Climate Change Denial

I keep thinking about it. When the facts are there, the science is there, the logic is there, and the crazy weather reinforces the truth every day, why would people continue to deny that it is real, that we are causing it, and that we need to do something about it?

I am not the brightest guy around (I am not a scientist, but...), but I think it's a guilt thing.

If you admit that climate change is real and is man made, then you have to admit that you are consciously and willingly harming others for your own convenience. Then you have your conscience and your public image to deal with. And heaven knows we don't want that.

Bill Moyers interviews Texas Tech's Dr. Katharine Hayhoe

Nothing to see here.

My heart and my prayers go out to the people of Louisiana, the people of the Philippines, and all of the others who are suffering the results of our ongoing denial.

May we get past guilt or blame or whatever it is and get to work fixing this overwhelming problem.

Why I write so little about Electric Motorcycles

I was updating the Electric Motorcycles link page and noticed (once again) that I seldom write about electric motorcycles. It always surprises me. I write about bicycles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, electric mopeds, and electric cars fairly often, but I rarely find myself inspired to write about electric motorcycles. I guess I got it out of my system before I started blogging. And for me, they don't make that much sense. It may also be that I live in a flat, boring place that does not inspire one to ride that much.

Getting it out of my system:

This one did it.

I once bought a brand-new electric motorcycle. I bought it discounted because it was an unsold earlier year model. It was a 2011 Zero XU. And it was a brilliant motorcycle - when it was working right. Which was rare. It literally traveled twice as many miles in the back of a pickup to be repaired by one of the nearest authorized repair facilities than it did under its own power. It had an advertised range of 25 miles. It had an 11 mile range on a warm day and an 8 mile range on cooler days. It would occasionally just shut off while I was riding it. And Zero was really terrible to work with for both me and for their authorized dealer/repair facility. I had dreamed of owning a Zero, and it turned out to be the single-most miserable ownership experience I have had in my life. So every time Zero announces a new model or extended range or a good discount...I don't bother to post about it. And Zero is truly the only significant electric motorcycle provider in the United States, snagit!

Money:

When you look at the cost of an electric motorcycle (or the cost of converting your own -  especially the batteries), it's hard to swallow spending that much money on a toy that will haul only one person and very little stuff. They are cool. They are sexy. They are fun. But they are not practical, and you have to pay for insurance and registration. When I had mine, I found myself constantly running home to get the car so that I could buy groceries or take someone with me. It made very little sense as transportation and I was not wealthy enough for it just to be a toy. So I don't write about them very often.

Value:

When I compare the virtues of an electric motorcycle to those of a Nissan Leaf or a Genze 2.0 Scooter or an Electric Yuba/Juiced Rider/Vanmoof/Radmini/etc., I start having a hard time being excited about another electric motorcycle. And until we see more electric motorcycles with attainable prices, I just don't see that changing - especially not when I can pick up a gently used Leaf plus a home charger plus a pair of Radwagon Cargo Bikes plus a plus a pair of Detroit Bikes plus a weekend getaway to the mountains with my wife for less money than one Empulse.

May we reach a point where we are overwhelmed with great electric offerings, but we are not there yet.
.

Fossil Free Friday: Swapping Your Car for a Bike

That's an honest to goodness bike trail I am parked on - really!

Nope, I haven't done it yet. But I keep getting closer. I am about 50/50 on car trips vs. bike trips now. The ratio changes a great deal if we're looking at miles traveled, but it's still progress.

A Bike Is Your New Car

[Self-congratulatory sidebar (Feel free to skip this part.) I recently spent time in Alamogordo, New Mexico; but I did something a little different on this trip - I took my bicycle. I ran errands and explored the town. And I came to an amazing realization - I could do it! I climbed hills. I was able to haul (small) stuff. I haven't known if I was physically up to it. I figured out that I am. And I was doing this on a non-electric, non-cargo bike. Imagine what I could accomplish on an electric cargo bike!]

