Saturday Morning Musing: Art

There must be art.

Middle class and middle aged - I find myself defined these days by worry. I would like that not to be true, but...

Find it here

Last night, my beautiful bride and I went to see Black Violin perform at the local university. It was a sold out crowd and these guys were phenomenal musicians. I saw my wife dance with joy. I found myself in awe, I found myself smiling, I found myself laughing. I even found myself swaying and clapping (which is pretty darned good for a stiff guy like me). Did I mention that I saw my wife dance with joy?

She and I don't seek out enough art. We keep ourselves caught up in the worry and bustle (and exhaustion) of everyday life. But last night was a very good night.

May you find yourself dancing with joy this week and may your worries melt away for a bit!

Friday Random with Three e-Bikes

The attention span has been a little short this week.

#FossilFreeFriday, is this a real thing like Meatless Monday or Time-Travel Tuesday? (If not, I think I'll take advantage of Tuesday to make it a real thing.) Me, I love Friday, I love Fossil Free, and I am pretty fond of alliteration. Yep, I am liking it.

In the spirit of Fossil Free Friday, let's talk about some electric bikes. (Yes, I know, electric bikes aren't completely fossil free and are sometimes recharged by carbon-fueled sources, but an e-bike carrying an eight-tonner like me is massively more fossil-free than driving a two and a half-ton pickup across town, so there, smarty pants. How did you get to work today?)

By the way, I have been riding the newly functioning electric workhorse some this week. I am even planning some trailer work with it this weekend. Life is better on any bike!

Three bikes have popped up on my e-bike radar this week, an inexpensive crowd-funded roadster, the Porteur's lovely new crowd-funded female companion, and a cool and established workhorse I keep forgetting to include when I drool on about cargo bikes. So, let's start with the cargo bike.

I really hope to test ride a Juiced Rider ODK some day. From all reviews and such, it's an unsung hero in the cargobike world. It looks a little cutesy until you start reading stats. I'd write them all down, but that short attention span - so here goes:

 

For you e-bikers, I'll add that they all use 48 volt electric systems and have scads of name-brand, high quality components. The combo of front hubmotor and 3-speed rear hub should make for an ideal drivetrain. Also, 20" wheels offer easier loading, a lower center of gravity, and more structural strength. Lots of good stuff! (And some of you will be excited to know that it's not orange!)

 

(While you're on the website, check out their new offering - the CrossCurrent, but it's not one of today's three.)

 

Next up is the brand new offering from Faraday. Faraday made its name when the Porteur came out. It is a stylish e-bike that is gorgeous and does not look like an e-bike at all. The only visual indication that it is electric is a very discreet 250 watt front hubmotor.

 

 

 

It is apparently not good for a manly bike to live alone, so Faraday has created a companion for the Porteur, and her name is Cortland. And, if you jump on the Kickstarter bandwagon you can save yourself a cool $800! You will pay ($2000.) Be sure to check out the long list of feature and options - my favorite is the additional battery pack in a tiny saddlebag. They make a beautiful couple!

 

 

At the other end of the spectrum is the promised roadster the Propella. It's fun to say, isn't it? (Especially if you adopt a New Jersey accent!)

 

 

You could have gotten one for only $599 on Indiegogo if this blogger had been a little quicker (that short attention span again), but now you'll have to pony up $699 (+ shipping) or more if you wait longer. You get a pretty sparse bike for your money, but that's not always a bad thing. It's a bike you could fairly easily build yourself, but I don't know that you'd save much money. You can buy the same running gear from greenbikekit.com (+ bigger battery) and a few other places. Don't get too excited until you factor in shipping.

 

So, there it is. Fossil-almost-Free Friday with very few attention span breaks and a bevy of e-bikes to check out.

 

May your attention span be long enough to read an article like this, and may you find yourself fossil free on Fridays and other days that end in "y".

 

 



 

 

More dogs and cargo bikes!

This is a season where I stress my way through the days.

Kylie the Wundermutt and I were sitting on the couch yesterday afternoon. The TV was off. The house was quiet. She sighed with contentment. Yep, life is better with a good friend by your side. Stress, like butter left out, melted a bit.

This morning I rode the new electric Frankenbike to work. I crossed town on 38th. I did not head down Indiana Avenue. I did not get on the Loop. The bike kept me distant from the racing rats. Stress, like butter left out, melted a bit.

So, if bikes and dogs help melt stress, then...

