We went on vacation last week and had to take one of the dogs to a kennel. We got home on Sunday, too late to pick him up that day, so I picked him up Monday. The kennel was in the suburbs, so picking him up before or after work could have involved getting stuck in rush-hour traffic. The best option I could think of was to drive to work so I could get there early, then leave early, and pick him up on the way home. I did that, and it worked well, but I broke my biking-to-work streak and I now have driven to work once in the first six months of 2008.
This little example shows how we have set ourselves up for dependence on personal motorized transportation. Even if I had been able to find a kennel in the city, it's unlikely it would have been in walking distance of our house, and I don't think dogs are allowed on the buses. The location of the kennel we did use was not reasonably accessible by any means other than a car. Our "lifestyle" of people leaving home, living in nuclear family units, not knowing the neighbors well, meant that there was not anyone I could have recruited to pick him up.
Of course we got it to work, and I could have come up with other options, but the point is that the convenience is tilted toward automobiles. Other ways of structuring things, like denser multi-use neighborhoods, might make owning and using a car more of a nuisance, and finding a dog kennel within walking distance of home easier. We have make a choice (somewhat unconsciously) that might not have been the best.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Do cars steal your time?
As I have been trying to drive less, I feel undefined restlessness on weekends, like I should be going somewhere. I think that cars can steal time from us in a subtle way.
It has to do with what we do because we can. We have a grocery store a mile away, and once last summer I needed some little thing, so I rode my bike there to get it. I could have driven, and it would have been faster, but not terribly. I timed the bike trip, and it took something like ten minutes or less to get there, then the same amount of time back, with the time on site being the same regardless of the means of transport. So the extra time to go by bike is not the total time to go by bike, but the time to go by bike minus the time to go by car.
But, going by bike felt like a bit more effort, and going by car would have felt much easier. Because going by car feels faster and easier, we know that we always have that capability to run to the store for something or other, and I think that the knowledge in the backs of our minds that we can just pop over to the store for something or other makes us tolerant of it, more willing to do it, and after some years of that we start to feel funny if we aren't doing it.
I wonder if a bit more difficulty in getting things on short notice would gradually make us plan better so we would not run out of critical things at critical times (the bottle of aspirin, the bag of chocolate chips). If we planned better in supplying our various needs, maybe we wouldn't have to run to the store AT ALL. A "quick" trip still takes time. If we didn't have to make the trip at all, however quick, we would save the time. Cars allow us to spend those little bits of time in a way that seems painless, but it still is time spent.
It has to do with what we do because we can. We have a grocery store a mile away, and once last summer I needed some little thing, so I rode my bike there to get it. I could have driven, and it would have been faster, but not terribly. I timed the bike trip, and it took something like ten minutes or less to get there, then the same amount of time back, with the time on site being the same regardless of the means of transport. So the extra time to go by bike is not the total time to go by bike, but the time to go by bike minus the time to go by car.
But, going by bike felt like a bit more effort, and going by car would have felt much easier. Because going by car feels faster and easier, we know that we always have that capability to run to the store for something or other, and I think that the knowledge in the backs of our minds that we can just pop over to the store for something or other makes us tolerant of it, more willing to do it, and after some years of that we start to feel funny if we aren't doing it.
I wonder if a bit more difficulty in getting things on short notice would gradually make us plan better so we would not run out of critical things at critical times (the bottle of aspirin, the bag of chocolate chips). If we planned better in supplying our various needs, maybe we wouldn't have to run to the store AT ALL. A "quick" trip still takes time. If we didn't have to make the trip at all, however quick, we would save the time. Cars allow us to spend those little bits of time in a way that seems painless, but it still is time spent.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Driving and stress
If you search the internet for words like stress plus traffic, you see that lots of people think that driving is stressful. Probably no surprise to anyone. I had heard it myself, but one time recently I actually got to feel it in a way I had not before.
I was out of town for the weekend and came home to my adopted major metropolitan area early in the morning to avoid rush hour. I still got caught in the beginning of it, and since I don't regularly drive in rush hour I could actually feel the stress of being in it.
Then I got home, got some things unpacked and otherwise settled, and got on my bike and rode to work. Having those two experiences so close together, driving in semi-rush hour and riding a bike in traffic, showed me more clearly than just reading about it could, that driving a car is stressful. I could feel the stress in one activity and noticed the lack of it in the other.
I think that the stress is hidden from us because we are used to it. Now I wonder what toll it might take over decades. I also think that if I were going to try to explain why one should ride a bike to work if possible, it would be hopeless to suggest that is is less stressful. I myself would not have really understood it when I started. It is only after some years that I can really feel the difference and understand.
I was out of town for the weekend and came home to my adopted major metropolitan area early in the morning to avoid rush hour. I still got caught in the beginning of it, and since I don't regularly drive in rush hour I could actually feel the stress of being in it.
Then I got home, got some things unpacked and otherwise settled, and got on my bike and rode to work. Having those two experiences so close together, driving in semi-rush hour and riding a bike in traffic, showed me more clearly than just reading about it could, that driving a car is stressful. I could feel the stress in one activity and noticed the lack of it in the other.
