Lubbock on a Bike and Urban Ducks March 2015

Beautiful weather this weekend. Spring seems to be springing. I took advantage of the weather and hopped on the bike several times. Besides my usual 400 reasons to ride a bike, I am also gearing up for the the National Bike Challenge 2015. The challenge begins in May, but I am hoping to be in the habit when it starts. Also, I have missed Clapp Park (See the tadpole posts for more on my neighborhood park.)

 

 

The overall is looking good so far - lots of water and lots of birds.

 

The close-up is a lot rougher - lots of litter. (If you see a bicyle dork out there picking up trash, please come over and introduce yourself!)

The old Mongoose was rolling happily.

 

The duck watching was great. Lots of mallards and Northern shovellers, a few wigeons, and two newcomers that I had to look up.

A scaup! (photo from larkwire)

 

Northern pintails - they were beautiful!

 

Bicycling and urban wildlife - snagit, I'm glad Spring is coming! This park is 1.1 miles from my home, and I am thankful!

 

May you have health and beauty so close to home. Thanks for reading.

 

Bonus link: Ride a bike, pay for a house!

 

 

The Response to the Petroleum-Free Dork Post

The guy who responded to the survey

would be seen in a Nissan Leaf,

thinks the Boxx Scooter is the coolest on the list,

thinks the Citicar is the ugliest (Vintage ugly points there!),

would not leave his significant other regardless of which she brought home,

and

(most importantly)

he included a joke!

What did the electric car say when it was asked if it needed gas?

"No tanks!"

May you have a petroleum-free day.

P.S. Dude who responded - I owe you a beer!

Lubbock Electric Car Spotting - My Dorkdom Conversion is complete!

Woohoo!!! The first one I have seen in person!

So, my first dream car was a 1963 Corvette Coupe. Then I discovered the Italians and the Lamborghini Countach was added to the dream stable. Over the years the dream garage kept getting bigger and bigger, and even odder. Each time I saw a car from the list, my heart leapt.

Well, today it happened again. I went out for lunch and found a Ford C-Max Energi parked next to Lucy. I completely admit it. I have turned into the dad from every dork movie ever made. No fins, no V-12, no auto-sexiness whatsoever. It is a plug-in range-extended Ford that falls into an attainable price range for an average middle-classer. It has the ability to do most of my family's running about on no gasoline whatsoever. It also has the capability to travel long distances without having to stop for charging. And my heart leapt!

Ick. The view from the office next to mine.

On a drier and dirtier note, I am suffering from post-vacation depression. I spent the weekend next to a beautiful lake. There were naturally occurring green plants surrounding me. There were streams with running water. I saw two great blue herons within 100 feet of each other. And there was rain, life-giving glorious rain!

Now I am back home in Lubbock reading articles about surrounding towns that have less than 90 days of water in reserve.

Some West Texas counties could run out of water in 90 days

May your skies be blue and clear, and may there be water for us all.

Gentlemen (and Ladies), Start Your Tivos!

If you are an EV fan and a Mesquite Hugger reader, you probably already know that the Citicar and Beetle EV conversions are some of our absolute favorite electric vehicles. Reality TV? Generally not so much, but maybe that's been a subject matter thing. Thanks to an article on Green Car Reports today, I just logged into the TiVo and set up a recording for Rods N' Wheels for an episode where they are taking an old Bug over to EV West for a full conversion. I also learned from the article that a recent episode of Counting Cars featured a Vanguard Citicar. I may be a reality TV watcher after all. Maybe I need to call the producers of Lubbock's own car-based reality show, The Car Chasers, and arrange for them to "find" a little German electric car I happen to know about in town. Maybe....

Here is the link to the article:
Electric Cars Drive Silently Into Reality TV Shows

May your 15 minutes of fame make everyone turn a little green!

The Other Exciting EV News for the Week

The incredible, edible egg!

Dork selfie taken in front of a Waco dealership - this is the only MiEV I have seen in person.

Warning: Dork Factor Alert - In case you have not figured it out, I am a big dork. And I am really not afraid of people thinking I look like a dork. (This would be an appropriate time to have sympathy for my wife for being married to such a dork. She, however, refers to me as a "nork" in an effort not to ignore my nerd factor.)

The other exciting news comes in the form of an egg with four doors and four wheels.

News came this week that the 2014 Mistubishi MiEV electric car will have a $6300 price drop. And, it'll have more speakers, heated seats, sportier wheels, etc. But I don't care about that so much. I care about that price cut.

So, the car is now $23,000. The Federal tax break is $7500. The new Texas incentive is $1500.

If my math is correct, that makes it a $14,000 car with extremely minimal maintenance and a roughly 80% lower "fuel" cost. The scary part of the car? It has an in-town range of 80 miles. It is not a car for road tripping. At all. It is a car that has received great reviews as an in-town commuter. The only consistent complaints have been the high price and lack of creature comforts. And those have apparently been addressed with the 2014 model.

So, are you looking for a replacement for your second car? Do you want to save a great deal of money? Do you want to drastically lower your environmental impact while skipping around town? Are you a big fan of Mork from Ork? (Which, indeed, rhymes with "dork". Again, have sympathy for my wife. And no, Dear, I am not heading down to the dealership to put a deposit on an egg, but I may buy a new charger for the bicycle battery pack I have been building on the kitchen table.)

http://www.mitsubishicars.com/MMNA/jsp/imiev/14/showroom/overview.do

May you be warm and safe today, friends!