcycle. If you want to go really fast, carry heavier loads, or use regen, you want a direct-drive motor. They are a great choice for people who don't want to pedal and for people who want their bikes to be workhorses.

Mid-Drive Motors

Bafang BBS Mid-Drive Kit (photo from Lunacycle)

The Oh-so-sexy Karmic Koben S

with a 350-watt Bafang Max mid-drive motor

I have no real-world experience with mid-drives, so I won't weigh in much, but I'd sure like to try out a BaFang BBS mid-drive set-up. Mid-drives are awesome hill climbers but they are much harder on chains, gears, and derailleurs. Their three big advantages are that they allow you to better utilize your bike's gear range, flat tires are much easier to change, and the motor weight is located in the center of the bike.

Lots of high-end (expensive) e-bikes are running mid-drives these days - the Bosch motor is the most well-known of the pricier mid-drives.

Battery Size

(For reference: a very common e-bike battery is a 36 volt, 8.8 Amp-hour)

Battery Voltage  (V)

Higher voltage means higher power and more speed.
If you are tiny and not in a hurry - 24 volts is great
If you are 200 pound or less, 36 volts should be enough
I f you are over 200 pounds or plan to carry extra weight - go with 48 volts
If you want to rock n roll, go for 72 volts! (Definitely not for beginners)

Juiced Bikes Batteries for their ODK U500 cargo bike

(Compare their Amp-hours per distance and power consumption.)

Battery Amp-Hour (Ah)

Amp-hours is a measure of how long a battery can deliver power - so the higher the amp-hour number, the farther your e-bike will travel. Juiced (in the diagram above) offers some very large amp-hour batteries, which is why they can offer ranges over 100 miles, but very few of us need that kind of range in our daily rides. Figure out what range you do need before you go shopping. While you can always upgrade, batteries are the most expensive component on most e-bikes.

Dash/Display Readouts

LCD Readouts - so much better!

Having a read-out that tells you what is going on is great!!! Most LCD dashboards will tell you how fast you're going, how far you've gone, (roughly) how much further you can go, how much power you are using, how much power you have left, and what assist level you are using. LED indicators, on the other hand, will give you a vague knowledge of how much power you are using and of how much you have left. They will also let you know what assist level you are using (if that applies to your bike.)

LCD displays keep you very well informed. LED indicators are pretty vague and less helpful, but they are much cheaper.

Seats

Just a general note, if you plan to pedal a lot, you will probably like a skinny seat more; if you plan to pedal very little, get something big and cushy.

Pedal Assist, Throttle, or Both?

This one also depends a great deal on how much you want to pedal and how much you want to sit back and cruise. I like pedal assist because I like to pedal and I like that pedal-assisted models give you the option of more efficiency which increases a bike's range. On the other hand, it's sometimes nice to have a throttle to help you take off more quickly when you are dealing with traffic. (It's really nice to have both.)

Multigear or Single Speed?

Single speed is not bad if you live in a flat place or are not planning to pedal. The bigger your hills, the more you need multiple gears, but electric bikes in general don't need as many gears. Anything over nine tends to be overkill.

Grizz's single-speed Sondors is great here in Lubbock

where you can watch your dog run away for three days

before he's out of sight. (Man, I miss that dog!)

Weight Distribution

The Prodeco Phantom Series 

Whatever keeps the weight low and spread out (or centralized) makes a better e-bike. Placing all of the weight (battery and motor) on the back wheel is a bad idea that leads to bent rims, loose and broken spokes, and awkward handling. Having the weight up high leads to the bike falling over a lot while parked. If you plan to add a rack for cargo, keep that extra weight in mind when shopping or planning a build. (By the way, it's much more comfortable to let the bike carry the weight rather than your body. Panniers beat backpacks!)

A Final Piece of Advice

Before you decide completely what you want, sit down and make a list of what you need. How far will you travel? How fast will you need to travel? Are weight and size a consideration? Do you need an easily removable battery or wheels? What terrain will you travel? What's your budget? Most important, which bike will make you look truly cool?

I hope this makes your search easier and that your wheels tread lightly while your face smiles all the way to your destination.

May you be the change and encourage others to do the same.

Forty Percent - Can You Do it?