I think that the stress is hidden from us because we are used to it. Now I wonder what toll it might take over decades. I also think that if I were going to try to explain why one should ride a bike to work if possible, it would be hopeless to suggest that is is less stressful. I myself would not have really understood it when I started. It is only after some years that I can really feel the difference and understand.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Product review: Sunglasses
I'm not in the business of reviewing products, but I would like to offer an unsolicited review of my biking sunglasses. I do this because I don't like spending huge amounts of money for trendy things (with some exceptions) and I do like finding cheap solutions from unexpected sources.
For summer daytime riding, I have had great success wearing AO Safety Landscaper Safety Glasses, ten dollars at Home Depot. Before I got these it was not clear to me what made suitable sunglasses for biking, but after some false starts, and finally settling on these, I now know.
These glasses have two features that me them good for biking.
The first feature is the fact that the lens is one piece, as opposed to a frame with two lenses. This is significant because the two halves of the glasses are connected by the piece of the lens that passes over the nose. Since this lens is one piece, the part that passes over the nose is about an inch wide. That means that the distance from the spot on the glasses that rests on the nose, to the top of the center of the glasses, is about an inch. That means that when one is in a bent-over riding position, there is enough of the glasses above eye level that you don't see light coming in over the top. This is not the case with regular glasses, where you can see light over the tops of the lenses if you are bent over and sweating, and the glasses start to slip down the nose.
The second feature is that the lenses are the wrap-around style and that the frame is attached to the top of the lens but does not wrap around the outside edges of the lens. That means that if you turn your head and eyes to the left to look behind at traffic, your eyes are not caught by frame material at the edge of the lens; nothing blocks the view to the rear.
These two features add up to good visibility and the feeling that you are behind a nice tinted shield. It's a pleasant experience. They also look good, in my opinion. Style and safety on a budget.
For summer daytime riding, I have had great success wearing AO Safety Landscaper Safety Glasses, ten dollars at Home Depot. Before I got these it was not clear to me what made suitable sunglasses for biking, but after some false starts, and finally settling on these, I now know.
These glasses have two features that me them good for biking.
The first feature is the fact that the lens is one piece, as opposed to a frame with two lenses. This is significant because the two halves of the glasses are connected by the piece of the lens that passes over the nose. Since this lens is one piece, the part that passes over the nose is about an inch wide. That means that the distance from the spot on the glasses that rests on the nose, to the top of the center of the glasses, is about an inch. That means that when one is in a bent-over riding position, there is enough of the glasses above eye level that you don't see light coming in over the top. This is not the case with regular glasses, where you can see light over the tops of the lenses if you are bent over and sweating, and the glasses start to slip down the nose.
The second feature is that the lenses are the wrap-around style and that the frame is attached to the top of the lens but does not wrap around the outside edges of the lens. That means that if you turn your head and eyes to the left to look behind at traffic, your eyes are not caught by frame material at the edge of the lens; nothing blocks the view to the rear.
These two features add up to good visibility and the feeling that you are behind a nice tinted shield. It's a pleasant experience. They also look good, in my opinion. Style and safety on a budget.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
What are we trying to accomplish
It seems there is a great fear of doing things in some way that is different than the way we always have done them, even if the way we have done them is not the best. This can include killing those who suggest other ways. Maybe that's why you can find people who throw things at bikers. For those too young to remember, Robert Kennedy ran for President in the 1960's and was assassinated.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
"Make like picture"
In one of the Karate Kid movies, the old karate master is teaching the young kid how to make a bonsai tree. He tells the kid to get a picture in his mind of what the tree should look like, and then "Make [the tree] like picture."
I made a breakthrough recently in lightening our load of stuff by giving away (to a good home and not a landfill) two of my computers, the [Commodore] Amigas. That brings to mind the questions, why did I get them in the first place, why did I keep them so long, and why did I finally get rid of them.
I got them because I needed or wanted them at the time. They were less expensive than the "standard" IBM-compatible, and much more technologically advanced. I kept them, after I got other newer computers, because I had this picture in my head of me having a little computer lab at home and being some sort of computer expert. I got rid of them because the picture has changed. I now picture myself living in a sparsely-furnished house owning very little stuff, little enough so that when I am gone my kids won't be faced with the job of getting rid of all of it. Now that I have that new picture, getting rid of the impediments to reaching that picture becomes easier.
Our dependence on automobiles, practiced over so many years, has (in my opinion) created in our collective head a picture of ourselves constantly in motion, going any place we want to go, whenever we want to, without any negative consequences to the environment or our bank accounts. I have found that riding my bike to work has started to alter that picture in my head. I am developing a picture of myself not running here and there, using the car infrequently, transporting myself by bicycle when possible but not transporting myself anwhere at all unless I have to.
When that picture changes, I start to wonder what other pictures I have of myself, and if they should be examined and changed also. One physical act, commuting by bike, changed a mental picture, and now the changed mental picture is causing questioning of other mental pictures, and changes to other mental pictures are driving other physical acts, like getting rid of stuff I don't need because it doesn't fit in the picture.
I made a breakthrough recently in lightening our load of stuff by giving away (to a good home and not a landfill) two of my computers, the [Commodore] Amigas. That brings to mind the questions, why did I get them in the first place, why did I keep them so long, and why did I finally get rid of them.
