Lubbock on a Bike June Update and an Idea for the Baddest of Cyclists

In the National Bike Challenge, Spencer kicked my butt all over the place in June. I started strong and then started working out of town and... Let's just say it wasn't pretty. Man, I want a folding bike to take with me on trips. (Stupid snagging consumerism that rises in me like a kraken or a phoenix or a helium balloon!) The red circles are the days I rode in June:

I will try for better in July!

 

So there I was pedaling my way to work this morning while my two cycling mantras kept cycling through my head: Don't push harder, but definitely keep pushing! and Just keep swimming swimming swimming. (I channel my inner Ellen/Dori for help on that one.) I was my riding my 25-year-old mountain bike that switches gears like a cranky old man. I was thinking of how much easier it is to ride a modern bike with modern drivetrain components. Then I started thinking about the exercise I get from riding. Unlike most workout programs, it does not get progressively harder. With small adjustments for wind and temperature, it's pretty much the same workout each day.

 

So I thought of what I could do when I want to take my workout up a notch. Two possibilities came to mind: pick a different route or pick a less efficient bike to ride. Then I thought of serious road bikers who often spend massive amounts of money to get lighter and easier-to-pedal bikes. I think they are doing it all wrong! If you want a better workout or to prove that you are one seriously bad mamma jamma, you need to go road riding on this:

 

A $79 dollar cruiser

 

Maybe it's time to start a new racing series. Require everyone to ride the same crappy bike with a single speed, coaster brakes, and balloon tires. We can be sympathetic to a few ergonomic changes - the seat and handlebars could be changed. We can also allow upgraded tubes for the sake of reliability. Otherwise, let's level the playing field and make it about just the rider and not about the rider's budget. We could call it Tour de Work-Your-Butt-Off and market it to those who have something to prove.

 

Maybe then the serious cyclists will put their high-dollar road bikes up for sale (cheap!!!) so that those of us who can barely manage a five-mile commute to work can buy used bikes that are lighter and easier to pedal.

 

May you definitely keep pushing and leave your car at home!

PCR Olla Update: Tomatoes and Pollinators equal success!

For those of you following the olla progress, here are a few photos and notes from the weekend.

Getting close!

 

These are the free tomato plants from the "Preparedness Fair" that have been present in almost every olla post. I have been excited for a week now watching this tomato start to blush.

 

A welcome sight!

 

We are seeing lots of pollinators passing through - this one showed up yesterday.

Success!

 

Yesterday I reached in to check the olla for water and found this hidden and fully ripe tomato. This is our first produce from the olla planters. It was rich and wonderful. My lovely bride and I enjoyed the first fruit of the garden.

 

In the immortal words of some singer from Indiana, may "we cannot forget from where it is that [our food] comes from..." or something like that. May you find a little joy today!

EV Vespa, Farmers Market, glad to be alive

I love Saturday mornings. Saturday is the one morning each week where I do not have a prescribed place to be, and there is a tremendous value in that.

This Saturday was a good one. I met some (many) of the Too Flatters downtown for breakfast and a stroll around the Lubbock Downtown Farmers Market.

I bought coffee, dog biscuits, carrots, peaches, and a truly magnificent brownie from my favorite vendor - Chocolate and Beyond. (Condo's favorite is still the KDJ Barkery.)

Lucy the truck, the (silver) Gas-Powered Vespa, and the (black & dusty) electric Vespa

 

The electric Vespa has gathered entirely too much dust lately, so I dragged it out of the back of the overly junky garage. And the same thing happened that always happens. I re-fell in love with it and electric vehicles in general. I have been toying with the idea of selling it to raise funds for paying bills and funneling a little to the electric pigeon fund. The Vespa is quick (but not fast). It has a low center of gravity and great brakes. And it is silent. It handles better and stops better than any vintage Vespa I have ridden. And I have ridden many. It doesn't leak any fluids. It emits no carbon monoxide and doesn't require any increasingly expensive 2-stroke oil or gasoline. Riding it makes me smile a lot! (And without the guilt I feel when riding a gas-powered scooter.)

 

Where am I going with this? Nowhere. When our country is running around angrily pointing fingers and judging each other, sometimes it's refreshing to spend time with friends, feel the wind in your hair, share a little chocolate, and take some time to enjoy life.

 

May you have a Saturday morning soon.

Electric Bike Choices: Genze, Faraday, and now Vela

A little while back, I wrote a post comparing two very appealing e-bikes, the Faraday Porteur and the Genze e-bike. The general gist was that they are both very cool but the Faraday was cooler; however, the Genze cost less than half as much and (arguably) had more features. So the Genze would be my choice if it weren't for the fact that they both are underpowered for an 1/8 tonner like me.

If you read that article, you have now probably re-watched Some Kind of Wonderful and have thought to yourself, If the Faraday were just cheaper and more powerful...

[Let me be careful here. The Faraday is as much a work of art as it is an e-bike, and as such it has nice components and nicer fit and finish than a lot of bikes out there. At least I would think so - I have never seen one in person.]

The Vela Site

 Out in the ether yesterday (treehugger.com), a competitor for the Faraday popped up, and it's very intriguing, and it's less expensive than a Genze, and it has a more powerful motor than the other two. And it has a touch of Brazilian sexiness to it. And it comes in three sizes, men's and women's models, and four colors. I still think the Faraday is a better looking bike, but this one is no slouch in the looks department. It's called the Vela.

