Not quite Black (Dog) Friday this year...

...but still a great day!

Our Black Friday tradition the last few years has been to take the dogs to Caprock Canyons State Park for a hike. This year, though, we didn't have a whole day free, and my wife had to work in the morning. So I went for plan B - a morning mountain bike ride at Mae Simmons.

The parking lot was empty. My kind of Black Friday!

The prairie dogs were out in force - my kind of Black Friday crowds!

They had a lot to say about the guy on the bike.

Keep looking where you're going - not where you are.

Yep, the old commuter bike's not scared to go offroad.

As a bike dork who spends most of his bike time on the street, it's been a lot of fun to ride something challenging. It's nice to push my limits - in coordination, strength, and fear.  I was able to ride all of the downhill stuff well enough. I walked the bike up about half of the uphill stuff. As much as I love the electric bike on the street, I'm happy not to have an electric mountain bike. The hill climbing gives me something to work for. 

The morning's ride - a little under 4 miles

Picked up a big thorn - but the air stayed in!

The moral of this story, you don't have to go far to have an outdoor adventure, to avoid the Black Friday shoppers, and to burn off some of those potatoes and pumpkin pie!

May you get outside and enjoy the world while not breaking the bank account. 

Celebrating Black (Dog) Friday 2017

We did it right this year. My lovely wife and I celebrated Black Friday by loading up the three dogs and heading to our favorite Texas canyon to hike some trails and hang out with the buffalo.

Mattie, Kylie, and the canyon

You couldn't ask for a better Black Dog Friday!

(Even Maya, the backpack Chihuahua, thought so.)

We only had to wait in one line!

Just a buffalo under the moon...

May you also be gifted with such great company and beautiful days!

PS. Love you, Spray!

Even More 2017 Ebikes (Kits) on Holiday Sale - Copenhagen Wheel and E-BikeKit

[Alternative Title: Free Pants from Superpedestrian!]

 

Two more e-bike companies have offered up holiday deals, so I figured I'd share them with you:

 

Copenhagen Wheel

 

Wheel start with the Copenhagen We'll. The deal is this - buy a Copenhagen Wheel at full price and they'll attach that wheel to a kilt, pair of skinny jeans, or a pair of trousers. That's a $500 savings. (No, they're not actual articles of clothing intended to cover your privates - they are bikes named after articles of clothing intended to cover your privates.) The trick to getting your free bike is in the first line of the following image:

 

Everyone needs a button that says Buy the Trousers.

 

My Christmas wish - for Superpedestrian to offer this bike as the Whitey Tightey!

 

E-BikeKit

E-BikeKit's fun whiteboard video - "Slap this puppy on!"

 

Luckily for them (and you, Dear Reader), it's gonna be much harder to poke fun (throw shade?) at E-BikeKit. If you're not familiar with them, they are a well-respected vendor of (you guessed it) e-bike kits, and are known for great support through the whole process. They are not known for being cheap, but they are known for delivering a very dependable product. And, they have everything on sale for 25% off. Again, check the image below for the trick to getting your savings.

 

That's it for today. May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may we create a healthier world (and even more to be thankful for.)

More 2017 Ebikes on Holiday Sale - RadPower (Minipost)

Yep, the Radwagon of my dreams (and the whole 2017 Rad lineup) is on sale.

 

Rad Power has done some upgrades and redesigns on all of their bikes, so they're discounting the 2017s to make room for the new stuff. Most of the upgrades are small, but the Radwagon gets a new aluminum frame and the RadCity is now available as a step-through.)

 

Below are the sale details:

 

Woohoo!

The new Radwagon in town

 

The Old Model - $300 discount!

(I like the looks of the old one better.)

 

 

The other big news at Rad Power - the RadCity Step-Thru!

(On the right)

 

Yep, these are some tempting prices on very solid bikes from a vendor with a very good reputation. And (if you live in the contiguous 48 or Canada) you get free shipping!

 

Sigh...

 

If you've been looking for a good deal on a ready-built e-bike (especially an e-cargo-bike), now's the time!

 

May the e-bike of your dreams cure your gas-powered headaches!

Holiday Materialism 2015 - The frog, the owl, the stuff, REI, and Black Friday

Last year, instead of rebelliously lying in bed on Black Friday, my wife and I rebelliously went hiking in Caprock Canyon. It was a day that brought us closer together and a day in which we did not grow more cynical in our view of humanity. (Storming the doors of Target or Wally World or Best Buy at 2am would have spawned great animosity toward our fellow man.)