I got them because I needed or wanted them at the time. They were less expensive than the "standard" IBM-compatible, and much more technologically advanced. I kept them, after I got other newer computers, because I had this picture in my head of me having a little computer lab at home and being some sort of computer expert. I got rid of them because the picture has changed. I now picture myself living in a sparsely-furnished house owning very little stuff, little enough so that when I am gone my kids won't be faced with the job of getting rid of all of it. Now that I have that new picture, getting rid of the impediments to reaching that picture becomes easier.
Our dependence on automobiles, practiced over so many years, has (in my opinion) created in our collective head a picture of ourselves constantly in motion, going any place we want to go, whenever we want to, without any negative consequences to the environment or our bank accounts. I have found that riding my bike to work has started to alter that picture in my head. I am developing a picture of myself not running here and there, using the car infrequently, transporting myself by bicycle when possible but not transporting myself anwhere at all unless I have to.
When that picture changes, I start to wonder what other pictures I have of myself, and if they should be examined and changed also. One physical act, commuting by bike, changed a mental picture, and now the changed mental picture is causing questioning of other mental pictures, and changes to other mental pictures are driving other physical acts, like getting rid of stuff I don't need because it doesn't fit in the picture.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
"For God's sake get yourself a car"
Many decades ago, when I was much younger and dumber, some woman brushed me off with the memorable line, "For God's sake get yourself a car." At the time, I had recently moved to a large city, had just gotten a real job, and moved in a small area well served by public transportation, so while I didn't really like our car dependence even then, I basically had just not gotten around to the job of becoming motorized.
The memory of that has made me think now and then of the problems a young man would face if he were dedicated to being car-free. The state of carlessness would be a first impression that he might have trouble negating. What could he do about that? I thought about it over the years, and came up with an answer that I never will have a chance to try, but I wish I could because I think it could be great sport.
The first thing a guy would have to do is get a job and living arrangement where he could ride a bike to work, or walk. Public transportation is possible also, but there is monetary expense, and the goal is to minimize the monetary expense of going to work.
Then, go shopping for a car you might reasonably like to have. Probably that would be a compact car with just the basics. I am thinking of a new car, because the calculations are easier. With used, there is the unknown factor of repairs, but with new we can assume that repairs for the first five years will be minimal. Find the price of that new car, and divide the price by 60 months to find out how much you would have to pay per month to own it. If you would expect to borrow the money, it is fair to add the interest to this calculation.
Find the mileage figures for the car, and the current price of gasoline, and your distance to work, and calculate how much it would cost in gasoline if you drove to work every day.
Use the distance to work to estimate how may miles you would drive in a year to work, divide by 3,000 to get the number of oil changes you would need in a year, multiply by about $25 per oil change, and divide by 12 to get monthly amount for oil changes
Call an insurance agent, give the model of the car you have found, and find out how much it would cost per month for basic insurance.
If you would have to pay for garage space at home or parking at work don't forget those amounts.
Add up all the monthly amounts to find out how much a car would cost you per month.
Open a dedicated savings account (or just keep records if you are disciplined) and every month put into it your calculated monthly car cost.
To be fair, this money is your transportation budget, so if you have to buy a bus pass or take a taxi, pay for it from this account.
With the transportation account in place and funded, go to a neighborhood car rental place and rent a car. Pay for it from the transportation account. Find out what the procedure is, what their hours are, how much lead time you need, etc. Do this a few times until the procedure is smooth, they know you there, and you are comfortable doing it. Also, use the car so your driving skills don't atrophy. Continue renting a car once every month or two whether you need it or not, just so that it is easy to get one when you need it.
The above is preparation. Now for the execution.
When you meet some female and want to get beyond that first impression of carlessness to make some personal connection, don't say anything about whether or not you own a car. If you make a date and you will be expected to show up motorized, make sure the date is a couple days out. Then, rent a car and show up in it. Do NOT say anything about it AT ALL. Deflect or ignore any discussion of your automibile. You are not interested in her for car discussions anyway, nor should she be interested in you for that reason.
If things do not progress to a second date, it's probably not a car-related issue. Let her go, or address that other issue. If things do proceed to a second date, then your fun begins.
For the second date, do exactly as before. Rent a car and say nothing about it. If you get the same car or she is unobservant, things will go generally as before. If you get a different car and she is observant, she might ask about it or be too shy. If she doesn't ask, don't tell; let her wonder. Eventually she will crack and ask. If or when she does ask, then you get to make your points about not owning a car.
Your points will be many and they will be good, if she is capable of logical analysis. You clearly know how to operate a car since you have been using one to see her. You will have hard figures for the amount of money you are saving by not owning one. If your transportation account has grown enough, you could be in a position to walk into a dealership, write a check, and drive away. You could say that you are saving money for travel, or to buy a house. Engage her in discussion to find out if owning a car right now is so important that the other obvious benefits you have (extra money, new car on demand, no repair expenses) should be sacrificed for it, even though you have clearly demonstrated that you could buy and use a car tomorrow if you wanted to.
If, at that point, she is stuck on you owning a car when you do not presently own one but could walk into a dealership tomorrow and buy one, then you clearly have a values mismatch. But if she had some logical capabilities, she should see that you have some alternatives that are worth serious consideration.
The memory of that has made me think now and then of the problems a young man would face if he were dedicated to being car-free. The state of carlessness would be a first impression that he might have trouble negating. What could he do about that? I thought about it over the years, and came up with an answer that I never will have a chance to try, but I wish I could because I think it could be great sport.