I admit it - I am a fair-weather biker. I have a simple set of don't ride criteria

• water falling from the sky
• ice
• temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• temperature above 105 degrees Fahrenheit
• wind above 25 miles per hour

The local climate is semi-arid/plains/desert type stuff, so this criteria keeps me riding a lot. Strangely, National Bike to Work Week always seems to bring a monsoon with it. I rode to work on Monday. I will ride again on Friday (tomorrow). There has been rain, lightning, and cold in between.

I am thankful to be able to ride tomorrow - it's National Ride to Work Day!

Sure, I would love to be able to ride every day, but this week I will have accomplished a 40% reduction in gas-powered rides to work. If we could accomplish that on a larger scale - say a town, a county, a state...we could make a massive dent in our ecological well-being. We could slow climate change. Yes, I love bicycles, but bike riding is not the desired outcome. We need to reduce carbon production and release. That's the real goal.

So, how about you? What could you do to reduce the damage caused by your commute by 40%? Would you need a bike? A more efficient car? A bus pass? A carpool plan? Thicker socks? A schedule change at work?

If you can't get there, look at other parts of your life. Could you use 40% less electricity? 40% less water? Could you create 40% less waste? Could you help make it possible for others to make a 40% improvement? Could you inspire others to make a 40% improvement?

Just think, if an overweight, middle-aged dork-on-a-bike can do it, you can too!

May forty percent be the beginning of something amazing in your life!

700th Post, A Rough Start to Bike to Work Week, and Saving Water

This is Mesquite Hugger Post #700 - I thought I'd celebrate by posting an in-focus pomegranate photo. Enjoy!

 

It's like having Georgia O in the backyard!

 

Lubbock on a Bike

It was my toes or my soles or something that told me. I was about a mile away from the coffee house on a rare (wet & foggy) morning. One foot was slipping on the pedal, the other was firmly staying in place. When I looked down, my problem was pretty obvious:

Yep, one of these things is not like the other.

It's a problem I keep having. My brain was preoccupied with something other than what I was doing. It's a big part of why I have enjoyed things like biking (and scootering, kayaking, motorcycling, etc.). I have terrible coordination, so those things keep my brain fully engaged trying to make hands feet eyes fingers legs arms and everything else work in concert to make it possible for me to ride without catastrophe. There is a great feeling in being fully engaged.

Getting dressed in the morning? Not so much.

But today is the first day of National Bike to Work Week. I biked to work. I am still claiming this one as a win. Now, where exactly is that other pair of unmatched shoes?

Water Conservation

It rained this weekend. (It was awesome!) My yard had taken on a very Captain Crunch feel, but things are much better now. But it did point out the need for me to step it up in the rain collection department. (More on that as I figure out the plan.)

 

The 55-gallon rain barrel was filled in no time at all. I diverted it all to the front yard and captured another 55 gallons right away. I set out every bucket and can I could find and collected another 80 gallons. We have a lot of plants out and hope to be planting more this week, and plants love rainwater.

 

But the goal (for me) is much bigger than just the garden. The real goal is to limit the amount of water we access through the tap in order to stop draining our local water sources. Here in Lubbock, water becomes more and more scarce. Whether you get your water from a municipal pipe or from a well in your backyard, you have access to a very precious resource that we need to conserve.

Want to learn more about rainwater harvesting and water conservation in our area? Check out the High Plains Water District for many great resources, including the brochure below.

One inch = 1,246 gallons - that is awesome!

May you find yourself fully engaged in something worthwhile and enjoyable!

Real Reasons to Ride a Bike; The Challenge Begins

When I started this blog, I had no idea how big a bike would be for Mesquite Hugger. The more I write, learn, and ride, the more I see the life-saving, earth-saving beauty of a simple bicycle.

This post has three places to look and learn:

• a great video talk
• a great blog post (someone else's blog)
• the beginning of the National Bike Challenge (just five days away)

The great video talk

Last week I ran across a TedX Talk by Zach Krapfl on Electric Bike Insider. For a seemingly low-key guy, Zach is a very engaging speaker, and I have no plans of taking a road trip with him. (Watch the video if you want to know why.)

In the video, he talks about one image that has become a screensaver in my head:

Scott at Small Potatoes Farm

 

Please watch the Change in your Transportation Future to see why. (It's 16 minutes, but it flies by on slender tires.)

 

The great blog post

 

[Feel free to skip this part, it is a blogger self-motivation sidebar: I am a semi-reformed gasoholic. While there may have been other seeds germinating, there were two events that defined my conversion: the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Both of those tragic events were direct results of our people lustfully pursuing oil in places we should not have been. That realization led me to a lot of questions that keep leading me to the need to stop seeking fossil fuels.]