Cargo bike here. Sharky the Shark Dog here, Eek!

 

As you can tell, I already have my dog and cargo bike inspiration, but I can tell that you are still on the fence about all of this. So, here is a video for you. This video is about Ollie, and it's about Howard's quest to help Ollie acclimate to riding on/in a cargo bike. Besides a dog and a cargo bike, you will get to take a short trip down the Santa Monica Pier. There's also a reference to Craigslist. This video has everything and bike lanes! Enjoy!

 

Ollie (Howard's dog) Riding a Cargo Cycle

 

Next up, let's head to a hotbed of bicycle culture - Copenhagen, Denmark to continue the inspiration. Copenhagen is the home of Nihola, a manufacturer of fine cargo bikes. These people get the whole dog/cargo bike connection. They even build a model especially adapted for dogs - the Nihola Dog. Check it out. While you are there, check out the intro video and the gallery of dog and bike shots. (One dog - the small, black shepherd - looks just like our Matilda.)

 

Nihola Dog!

 

Okay, I can see it in your eyes - you're starting to see how happy you and your Fido would be cruising about town. Yep, life is better with a good friend by your side.

 

May you and your four-legged furball find fun and butter in your quest for green transportation!

Lubbock on a Bike: Electric Bridget Lives!



Sometimes you have to tell yourself to put up or shut up. I keep yammering on lately about cargobikes and personal carbon reduction and hauling stuff greenly. Well, it was time to do something about it and to do that within the MH family budget. So here goes.

 

Meet the Bridgestone:

 

 

This $5 garage sale beauty has hung around the garage and or the back porch for a year and a half now. Honestly, I have not paid much attention to it. I have even tried to give it away a few times - but its virtues have not been apparent to anyone around me. It's old, it's faded, it's scratched up. And really good deals keep popping up on Craigslist used bikes, so it's been hard to get excited about a 25-year-old $5 bike.

 

But the budget and my desire to de-clutter a bit lead me to take a closer look. Suntour shifters, Araya rims, Ritchey and Shimano components - all quality stuff. This was a nice bike back in the day. Really, a set of tires, a seat, some brake shoes and a mild tune-up could yield a great (if not pretty) bike.

 

But I have been wanting a Radwagon, an Xtracycle, or a Yuba. Why have I wanted one of those? So that I could haul stuff - so that I could drive a car or truck a whole lot less. You know - that whole Personal Carbon Reduction thing. If I start setting money aside now, maybe I could afford one of those next year.

 

Or I could learn to weld and get to work on my own longtail bike. By the end of summer I could have one built.

 

Or, I could (and did) refurbish the Bridgestone (mostly with stuff I had lying around) and start hauling stuff on a bike now.

 

Guess what I did this weekend?

 

You've come a long way, Bridget!

 

Now, the Bridgestone has a new front basket, a used rear rack, new(ish) tires, seat, handlebars, pedals, and an axle hook-up for the Craigslist trailer. Oh yeah, I also pieced together a 36 volt, 1000 watt front hubmotor system to help me haul the heavy stuff from further away.

 

The trailer is a dustier version of this.

 

Needless to say, I am pretty jazzed about my spring commutes and the ability to haul stuff. I don't have to burn gasoline to buy groceries, to haul water, or to bring home pieces/parts/soil for Mesquite Hugger projects. I am ready to live the dreamier!

 

As always, I will keep you posted and invite you along for the ride.

 

Special thanks to Sun Adventure (my most-local bike shop) and their winter clearance sale for tubes and shoes and the front basket.

 

Are you green with envy?

For those of you who are jealous, solid used mountain bikes are pretty easy to find and the electrification portion is well documented in lots of places. My favorite place to learn more is Endless-Sphere - here is a thread that is a great place to get you started.

 

Now, it's time to make some panniers. Does anyone have a pair of pink messenger bags lying about?

 

 

May we all find healthier ways to travel and may we enjoy the ride.

 



Derelict Hat Day in the Trashy 'Hood

Yep, walked to the coffee house this morning. As is my habit, I stopped and picked up trash along the way. There are often trends in the trash - beer, cigarettes, Starbucks, Monster, etcetera - but this is the first day it's been hats.

Christmas in February? Santa has fallen on hard times in these parts.

May the trends in your trash

May your 'hood have no trash - trendy or otherwise. May you be blessed with wisdom, patience, and joy.