The first thing a guy would have to do is get a job and living arrangement where he could ride a bike to work, or walk. Public transportation is possible also, but there is monetary expense, and the goal is to minimize the monetary expense of going to work.
Then, go shopping for a car you might reasonably like to have. Probably that would be a compact car with just the basics. I am thinking of a new car, because the calculations are easier. With used, there is the unknown factor of repairs, but with new we can assume that repairs for the first five years will be minimal. Find the price of that new car, and divide the price by 60 months to find out how much you would have to pay per month to own it. If you would expect to borrow the money, it is fair to add the interest to this calculation.
Find the mileage figures for the car, and the current price of gasoline, and your distance to work, and calculate how much it would cost in gasoline if you drove to work every day.
Use the distance to work to estimate how may miles you would drive in a year to work, divide by 3,000 to get the number of oil changes you would need in a year, multiply by about $25 per oil change, and divide by 12 to get monthly amount for oil changes
Call an insurance agent, give the model of the car you have found, and find out how much it would cost per month for basic insurance.
If you would have to pay for garage space at home or parking at work don't forget those amounts.
Add up all the monthly amounts to find out how much a car would cost you per month.
Open a dedicated savings account (or just keep records if you are disciplined) and every month put into it your calculated monthly car cost.
To be fair, this money is your transportation budget, so if you have to buy a bus pass or take a taxi, pay for it from this account.
With the transportation account in place and funded, go to a neighborhood car rental place and rent a car. Pay for it from the transportation account. Find out what the procedure is, what their hours are, how much lead time you need, etc. Do this a few times until the procedure is smooth, they know you there, and you are comfortable doing it. Also, use the car so your driving skills don't atrophy. Continue renting a car once every month or two whether you need it or not, just so that it is easy to get one when you need it.
The above is preparation. Now for the execution.
When you meet some female and want to get beyond that first impression of carlessness to make some personal connection, don't say anything about whether or not you own a car. If you make a date and you will be expected to show up motorized, make sure the date is a couple days out. Then, rent a car and show up in it. Do NOT say anything about it AT ALL. Deflect or ignore any discussion of your automibile. You are not interested in her for car discussions anyway, nor should she be interested in you for that reason.
If things do not progress to a second date, it's probably not a car-related issue. Let her go, or address that other issue. If things do proceed to a second date, then your fun begins.
For the second date, do exactly as before. Rent a car and say nothing about it. If you get the same car or she is unobservant, things will go generally as before. If you get a different car and she is observant, she might ask about it or be too shy. If she doesn't ask, don't tell; let her wonder. Eventually she will crack and ask. If or when she does ask, then you get to make your points about not owning a car.
Your points will be many and they will be good, if she is capable of logical analysis. You clearly know how to operate a car since you have been using one to see her. You will have hard figures for the amount of money you are saving by not owning one. If your transportation account has grown enough, you could be in a position to walk into a dealership, write a check, and drive away. You could say that you are saving money for travel, or to buy a house. Engage her in discussion to find out if owning a car right now is so important that the other obvious benefits you have (extra money, new car on demand, no repair expenses) should be sacrificed for it, even though you have clearly demonstrated that you could buy and use a car tomorrow if you wanted to.
If, at that point, she is stuck on you owning a car when you do not presently own one but could walk into a dealership tomorrow and buy one, then you clearly have a values mismatch. But if she had some logical capabilities, she should see that you have some alternatives that are worth serious consideration.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
New folder on line
I had to take the car in for repair yesterday. Just because it doesn't get driven to work by me doesn't mean it doesn't get driven. The dealership is right on the way to work, so I loaded the folding bicycle into the car, drove to the dealership, dropped off the car, rode to work, and reversed the procedure on the way home.
Everything generally worked as planned. I carried the bicycle case on the rack over the rear wheel, fastened down by two elastic cords. When I got to work I folded up the bike, put it in its case, and carried it to my desk. Lack of practice with the thing made the folding and unfolding a little slow. Fortunately I took the bike out of the case the night before and gave it a test ride, because the tires were low. A folding bicycle is not quite a grab-and-go device for that reason, unless you go often enough to keep on top of the tire situation. I didn't want to lock it up outside at work because everything on it is quick-release.
The bicycle is a Rambler-7 by Sun. One ride isn't enough for a review, but so far it seems fine. The highest of the seven gears is still a little low if one wants to go fast. The lowest gear is more than adequate for the small hills I encounter. The ride is a little twitchy compared to my mountain bike, but I find a road bike twitchy also so I don't think that is a feature of the folding bike, but a feature of any non-mountain bike.
I don't know why I feel a sense of freedom from doing this. I think it is the realization that an automobile provides a false freedom. In a car, one can go far and fast, as long as there are gas stations, the car doesn't break down, and you have enough money to keep it running. A bicycle goes far and fast enough for short trips, is cheap to own and operate, and has some user-serviceable parts.
Getting the folder operating is one more step on my march to simpler living. Of course owning several bikes is not as simple as owning one, but relatively, it is simpler than living in fear of car repairs.
Everything generally worked as planned. I carried the bicycle case on the rack over the rear wheel, fastened down by two elastic cords. When I got to work I folded up the bike, put it in its case, and carried it to my desk. Lack of practice with the thing made the folding and unfolding a little slow. Fortunately I took the bike out of the case the night before and gave it a test ride, because the tires were low. A folding bicycle is not quite a grab-and-go device for that reason, unless you go often enough to keep on top of the tire situation. I didn't want to lock it up outside at work because everything on it is quick-release.