 

 

One of my favorite bloggers these days is Bob Sharpe over at Bike 5. Bob is not a problem guy. Bob is a solution guy. His blog title comes from his belief that trips under 5 miles are better served by a bicycle. His most recent post asks a fuel question - What Do You Run On? It's obvious that Bob and Zach have come to a lot of the same conclusions from different directions.

 

If you pay much attention to either or both of them, you might be looking for motivation within yourself to hop on a bike more. Well, here is one that got me rolling a few years back.

 

The Challenge

 

More about the bike challenge in tomorrow's post

 

May we pedal our butts off and make the world safer, healthier, and better for all!

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!

Sidebar: I hate Daylight Saving Time

I have for years.

Mostly, I am a creature of habit. I work hard to keep my wake and sleep patterns consistent, but twice a year I am forced to reset it all. And it's a shame. I get into a groove where I can appreciate the sunrise and the sunset with a natural circadian rhythm. But DST screws it all up! There are a few weeks of blurriness and disorientation when I curse more, eat more, and drink more coffee. I find myself scrambling for melatonin or valerian root. It's a bad, bad time at the MH house.

Deadly car crashes spike after changing clocks for Daylight Saving Time

The more I commute on a bike, the more I hate DST. People drive noticeably worse in the weeks following DST. They leave later [sic], drive faster, run more lights, pay less attention, and make it much harder for us bike people to arrive alive.

For years, I thought my DST rant was just me being grouchy, but a movement is brewing. My wife (who adores John Oliver) sent me video from John's pronouncing the stupidity of DST. It makes some really great points.

"What you lose in sleep, you gain in mortal danger."

Yesterday I was thumbing through twitterspace and ran across a group at standardtime.com that is campaigning to end this temporal atrocity. I may be finding my people after all.

So, you're probably thinking to yourself, Hmmm, Mesquite Hugger, what does that have to do with Mesquite Hugger-ism? Here is your answer: Why daylight saving time is bad for the environment.

May we sleep better, snagit!

PS. You might want to avoid next week's posts - it could get grouchy up in here. Now where's my stash of Sleepy Time Tea?

PPS. Should I worry about my wife and the John Oliver obsession?

Lubbock on a Bike - Why I Ride

The bike is one of my two big pushes for this year. The Lubbock mayoral race is heating up, and a safer town for biking is an issue I want to push, so let's discuss why.

Personal
I am forty-seven years old and I am obese - machines, mirrors, and doctors tell me so. I also have high blood pressure - again with the machines and doctors. I am obese and have high blood pressure because I have made a lifetime of lazy choices in food and transportation. In an effort to reverse these problems, I started commuting to work on a bike.

I have lost (some) weight and my blood pressure is improving, and some other things have improved too. I am happier. I like my town better. I have less anger. I have more energy. I am even eating better.

But lately I have backslid. I have gained a little weight. I have less energy. I like people less. I have even gotten depressed. Me and cookies? We're tight again.

What happened? At the beginning of December I parked the bike. I allowed cold weather and holiday traffic to temporarily discourage me from riding. After the holidays a big snowstorm hit and cold weather prevailed. The bike gathered dust in the garage.

Life is better when I ride.

On a bigger scale...
...the bicycle has bigger virtues. Most of those virtues involve treading lightly. The opposite of treading lightly is having each of us hopping in a 4,000 pound gas-powered vehicle every time we have a small errand to run. The same lazy choices that made me fat and unhealthy have led us (collectively) to even bigger problems. Each time we choose a car over a bike we choose to damage the air we breathe and we actively promote the destruction of soil, water, and the ability for life to thrive. We have reached a point where we understand the damage we are doing, but we choose the short-term comfort of easy (and poor) choices. Petroleum consumption also encourages us to be unethical in our acquisition of more oil. We love cheap oil no matter who we buy it from or how much damage it does. Those of us who live near the oilfields see the unemployment we create by buying cheap middle-eastern oil. It is a vicious cycle that leads us all to wonder why our society is going to hell in a handbasket. Everybody grows more hopeless, then we jump in our cars, drive terribly, and make each other madder and more hopeless. (Personally, I would rather see us pursue homegrown renewable solar, wind, etc.)

A simple question - are you happier or less happy after your drive to work, school, etc.?