It was also a day in which we did not grow deeper in debt but we did grow deeper in appreciation for the natural world.

Recently, I noticed there is a movement to get people outside and out of town on black Friday. REI (the sporting goods people) have been leading the charge this year with the #optoutside movement. REI is closing up shop on Black Friday so that their people (and theoretically their customers) can get outside and do something memorable, meaningful, and healthy rather than jumping into the meleé that is Black Friday shopping. I can attest that it's a great plan! So can Mattie and Kylie who went to Caprock Canyon with us last year. It was a great day and I can still vividly remember that time. I especially remember the smile in my wife's eyes that day.

Gratuitous Black Friday 2014 black dog panorama!

 

This year, I do not know that we will have the luxury to sneak away on Black Friday, but I do want to make sure that we focus on something more meaningful than shopping. In the world of stuff. this has been a rough year. Frankly, we grow tired of being owned by our stuff.

The High Price of Materialism (And I thought frogs were the good guys.)

The Story of Stuff (The Mesquite Hugger staff has a big ol' eco crush on Annie Leonard)

 

So don't just stand there - Bust an Ad!

 

I haven't talked it over with my brown-eyed girl, but I hope to make this Black Friday into Bake Friday - not the fake-bake or the get baked version, but the one where we bake stuff to give our friends for the holidays. (Mattie and Kylie would be all about that too!) Or maybe it should be Instructables Friday, where we build recycled Instructables as gifts. Maybe we should call it Help-Us-Clean-House Friday and invite all of our friends over. Maybe...I am taking this too far.

 

May your day after Thanksgiving be something more than charging boldly into debt. 

 

 

A not so Black Friday

My wife and I celebrated our nation's busiest shopping day by taking our two permanent foster dogs for a hike in Caprock Canyons State Park.

On the trip there, we encountered a massive flock of Sandhill cranes and two flocks of turkey. Birds make me happy!

The only wildlife we encountered on the trail was a small Texas spiny lizard. He made me happy too! There were lots of tracks and lots of scat, but I did not memorize the Urban Bestiary well enough to identify much.

The people and dogs we met on the the trail were quick with a kind word or a tail wag. Kylie and Matilda had a great time on the trail and survived the ride there and back.

My wife and I experienced one of the more beautiful places in Texas together and saw the sun set on red rock and veins of white quartz. It's hard to imagine a better day.

May you know such beauty!

In case your holiday calendar is missing a few things...

Black Friday

Buy Nothing Day

 

Small Business Saturday

 

Cyber Monday

 

Giving Tuesday

May your calendar reflect your beliefs.

Small Business Saturday - Locals, PLEASE COMMENT!

For those of you who can't wait until Friday to run out and get those Black Friday bargains, here is a helpful link.
Black Friday Opening Hours

As for me, I hate it! As retailers push the Black Friday envelope in a fiendish plot to destroy Thanksgiving and meaningful human interaction, I feel the need to push back. So, I am drawing my line in the sand. I will not participate. I will not participate in the ravenous consumer orgy that now begins at 6pm on Thanksgiving. I do not want to contribute to the competitive and mean-spirited drive to get the best deal on some gadget cranked out in China. I do not want to contribute to a system that turns a family holiday into a day of drudgery and misery for those who work retail.

What's the fallback plan for Friday?
I am not completely sure, but I have several tentative plans:
I want to start the day by spending a quiet morning with my beautiful wife. As I work on the list of that for which I am thankful, she is right at the top, and I want her to know that.
I would like to hike in a canyon, bake sugar cookies, have lunch with friends and family, walk the dogs in a local park, put up Christmas lights, and start working on a few handmade gifts.

And, if I absolutely have to go out and buy something for somebody, I am going to hold out for Small Business Saturday.

It's a great way to support local businesses. One study shows $45 of every $100 spent at small, local businesses stays in the local economy. National chains only keep local $13 of every $100 spent.

Skip Black Friday - Small Business Saturday (It's an older article, but it still makes a great point.)

So, those of you who live here on the South Plains, do you have any local small businesses you'd recommend for Small Business Saturday? Gift shops? Local artists? Specialty food sellers? Local stores that offer great customer service? Please share your favorites in the comments section, so others can support those brave souls who go head-to-head with the retail giants that surround and overwhelm us!

May all your Fridays be anything but black!