The bicycle is a Rambler-7 by Sun. One ride isn't enough for a review, but so far it seems fine. The highest of the seven gears is still a little low if one wants to go fast. The lowest gear is more than adequate for the small hills I encounter. The ride is a little twitchy compared to my mountain bike, but I find a road bike twitchy also so I don't think that is a feature of the folding bike, but a feature of any non-mountain bike.
I don't know why I feel a sense of freedom from doing this. I think it is the realization that an automobile provides a false freedom. In a car, one can go far and fast, as long as there are gas stations, the car doesn't break down, and you have enough money to keep it running. A bicycle goes far and fast enough for short trips, is cheap to own and operate, and has some user-serviceable parts.
Getting the folder operating is one more step on my march to simpler living. Of course owning several bikes is not as simple as owning one, but relatively, it is simpler than living in fear of car repairs.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Product review: Ortlieb messenger bag
There are many ways to carry stuff on a bicycle, and many opinions of the many ways. Each way has its trade-offs. I would like to offer my review of my chosen method, the Ortlieb waterproof messenger backpack (www.ortlieb.com).
I initially tried a couple different methods of carrying things. I settled on the backpack approach because it was the "on the body" solution instead of "on the bike." With a rack and bags on the bike, I would have to have suitable racks on all bikes, the bags could get dirty from road goo, I would have to remove them if I stopped somewhere on my commuting run; it just seemed like more fussing. I wanted one bag that I could use on any bike, and carry conveniently on days when I went to work NOT by bike. I wanted the backpack instead of the messenger bag because I was afraid of fatigue from wearing it on only one shoulder. (I don't know of my own knowledge if that would be a problem, but I couldn't afford to try both ways.)
Finally, the primary design goal was total waterproofness. With an overall goal of being able to go to work by bike in any conditions, I had to be prepared for rain.
The Ortlieb is the best one I found for being waterproof. That does not mean it is the best. It means that in my limited search this looked the best. It has a roll top, it has no outside pockets, it has minimal straps and attachment points. It is a big waterproof bag with shoulder straps.
It is comfortable, although I did wear it on a four-hour bike ride and my back was sore after two. I can't say what would have happened with some other backpack after two hours. My ride to work is one hour and I have no problems. It has some strips of material on the back that prevent the whole bag from remaining in contact with the body, but I still sweat. No solution is perfect, I think. It has a waist strap and chest strap for stability.
The size is good. Other bags are bigger, but if I do cram this one full it is about as much as I would want to carry anyway. The company makes an organizer that snaps on to two snaps near the top of the bag on the inside. I have one, and it makes things like a checkbook and small pieces of paper easy to reach. I like the fact that is one big deep bag and if I toss something in there it is not going anywhere.
I also don't always like the fact that it is one big deep bag. The inside is black, many of the things I put in it are dark or black, so sometimes I feel like I have to dive in with a flashlight to find something. Similarly with the roll top, it keeps the water out but if I want to get something out of the bag I have to take it off and unroll the top. But those are hardly problems with the bag. They are the price of the other features that I wanted.
There is no outside attachment point for a blinkie, but again, something sewn through the bag would be in conflict with the main design goal, being waterproof. It seems that this bag maximizes my one primary requirement.
I am very pleased with the bag. I agonized over the choices for about a year before I committed my Christmas money to it, my one piece of high-end biking gear. I feel it was the best choice for me.
I initially tried a couple different methods of carrying things. I settled on the backpack approach because it was the "on the body" solution instead of "on the bike." With a rack and bags on the bike, I would have to have suitable racks on all bikes, the bags could get dirty from road goo, I would have to remove them if I stopped somewhere on my commuting run; it just seemed like more fussing. I wanted one bag that I could use on any bike, and carry conveniently on days when I went to work NOT by bike. I wanted the backpack instead of the messenger bag because I was afraid of fatigue from wearing it on only one shoulder. (I don't know of my own knowledge if that would be a problem, but I couldn't afford to try both ways.)
Finally, the primary design goal was total waterproofness. With an overall goal of being able to go to work by bike in any conditions, I had to be prepared for rain.
The Ortlieb is the best one I found for being waterproof. That does not mean it is the best. It means that in my limited search this looked the best. It has a roll top, it has no outside pockets, it has minimal straps and attachment points. It is a big waterproof bag with shoulder straps.
It is comfortable, although I did wear it on a four-hour bike ride and my back was sore after two. I can't say what would have happened with some other backpack after two hours. My ride to work is one hour and I have no problems. It has some strips of material on the back that prevent the whole bag from remaining in contact with the body, but I still sweat. No solution is perfect, I think. It has a waist strap and chest strap for stability.
The size is good. Other bags are bigger, but if I do cram this one full it is about as much as I would want to carry anyway. The company makes an organizer that snaps on to two snaps near the top of the bag on the inside. I have one, and it makes things like a checkbook and small pieces of paper easy to reach. I like the fact that is one big deep bag and if I toss something in there it is not going anywhere.