[I blog (Yes, I know, this is a Why I Ride post...) to keep myself on track for making healthier choices, both for myself and everyone around me. What I'd really love, as a human and a blogger, is a revolution of healthier choices for all.]

Why I ride? The decision to ride is a series of small but impactful choices: a less damaging commute, a happier life, better health, and a simple way to make life better for all. (By the way, I also like how much money I save by riding, but that's a topic for another post.)

May you find a way to make your own healthier choices, and may we see more people on a bike.

Lubbock on a Bike, a double re-think and a blog recommendation

I am taking a little bit of a break in my bike commute. It's a seasonal thing - but not a weather thing. While I love the reason for the season, I fear the reality of the season. (It's also a location thing.)

You see, I work across the street from the local mall. Ours is a "town" of a quarter-million people and the mall serves a population of more than a half-million when you look at the overall region. The mall is a magnet. As Christmas gets closer, the magnet gets more powerful and the drivers become more erratic, distracted, and dangerous. Consumerism at its most glorious! The anger, the light running, the honking, the middle-finger salutes, the wrecks, the sirens - all the signs are there. And there is no realistic way to avoid the mall in my commute. Our town is a less-than-bicycle-friendly place in the best of times, so I am laying off the ride to work for the duration of December. I still plan to ride to run errands and such, but the work commute (past the mall) is off the table.

I do, however, plan to come back with a vengeance in January. Details to follow in another post.

So, let's talk about the double re-think.

It's been coming for a little while and it's coming from many directions.

Cars
The money we are saving by driving old cars is wearing on me. I have recently had to put a throw-out bearing in my wife's truck. I had to fix the plastic underskirts of my wife's grandmother's hybrid. The daughter's headlights have quit working because the ballast went out. (Headlight ballasts? WTH!) And I need to replace the engine in my poor Lucy. My body is sore and my spirit is oh so weary. I am a desk jockey and that kind a mechanicking is a stretch.

And I have come to loathe things that burn gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products. And my spirit is oh so weary of it.

Bicycles
While Lubbock may not like cyclists, this cyclist really enjoys his time riding in Lubbock. Every trip is an accomplishment. I am healthier. The world is healthier. And my spirit is slightly less weary.

Buses
My recent bus rides have actually been pretty pleasant and stress free - not bad for a handful of quarters.

My brain has begun to look like a much more jumbled version of this:

 

While all of this has been rattling around in my brain, I have found another Yes Man to influence my thinking. (A Yes Man for me is someone whose crazy thoughts are very like my own and will therefore encourage me to pursue a path I already wanted to pursue.)

 

Yes Man

Bob Sharpe is a blogger. (I like him already.) Bob Sharpe is a bicycle commuter. He is also not a young studly spandex model (at least that's my impression from reading Bike 5, Bob's blog). Bob's blog's subtitle is For trips of five miles or less, bikes are best! By the way, it is 4.9 miles from my house to my office. Can you see why I've adopted Bob as a Yes Man?

 

 

So here's my hypocritical double re-think. I am giving up my bike commute for the month. And I am committing to more commitment to riding. I am also jumping on Bob's Multimodal train (figuratively speaking - we don't have any passenger trains around here).

 

In case you too are looking for a Yes Man because you like bikes or you're cheap or you just want to humor the ol' Mesquite Hugger, here are a few Bike 5 posts I recommend.

 

What's the Real Deal, Bob?

 

If You're Not Cycling, You're Cheating Yourself

 

How to Pay Next to Nothing for Your Next Home

 

Bike 5's Position Statement on eBikes

 

Transportation and Health Tool Tags Cycling's Most Dangerous Places (included because the town where I grew up is mentioned)



 

So, get out there and ride something healthier than a car. And go find someone with healthy ideas that inspire you. And pay attention to what's happening in Paris this week. May you be healthy, joyful, and safe. 

Lubbock on a Bike: Winter Materialism

The ride to work definitely had Jack Frost nipping at my nose, my wrists, and one ear this morning.

Winter crept back in. I should have known it when my clock fell back. It's dark when I leave for coffee. It's somewhat dark when I leave for work. And holiday traffic is picking up.

My ride to work was cold this morning. The loose fleece jacket and the mechanic's gloves were just not fighting the cold. And my right ear was complaining too.

So, this guy who has been working more at wanting less stuff is wanting a lot of stuff.

I want winter bike commuting gear.

I want to be seen. I want to be warm. I want to arrive at work relatively clean and dry. I don't want to add lots of extra time getting ready to ride. While I'm thinking of it, I also want the bike to have more cargo capacity. (I don't want much.)