The idea intrigues me. For me, it's the most financially realistic path to giving up the gas. (Although a used Leaf is sure tempting too.) Giving up the gas is one way I work at being the MIWB and pursuing personal carbon reduction. As I watch climate change quickly become the new norm, I pray that countless others will take on similar quests. So, how about you? Does the bike in your garage ever call your name and say, "[Insert your inner super-hero name here], pick me! Together we can save the world!"?

A Bike That Will Replace Your Family Car

I was in a meeting this week with a guy I had not seen in  a few years. We were discussing how long it had been. He said, "But I see you all the time riding your bike to work." It's was strange to realize that I have become that guy. I think I like it!

My Family Gave Up Driving for 30 Days to Stick it to the Man (This is a long article but very worth the read. I love the section about the Xtracycle. "The Xtracycle cargo bike is popular in bikes-will-save-the-world places like Portland, Oregon, and Berkeley, California, but in our own it was the oddball equivalent of a blue-footed booby showing up on the seawall." Where else can I get that many hyphens, a cargo bike, and a booby all in the same sentence? I could hang out with this Todd Balf guy.)

So there you go, a few articles to read, a few personal anecdotes, and pictures from a faraway and exotic land of enchantment. How about you? Do you ever ride? Do you ever take a bike trip in place of a car trip? Are you looking for ways to do less damage in your everyday running about?

May you bless and be blessed.

Xtra Xtra: Cargo Bikes on Texas Craigslist (Bike Dorks Only!)

You know me and the quest for a cargo bike. An early-on front-runner for an accessible cargo bike for me was the Xtracycle FreeRadical. About the time I decided to buy one, they stopped making them (in order to develop and sell a newer improved version called the Xtracycle Leap. The FreeRadical is the revolutionary kit to turn almost any bicycle into a cargo bike. Very cool stuff.

 

Xtracycle Lifestyle Video

 

So, I keep up the Craigslist cargo bike search, and recently I've run across two used FreeRadicals somewhat nearby, and both are reasonably priced:

 

 

This first one is in Austin AND it comes attached to a rather sweet Specialized bike. At $350, it's one of the best deals I've seen on a complete longtail cargo bike. It's at the North Austin Bike Farm. Be sure to check out their website - they have a pair of really sweet Cetma cargo bikes for sale too - but they definitely fall out of the MH budgetary realm.

 

This one hails from the Dallas area. You may notice that it has no wheels - this is the DIY kit to put on your own bike. At $250 (with all the accessories!) it's a sweet deal for those of you who already have a bike you love but want to be able to haul lots more stuff. Hmm...

 

Birth of An American Cargo Bike (Video)

 

If you pick one up, be sure to let us know what you think!

 

May you find better than you're looking for! (and save the world in the process)

Lubbock Local Wildlife: Leaping Lizard!

It's been a good year for mailbox wildlife. Every time I come home I scan the area to see who's hanging out.

 

Ladybug

Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Required some hardcore googling!)

Former guest star on MH

 

It's been a really good year for Mediterranean geckos around the house. Really, they are the only reptiles I see regularly. (Sure, I have seen a lot of red-eared sliders and soft-shelled turtles, but not anywhere near the house.)

 

I keep seeing one large-ish gecko near the mailbox after dark - she apparently likes LED lights too. I kept trying to get a picture of her, but geckos have little patience for blogger paparazzi. A few nights ago I stood on my tiptoes and peered over the mailbox lid to see if she was hiding back there. Sure enough -  there she was. I knew that she'd run away if I lowered the lid to take a picture, so I slipped the camera lens over the lid and snapped the pic.

photo taken just seconds before the incident

 

My loving and patient wife was standing behind me all the while. She's come to understand that she's married to a dork who seeks nature in strange places. I showed her the pic and then went inside. She stayed behind. Very quickly thereafter, I heard a pair of screams from the front porch. The dogs and I rushed to the door to find a wide-eyed woman on the porch and a wide-eyed gecko scurrying toward the shrubbery.