I also don't always like the fact that it is one big deep bag. The inside is black, many of the things I put in it are dark or black, so sometimes I feel like I have to dive in with a flashlight to find something. Similarly with the roll top, it keeps the water out but if I want to get something out of the bag I have to take it off and unroll the top. But those are hardly problems with the bag. They are the price of the other features that I wanted.
There is no outside attachment point for a blinkie, but again, something sewn through the bag would be in conflict with the main design goal, being waterproof. It seems that this bag maximizes my one primary requirement.
I am very pleased with the bag. I agonized over the choices for about a year before I committed my Christmas money to it, my one piece of high-end biking gear. I feel it was the best choice for me.
Friday, April 4, 2008
The inefficiency of the automobile
I must rant about the inefficiency of the automobile. I has struck me a number of times in a couple kinds of situations.
Recently on my way to work on my bicycle, I noticed a large truck right behind me. This was on a city street with two lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 35 miles per hour. He stayed behind me for the longest time before finally passing. As he passed I could see why he had stayed there. There had been one car in the left land of the two lanes in our direction, in his blind spot. He was unable to move to the left to get around me because of the car on his left.
In front of us there was no other traffic. After they both had passed me, I could see that there was no other traffic behind them. The two of them were stuck behind me because of their positions relative to each other, like the comedy skit of two people trying to walk through a doorway at the same time.
Now, I suppose one could argue that the two of them had been held up because I was occupying a sliver of the right lane with my slow-moving bicycle, and if I had not been there they could have moved along at the speed limit, each in his own lane, unobstructed. But I would like to suggest that because these two people were transporting themselves in large motorized devices, and were not paying attention enough to position themselves to get around me before they came up so close to me, their delay was in part of their own making. (The truck driver probably was working, so he can be forgiven for using such a big transportation device, but he could have been a passenger car, so I think the point still is valid.)
I notice a similar phenomenon at a couple points where I have to cross a busy street. These streets are two lanes in each direction with a speed limit of 35, and there are times when I can't get across because just half a dozen cars, coming at just the right times from both directions, and positioned just the right distance apart, leave me no opening to get across. This seems like a great inefficiency. These cars, because of their speed, have to keep a certain distance free around themselves in case they have to stop, and so one person actually takes up a lot of space, and a mere half a dozen can take up so much space that I can't have ten seconds to get myself across a street.
This is just another, more subtle, aspect of the more obvious inefficiencies of the automoble (when used to transport one person a short distance) that have been explained by others. For examples, just a small amount of the energy used by one person driving himself is used to move just him. The rest of the energy is used to move the automobile itself. Destinations that we go to have to have large areas set aside for storing the automobiles that were used to transport people to those places.
Operating an automobile has been made so easy that they seem like magic carpets. You move your hand a certain way, move your foot a certain way, and you are in motion. For me, it was only after I started moving myself to work every day on a bicycle that the inefficiency of using an automobile for that purpose became much clearer. Commuting by bicycle gave me a reason to use a bicycle on a regular basis, and not using a car for that regular activity made me start to see the inefficiency of it, and start to think that there might be a better way of doing things than the way we take for granted.
Recently on my way to work on my bicycle, I noticed a large truck right behind me. This was on a city street with two lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 35 miles per hour. He stayed behind me for the longest time before finally passing. As he passed I could see why he had stayed there. There had been one car in the left land of the two lanes in our direction, in his blind spot. He was unable to move to the left to get around me because of the car on his left.
In front of us there was no other traffic. After they both had passed me, I could see that there was no other traffic behind them. The two of them were stuck behind me because of their positions relative to each other, like the comedy skit of two people trying to walk through a doorway at the same time.
Now, I suppose one could argue that the two of them had been held up because I was occupying a sliver of the right lane with my slow-moving bicycle, and if I had not been there they could have moved along at the speed limit, each in his own lane, unobstructed. But I would like to suggest that because these two people were transporting themselves in large motorized devices, and were not paying attention enough to position themselves to get around me before they came up so close to me, their delay was in part of their own making. (The truck driver probably was working, so he can be forgiven for using such a big transportation device, but he could have been a passenger car, so I think the point still is valid.)
I notice a similar phenomenon at a couple points where I have to cross a busy street. These streets are two lanes in each direction with a speed limit of 35, and there are times when I can't get across because just half a dozen cars, coming at just the right times from both directions, and positioned just the right distance apart, leave me no opening to get across. This seems like a great inefficiency. These cars, because of their speed, have to keep a certain distance free around themselves in case they have to stop, and so one person actually takes up a lot of space, and a mere half a dozen can take up so much space that I can't have ten seconds to get myself across a street.
This is just another, more subtle, aspect of the more obvious inefficiencies of the automoble (when used to transport one person a short distance) that have been explained by others. For examples, just a small amount of the energy used by one person driving himself is used to move just him. The rest of the energy is used to move the automobile itself. Destinations that we go to have to have large areas set aside for storing the automobiles that were used to transport people to those places.
Operating an automobile has been made so easy that they seem like magic carpets. You move your hand a certain way, move your foot a certain way, and you are in motion. For me, it was only after I started moving myself to work every day on a bicycle that the inefficiency of using an automobile for that purpose became much clearer. Commuting by bicycle gave me a reason to use a bicycle on a regular basis, and not using a car for that regular activity made me start to see the inefficiency of it, and start to think that there might be a better way of doing things than the way we take for granted.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Bicycling's hidden costs and savings
I got asked to be written up in the employee newsletter because I ride my bike to work. One of the questions was what advice I might give to someone who wanted to get to work by some means other than a car. I found myself writing not about any nuts and bolts of using a bicycle, but about why one might want to do so in the first place.