Protected Bike Lane Infographic - Ah, Lubbock Bike Geek Happiness

If you show up around here very often, you know there are three things that make me very happy - bicycles, infographics, and Vanguard Citicars. Lucky for me, people like to make infographics about bicycles. (I just did an image search for a Citicar infographic and found no such creature, but I did find a bunch of Mesquite Hugger images. The Mesquite Hugger staff is feeling somewhat internet famous.)

(Back to our story) Green Living Ideas inadvertantly sent me a little love today when they posted an infographic about protected bike lanes. I get pretty excited about those too.

See the whole thing here

Protected bike lanes are a dream for me. Generally speaking, "protected" and "bicycle" are two words that don't fit together in Lubbock, but we do have a protected bike lane in Lubbock on Flint Avenue near Texas Tech. (There may be others somewhere, but this bike commuter has not encountered them.)

Here is half of it. (Thank you, Google Maps!)

Here is the other half of it.

Here is an aerial view of the entire "protected" portion of the Flint bike lane.

(BTW, I am so snagging excited to see those solar panels on that roof! You have to jump through some serious City of Lubbock zoning hoops and spend some serious money to have a solar system inside the Lubbock city limits. Bravo, you eco-rebel!)

 

[Sidebar note to Lubbock mayoral candidates - more protected bike lanes and allowing grid-tied solar in town would have this blogger voting and spreading the word for your campaign. Dan, Victor, Todd, how about it?]

 

I shared the Radwagon $500 drawing with a co-worker this week. He got quite excited about the Radwagon (cargo bike) and went home to share the good news with his wife and to start the campaign to invest that amount of money on a bike. Her response was quick, loud, and emotional. "Are you crazy? You can't ride a bike in Lubbock! You would die!" It's a prevalent attitude here. We have car-centric road system. Our population is terrified to ride. It's so strange to live in fear in middle-class suburbia, but we do and should.

 

Yep, that infographic makes me happy!

 

Want to learn more about protected bike lanes?

 

Check out the  Bike5 blog or check out People for Bikes' Green Lane Project.

 

Want to learn more about Lubbock bike lanes - check out this Mesquite Hugger post: Lubbock on a Bike No Love from the Mayor

 

May we find ways to make the world safer and healthier for all (and may we not be impacted by the price of oil).

Gratuitous Citicar pic!

Lubbock - Here's your chance to help save humanity! (CCL)

Are you that other Lubbockite like me? The one that sees a need to do something about our changing world but you're not sure where to start? Are you tired of everyone pointing fingers but accomplishing nothing?

Me, I don't want to fight with anybody. I want to work with others - with all others - to fix the problems. Let's talk about and work towards limiting and reversing climate change. Who cares if it's man-made, god(s)-made, Mother-Nature-made, Barney-the-Dinosaur-made, or just way too many cow farts? If there's a hole in your boat, it doesn't matter how it got there (or who put it there), it matters that you stop the flow of water into the boat.

A little perspective:

The two slides that follow are from A Climate for Change - a presentation by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. (Thanks, Dr. H!!!)

This is the stat that we keep seeing lately - each new year becomes the hottest year on record.

This graph hits me the hardest. We were actually in a cooling trend until the Industrial Revolution. Look at that spike at the end! And this is concrete, measurable data - not someone's far-fetched theory or agenda.

 

I don't know about you, but that last graph is what terrifies me for our future and makes me want to do something about it.

 

A group that is working to do something:

 

So here's my pitch. This Thursday evening, the local chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby will be meeting at Mahon Library in downtown Lubbock from 5pm-6pm.

 

What's this CCL thing all about? It's pretty simple actually. The CCL is a group that is working to limit carbon production and carbon release and to do so in a way that creates economic growth. In the US, the CCL's approach is bipartisan and strives to encourage all political parties and social/spiritual groups to work together to acknowledge and tackle a common problem - climate change. And they seek to do it on a large and impactful scale.

 

Does this approach appeal to you? If so, please join us on Thursday evening, or go to the Citizens Climate Lobby website to learn more. Here is your chance to get involved with a group that seeks positive change for a healthier future.

 

May we all work together to make this world a healthy place, and may our efforts be enough to make it happen.

 

Citizens Climate Lobby Meeting - Lubbock

Mahon Library 1306 9th Street

Thursday, February 4, 5-6pm

Point of contact: matt.kovalski@ttu.edu

CCL Website: Citizens Climate Lobby