 

My wife had wanted a better glimpse of the gecko and pulled the mailbox lid down. The gecko apparently watches too many of my Danny MacAskill videos through the front window and wanted to see if she could safely land on my wife's neck/shoulder region. She did. My wife brushed her away and the brave lizard leapt down onto the blouse. The second brush-away had the lizard leaping back to the wall and off into the night. I never did figure out where the screaming came from.

 

Never a dull moment around our house.

 

May you be surrounded by great nature - and may it not land you!

Lubbock Local Wildlife: A rare sighting

I know it'll shock you, but I was a bit of a nature nerd as a kid. [Aren't you impressed with how well I've outgrown that?] I did a lot of reading. I had a subscription to Ranger Rick magazine. I watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I dragged a lot of poor creatures home. And I read a lot of books. I really liked field guides to help me identify what I ran across. (This was the PG era - pre-Google.) I had a well-worn copy of Birds of North America (which told me over and over again that we had English sparrows in our yard).

 

Find it here

 

Yesterday, JG and I went for a walk during our morning break. we walked around admiring the post-thunderstorm morning and appreciating what rain can do for a dry, dry place. Just as we reached our four-story office building JG gasped. She had looked down and noticed a small, colorful, dead bird on the ground. It was a bird I had never seen in person, but I remembered it from the cover of my old Birds of North America book: a male painted bunting. (I did have to look up the name.) Even in death, the poor little guy was stunning.

 

 

I don't know if he was taken out by the thunderstorm, by the windows in the office building, or a combination of both, but it was a bittersweet thing to finally see one in person. Jennifer commented that he looked like he had been spray painted, and it was true.

 

May nature offer you some beauty today - and may it be a little more lively!

 

Two American Success Stories and a Grocery Store Bike

So, there I was buying a few groceries in Alamogordo earlier this week when I saw a bike, and it was not just any bike - it was the 2016 New Belgium Cruiser. And it was extremely cool- definitely a departure from the earlier models - less of a cruiser and more of a stylish commuter.

Now that is my kind of groceries!

 

Yes, I know, it's just a bike, it's just more stuff to want and to gather dust and to put me in debt (if it were for sale.) But this thing reverberates with something much more.

 

Let's check out its origins.

 

New Belgium...

 

...is a Colorado brewery that embraces bikes in a big way. (Fat Tire Ale!) Since 1999, they have been working with high-quality bike manufacturers (Electra, Felt, Spot, Schwinn) to produce limited edition Fat Tire cruisers for their employees and for promotions and giveaways and such. There have been some beautiful bikes. (I am a big fan of the 2006 and 2011 Felt models.) New Belgium is a company that pursues very green practices for business and for life. Part of that pursuit is the celebration of the bike as enjoyable and healthy transport. Yes, I like New Belgium a whole lot and I want them to live long and prosper!

Detroit Bikes (Number 565 of 2500)

 

Detroit Bikes

 

Let's start with their mission statement: To encourage cycling by making an accessible, enjoyable bicycle while continuing Detroit's legacy of quality manufacturing and design. Detroit is a place that has had and continues to have real economic and social problems.  But Detroit is also showing some real improvement and companies like Detroit Bikes are helping to make that possible. (Detroit is also quickly becoming one of America's best cities for cycling!)

 

Detroit Bikes New Belgium Fat-Tire Bike

The business model is very solid - set up shop in an old warehouse, buy high-quality, second-hand manufacturing equipment, employ local talent, and produce a high-quality product to sell at competitive prices. And they have done a great job of that.

 

I'd love to commute on an A-Type - $699

 

I have been following their story for a few years, so it was very exciting for me to get to see one of their bikes in person. And they are simple, clean, and gorgeous!

 

So, let's sum up:

 

Eco-Friendly Beer Brewer (They have really good beer too!)

Made-in-America high-quality entrepreneurealshippishness bicycle maker

Trip to the grocery store

A couple of videos

The guy who strives for minimalism finds something else he wants

 

That pretty well sums it up!

 

May we see and support more companies like these, and may you be inspired in the grocery store!