If a person wants to do something, he tends to find a way. If he doesn't want to do something, he finds a way not to. So one of my missions is to point out that there are real reasons to want to. Giving up a car for a bike is not necessarily a great sacrifice. I find that the more I do it, the more I want to and the less I want to use a car
One of those reasons came up today when I took the main commuter to the bike shop for a spring tune-up. The price will be about a hundred dollars. This will be the second tune-up since I bought the bike five years ago.
In the days when we had two kids in day care, we "needed" two cars on-line 24 hours a day seven days a week. They got a lot of use, and they would need repairs. Getting one in for repairs was sometimes a logistical mess, and the price would always be hundreds of dollars. After years of living that way, it seemed normal. As I have driven less, the car repairs have been less frequent. Today when I got the quote for the bike repair, I felt relief that it was "only" about a hundred dollars, and I could observe the contrast between that relief and the fear I felt waiting for the call from the car repair place with the inevitable news that I was in for another multi-hundred-dollar repair bill.
So using a bicycle instead of a car saves a small amount of money in the price of gasoline (which probably is used up in bike repairs) but it produces potentially bigger savings in the cost of car repairs that are not needed, or at least postponed. In addition, it reduces some subtle stress when a person knows that if his transportation breaks down, the price to fix it will not break the bank. And then, if a person has a couple spare bikes, the stress from the threat of being immobilized is reduced. A couple spare cars is not an option for an ordinary person.
If a person wants to do something, he tends to find a way. If he doesn't want to do something, he finds a way not to. So one of my missions is to point out that there are real reasons to want to. Giving up a car for a bike is not necessarily a great sacrifice. I find that the more I do it, the more I want to and the less I want to use a car
One of those reasons came up today when I took the main commuter to the bike shop for a spring tune-up. The price will be about a hundred dollars. This will be the second tune-up since I bought the bike five years ago.
In the days when we had two kids in day care, we "needed" two cars on-line 24 hours a day seven days a week. They got a lot of use, and they would need repairs. Getting one in for repairs was sometimes a logistical mess, and the price would always be hundreds of dollars. After years of living that way, it seemed normal. As I have driven less, the car repairs have been less frequent. Today when I got the quote for the bike repair, I felt relief that it was "only" about a hundred dollars, and I could observe the contrast between that relief and the fear I felt waiting for the call from the car repair place with the inevitable news that I was in for another multi-hundred-dollar repair bill.
So using a bicycle instead of a car saves a small amount of money in the price of gasoline (which probably is used up in bike repairs) but it produces potentially bigger savings in the cost of car repairs that are not needed, or at least postponed. In addition, it reduces some subtle stress when a person knows that if his transportation breaks down, the price to fix it will not break the bank. And then, if a person has a couple spare bikes, the stress from the threat of being immobilized is reduced. A couple spare cars is not an option for an ordinary person.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Take this driver awareness test
And oh by the way, take this driver awareness test. I was amazed; maybe you will be too.
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
I don't have time to drive
Because everyone I work with has seen me bike to work for enough years to be used to it, I don't get many chances to use one of my favorite lines, "I don't have time to drive to work." In the days when I had to hurry from work to day care to pick up the kids, I didn't have time to ride, but now that the kids are more self-sufficient, one could make the reverse argument.
I ride 6.3 miles and it takes 35-40 minutes. With a stiff tailwind, a lighter bike, and some motivation, I probably could do it in 30--my record is 28--but not every day. I think we could use half an hour as a nice round number for the time of a one-way bike commute.
If I drive, I take a longer route on the freeway, and it takes about 15 minutes. I can do it in maybe 12 if traffic is light, I hit some key green lights, and I break the law. But I think that a quarter hour is a fair round number for the time of a one-way car commute.
If I want to do right by my health, I should be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day. Of course I don't "have" to, but that is a choice with consequences, so says the doctor.
So I could spend an hour a day in one of two ways. I could go to work by car, spending half an hour at it, and then spend half an hour getting some exercise. Actually, it would work out to be more than an hour since there is time to change clothes and, in the worst case, actually drive somewhere to do that exercising. Or, I could go to work by bike, spending a little more than an hour also, and skip the exercise period.
Looked at that way, I would be crazy to drive to work when I could ride a bike. I would be wasting half an hour a day. I don't have time for that.
I ride 6.3 miles and it takes 35-40 minutes. With a stiff tailwind, a lighter bike, and some motivation, I probably could do it in 30--my record is 28--but not every day. I think we could use half an hour as a nice round number for the time of a one-way bike commute.
If I drive, I take a longer route on the freeway, and it takes about 15 minutes. I can do it in maybe 12 if traffic is light, I hit some key green lights, and I break the law. But I think that a quarter hour is a fair round number for the time of a one-way car commute.
If I want to do right by my health, I should be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day. Of course I don't "have" to, but that is a choice with consequences, so says the doctor.
So I could spend an hour a day in one of two ways. I could go to work by car, spending half an hour at it, and then spend half an hour getting some exercise. Actually, it would work out to be more than an hour since there is time to change clothes and, in the worst case, actually drive somewhere to do that exercising. Or, I could go to work by bike, spending a little more than an hour also, and skip the exercise period.