The Kickstarter page

A few stats for you:
350 watt motor
20 mile range
20 miles per hour
42 pounds
removable battery
pedal assist (no throttle)
remote control alarm
GPS tracking
You can buy one for somewhere between $800 and $1400

Is it the bike for you? I'd sure ride it, but yesterday I admitted to the world that I'd happily be seen in a Citicar. So you might take my aesthetic opinion with a grain of salt.

Yesterday's post

May form and function come together in your green choices.

Vintage Electric Car Profile: the almighty Sebring-Vanguard Citicar!

Buy the shirt here

It's a gross oversight, the ever-present thing you never notice. A few years back, five of us found our way to the Pate Swap Meet. Swap meets are areas of great temptation for my crowd. And there is always a story of the one that got away. This one is a whopper for me.

Click here for Wikipedia's extensive Citicar/Commuta-Car entry

You see, the ever-present symbol for the vintage electric car around this blog is the Sebring-Vanguard Citicar. When I hear the term "electric car," my brain goes straight to the little Floridian wedge and then adjusts itself back out to things like Leafs, MiEVs, and Teslas. And there was a not-so-lovely pink Citicar for sale at that swap meet. (There was also a non-running Allstate Jetsweep like Bo Diddley's that got away too, but that's another post.)

 EVAlbum.com has several entries for Citicars/Commutacars/Commutavans

Grizz and I went by a few times to check the Citicar out, but we never caught the owner present. The last time we went by, it had "sold" written on the windshield. And we were a little bummed. As time passed, the little bit bummed became the very bummed. "Hey Grizz, do you remember that time we had a chance to buy that Citicar?" Grizz sighs and shakes his head. It's not often that you have a chance to bring the archetype home. Through a lack of persistence (and a fear of the look on our wives' faces), we let the little electric doorstop get away.

 Photo from Isaac Hale

On rare occasions, I post a Vintage Electric Car Profile, and they are pretty popular. The little Zagato gets a fair amount of traffic, so does the Kewet. I usually feel a little fraudulent when I post things like those. I have never actually seen a Kewet or a Zagato. I've never seen a Kurbwatt (but I really want one!) And I realized today that I have never profiled THE vintage electric car - the Citicar, the highest produced American electric car until the Tesla Model S came along. And I have seen one in person. I lay on the ground and checked out the motor mounted to the differential. My hands ran across the not-so-smooth pink paint. I stuck my head inside and checked out the rough and spartan interior.

Buy the ad here

Keith did not make it to coffee this morning. He told me that he woke up in the middle of the night and his mind swam with all the possibilities in building the motor for his next project - an old Vespa Rally. And I knew the feeling. I remembered a night where my brain swam with upgrades for the little, pink slice of American cheese: an upgrade to 72 volts, or maybe even 96 volts of lithium batteries, an Alltrax contoller, and what motor? How scary would the little beast be at 96 volts? Would it be fun to park near a gas pump and point and laugh at people? Would it do wheelies? Could it sneak up on cats and squirrels like the electric Vespa does? Would my poor wife dis-own me?

It's probably a good thing it got away. Like several other projects, it would gather dust in a corner. But I was that close! That close I tell you! Snagit, here comes another sleepless night.

May you find your green chariot of choice and give Mother Nature a break!

Mesquite Hugger Declaration: It's Tiny Trailer Day!

All the world's a trailer, and we are merely trailer hitches, bi!@#es!

It was the best of trailers. It was the worst of trailers.

Ask not what your trailer can do for you...

Green/greenish news seems to travel in waves. And the wave this week appears to be little trailers.

Okay, I will be honest - I do not want one of these in reality, but they fascinate me in theory, and they seem to fascinate many others as well. Enjoy this random assortment.

As always, let's start with Instructables. There are several teardrop trailers on Instructables, but this is my fave (and it has Elvis!)

Instructables: Mini Teardrop Trailer

 

Treehugger featured this svelte trailer today for the ambitious bicyclist on your gift list: [If Grizz recorded music, it would sound like this video's soundtrack.]

Bike towable micro camper that sleeps two now on sale.

 

If those others are just not retro enough for you, how about this Scooter Caravan video that seems to make the rounds every few years? I have to give props to this Lambretta for hauling a family of three, a sidecar, a trailer, and a boat! That thing is a beast! (Thanks, Knippa!)

Scooter caravan, Lambretta

Have you ever wanted a teardrop to haul behind your rig but you feared the claustrophobia of actually getting in the thing? Maybe you need the expandable model that popped out :-) on the Just a Car Guy blog yesterday.

best designed Teardrop I've seen in a long time! 

 

Whatever and however you haul, may you have a great night's sleep!

PCR Updates: Ollas. Raised Bed, No Worms (Snagit!)

The runaway success (with minimal investment) is the ollas on the porch approach. The plants have thrived, flowered, and are now putting on fruit - at least the free tomato plants are. Now, if I just had a bigger porch...

Ollas on the porch are rocking!

 

Want to make your own ollas? Here is an instructable for you.

Yea!!!

The Food Is Free Project raised-bed, self-wicking planter is less of a success, but I think it's a victim of my own cheapness. I think I messed up with poor quality soil. As I add more compost and a little fertilizer, things are looking sad but better. We do have two celebrity tomatoes out there!

If you look closely, there are two tiny tomatoes in the photo.

 

My attempts at catching local worms have been less than impressive. I did come up with one very small red wiggler. I am travelling for work quite a bit, but that should slow in July, so I am going to order a bunch of worms when there is time to get them started. I am hoping to avoid last year's worm carnage. My wife has started juicing, so the Mesquite Hugger demand for composting has definitely increased. I will keep you (com)posted.

Zucchini flowers!

May your adventures in personal carbon reduction be fruitful!