Let's start with the first two.

There's a movement in the biking world that says cyclists don't need more safety gear, that we should stubbornly fight for better bike lanes and more respect from car drivers, that we should not be forced to wear helmets and bright colors just because a few car drivers are morons inattentive. And that all sounds pretty good in theory.

On the other hand, there is Newton's Second Law of Motion; you know, that's the one about mass and force and acceleration. In Mesquite Hugger terms, the bigger and faster a thing is, the more that thing is gonna hurt when it hits you. I don't care so much what the law is and how much my rights as a cyclist are being squelched; I care about being seen as much as possible and about protection when I get knocked over by things that don't see me (like potholes and Suburbans). I care about arriving home safely each day to kiss my lovely wife and throw the ball for the somewhat-less-lovely dogs.

So I broke down and spent some money today - a neon orange wind jacket with reflective accents and piping, a pair of touchscreen gloves (who knew?) with reflective accents, and a cheap but very bright LED bike light.

I still need to find some better headgear (ears, eyes, and head) but we are making progress. And it still beats the heck out of driving a car (or small truck).

May you be warm, safe, and green (or fluorescent  orange). And may we be watching out for each other.

Lubbock on a Bike: Two Great Videos for Bike Commuting

It's been a carbon news whirlwind for me lately. All of the news about Exxon cover ups and Keystone pipeline shenanigans and a little bill called Keep it in the Ground. It's given me a lot of motivation to strengthen my own quest for personal carbon reduction. And the biggest part of that is transportation. It's been a good week for that - I rode a bike to work four days this week. My body is a little tired but my spirit is greatly lifted.

In case you crave some of that good feeling but do not know where to start, here are two videos to encourage and educate your inner cyclist.

 

How to bike in the city (tips for the bicycle curious)

 

This video, by the way, is from Grist

 

If you've been hanging around here much, you know that I am a bit obsessed with hauling stuff on a bike and hanging out with my favorite canines, I offer you this video from Mind the Gap:

 

URBAN BIKING: The Art of Carrying Things by Bike

And in case you are looking for cleaner forms of transport but the bike is just not the answer for you, here is a great (and very comprehensive) Green Living Ideas article to let you know what's out there.

Green Living Ideas: What is Alternative Transportation?

May your spirit be lifted by the way your body is transported, and may your carbon be reduced.

Not Lubbock on a Bike: Scotland Vacation on a Trials Bicycle

I've not ridden in a little while. Busy life, blah, blah, etc. I've missed the bike. I have to admit, I am a rather pedestrian biker. I don't ride fast. I don't ride daring. I don't ride to new places. I am getting from one place to another and trying to make sure that I have enough energy to reach my destination.

Even so, I love riding. Time on a bike is something more than the sum of its parts: an overweight middle-aged guy on an old bike in a flat town that lost its lustre (for me) 25 years ago. (No one ever heads to Lubbock to feed their aesthetic soul.) But the bike adds an element of motion and minute discovery. The painfully mundane occasionally sparkles in a way I seldom see through a windshield.

Mostly I ride to and from work - about 25 minutes each way. The hardest part of the day lies between those two rides. Eight hours staring at two wide-screen monitors in a little room with no windows. Some days I need a vacation, but there's little time and less money for that sort of thing, so I sneak off to Scotland for 8 minutes of trials biking.

Danny Macaskill "Way Back Home"

 

Yes, I know it's not a real vacation. I know I am not a fat, middle-aged guy on a skinny bike hopping about the mythically beautiful highlands, but I often forget that I am a fat, middle-aged guy sitting in a chair in an office building. I enjoy the music, I enjoy the scenery, I enjoy the camera angles, and I enjoy seeing what a man with a bicycle can accomplish under the right circumstances.

 

 

My perspective shifts a bit. My heart rate slows a bit. I am ready to face a few more hours in this chair. And some little spot in the back of my brain is planning a trip to Scotland. Another little spot is wanting to study filmmaking. Yet another is planning a leap over something monstrous (like a curb or a pallet or a beer can). A fourth part is modifying an old mountain bike frame into a trials bike. A fifth tiny little spot goes back to work, stops staring at the beige and lifeless wall like those lone and level sands that stretch far and away, or something like that.

 

May you occasionally get away!

Lubbock on a Bike: 3 Steps to Driving Bike-Friendly

[Blogger's note:  I have been working on this post in my head for about a year now. The list grew, then shrank. Then blew up, and now it's pretty short. The post on the other view (Cycling Car-Friendly) will follow soon.]

I can't point at any big reason other than getting caught up in the normal rat race, but yesterday was a crappy day. It felt like a dark cloud had formed just behind my eyebrows before I even sat down in my chair at work. We had high chances of rain yesterday, so I drove my truck to work. I don't think that riding a bike to work makes or breaks my day, but I do know that days are better when I ride. So today I rode, and the day already feels better.

But I left the house (and coffeehouse) a little later than usual. [Grizz and I were discussing  the virtues of a 1958 Greyhound Bus, the Chevy Volt as a gasless commuter, the Radwagon as primary transport, and a local band - Fellow Americans. It's always hard to leave good company!] When I pedaled away from the coffeehouse I dreaded the heightened traffic. There was a lot of traffic.

Strangely, though, traffic was very courteous to me. I usually feel that drivers in Lubbock view a bicyclist as a moronic nuisance, but today I did not get that feeling. Thank you, Lubbock drivers!

I'll stop rambling and do the list thing now.

 

In case you would like to be a more bicycle-friendly car driver, here are three tips:

Communicate - Use your blinkers all the time. Even when you don't think anyone is around.

A lot of cycling frustration for me comes from drivers not letting me know what they are up to so that I can adjust my actions courteously. If a driver is sitting at an intersection preparing for a right turn but not using a blinker, they are putting a cyclist's life in danger. The cyclist needs to get through the intersection too and proceeds straight ahead. The uncommunicative driver turns right and either hits the cyclist or forces the cyclist to bail out. Using your blinkers is a simple way of avoiding dangerous misunderstandings.

Stop! Come to a complete stop BEFORE entering an intersection.

Very few things are more terrifying and dangerous for a cyclist than the rolling stops and late stops.

My commute home includes a 3/4 mile jaunt on the Memphis Avenue bike lane. It should be a place where I can open it up and pedal fast, but it's not. Too many drivers use the bike lane as the last stage of their stopping zone where they can decide whether or not they need to come to a complete stop or barrel on through. And they get downright angry when they realize that I have invaded that space. UGH!

I also pass through one of the busiest intersections in town on my way to and from work - Slide Road and the South Loop. It's very dangerous. The scariest part for me is the southwest corner - very few drivers stop at the red light when making a right turn. And they get angry. I get honked at and flipped off on a regular basis for passing through the intersection on a green light. I operate on the assumption that they are not planning to stop there and make sure that I have made eye contact before crossing in front of any vehicle. If I were a little more of a videographer I would borrow Spencer's GoPro and make a daily clip of the panic turning to anger and then to rage (or shame) when they see a bike intruding in the land of the car. Spliced together, they could make a very enjoyable film!

Please, stop before the intersection, take a close look, and pull through if it's safe (and legal) to do so.

Get over yourself - it's not all about you!

Look around as you travel. Each vehicle (car, truck, bus, motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, flip-flops) is being operated by a human being who has one single reason for being there - to get somewhere else in one piece. And each of those human beings is just as important as you are - really. If we can start viewing others as people and not as obstacles in our paths, we might make some progress.

May you arrive safely without rage. May the people around you do the same.

PS. Here are a few things from the longer list.

Hang up/put down the phone.
Leave home five minutes earlier.
Use your headlights at dusk and dawn.
Take a deep breath every few minutes.
Chill out, Dude!

Friday Random: Bikes, a Bug, a Bimmer, and the Electric Hamster Cruises Austin

The good news: bike ridership doubled at our office this week!

The bad news: our big, four-story office only has two bike riders.

Is it better to post an in-focus pic with the head hidden or a complete but unfocused pic?

(Praying mantis in the four o-clocks)

The good news: I've seen this electric BMW i3 three times since the electric Bimmer post!

The bad news: for every electric car in Lubbock there are literally thousands of double-cab pickups.

The good news: Electric Hamster cars have made it to Texas! (Thanks, JB!)

The bad news: this ad is from the Austin area. (375 miles away!)

(You must see this KIA Soul EV Hamster commercial!!!!)

 

FYI, the Kia Soul EV has the longest EV range of  any moderately priced (non-Tesla) EV available in the states. The Koreans are giving the Nissan Leaf some real competition!

 

May the good news outweigh the bad, and may your Labor Day be safe and joyful!