Looked at that way, I would be crazy to drive to work when I could ride a bike. I would be wasting half an hour a day. I don't have time for that.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Bike commuters lead the way
One of my reasons for starting to ride my bike to work instead of driving was to reduce the use of oil. I would hear the comment that one person can't make a difference, with the implication, I suppose, that therefore it is pointless to try. But the question remains, does it make a difference?
Well, one person riding a bike doesn't make much difference in national oil use, but it makes a difference in something else. I arrived home at my driveway one day just as a neighbor walking her dog intersected my path. She commented that she sees me pass her house every morning. I take the same route to work every day, and so must others, and so others must see me also. Many may curse, some may applaud, but everyone is seeing a guy using a bicycle for everyday transportation.
In other countries, that is no big deal, but in the USA it is rare. However, the state of affairs of every individual using his own personal motorized transportation appliance to go everywhere he has to go is starting to break down. The fuel for those appliances is getting expensive, the economy is slowing, the streets are getting crowded. It isn't sustainable. It is possible that at some point people will start to think that there might be a better way. If they start thinking of bicycles, that is where today's bicycle commuters have made their difference. When, at some future time, more people start moving around by bicycle, it won't seem so strange to future motorists because they will have seen us doing it for years already. Motorists in the future will be more understanding of future cyclists because they have been trained to be more understanding of the present ones, just be seeing them on the streets every day.
Well, one person riding a bike doesn't make much difference in national oil use, but it makes a difference in something else. I arrived home at my driveway one day just as a neighbor walking her dog intersected my path. She commented that she sees me pass her house every morning. I take the same route to work every day, and so must others, and so others must see me also. Many may curse, some may applaud, but everyone is seeing a guy using a bicycle for everyday transportation.
In other countries, that is no big deal, but in the USA it is rare. However, the state of affairs of every individual using his own personal motorized transportation appliance to go everywhere he has to go is starting to break down. The fuel for those appliances is getting expensive, the economy is slowing, the streets are getting crowded. It isn't sustainable. It is possible that at some point people will start to think that there might be a better way. If they start thinking of bicycles, that is where today's bicycle commuters have made their difference. When, at some future time, more people start moving around by bicycle, it won't seem so strange to future motorists because they will have seen us doing it for years already. Motorists in the future will be more understanding of future cyclists because they have been trained to be more understanding of the present ones, just be seeing them on the streets every day.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Sidewalk or street
When I started riding a bike to work, I rode on the sidewalk, even though I knew it was against the law in Minnesota. I thought that the street I rode on, two standard lanes in each direction with no extra width for bicycles, was too dangerous, and that if I got a ticket I would contest it with that argument.
After some time passed, I got tired of riding on the sidewalk because of various obstructions (garbage carts) and the curb cuts, and started riding on the street. Now after some years of that I feel like the sidewalk is too dangerous and the street is safer.
So which is it? Either riding location must be as safe or as not safe now as it was then, but now I think one is safer when before I thought the other was safer.
I think that the generally accepted view is that riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous, and after trying both ways I think I understand why.
I realized it some years ago on vacation in a strange city, when I was making a left turn onto a busy street, started to go, and...boom...some guy on a bike rapped the side of the car as he blasted in from the right, on the sidewalk, and swerved around me to my rear.
The situation with bikes on the sidewalk is that at intersections, drivers are not expecting high-velocity traffic on the sidewalks. I think that in the back of the driver mind is the belief that what can be expected on a sidewalk is something moving at pedestrian speed. I think that unconsciously a person knows how far down a sidewalk he has to look to see something that could intersect his path if that something is moving at pedestrian speed. If something is moving faster, and is at a distance such that with its greater speed in could intersect the path of a car, that faster thing will be farther down the sidewalk and the driver of the car will not see it because he unconsciously will not look that far down the sidewalk.
So the danger of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk comes mainly at intersections. There are more variables for everyone to process at those points, and thus more possibilities for errors. A driver could make a right turn and not realize that a bicycle is coming up from the right-side blind spot. A person on a bike has to do extra checking to make sure that there is not a car in a position such that if the driver does not see him, the driver will do something that could hit the bicycle. Generally, drivers are looking out for other vehicles on the street, and a bicycle that is on the street behaving like a vehicle will be noticed more. Being noticed is being safe.
Are there exceptions? Probably not legally, but I do ride on the sidewalk at a particularly nasty intersection where, if I were behaving correctly, I would be in one of the middle lanes of six automobile lanes. I suspect that most drivers are happy to have me breaking the law at that particular spot.
After some time passed, I got tired of riding on the sidewalk because of various obstructions (garbage carts) and the curb cuts, and started riding on the street. Now after some years of that I feel like the sidewalk is too dangerous and the street is safer.
So which is it? Either riding location must be as safe or as not safe now as it was then, but now I think one is safer when before I thought the other was safer.
I think that the generally accepted view is that riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous, and after trying both ways I think I understand why.
I realized it some years ago on vacation in a strange city, when I was making a left turn onto a busy street, started to go, and...boom...some guy on a bike rapped the side of the car as he blasted in from the right, on the sidewalk, and swerved around me to my rear.
The situation with bikes on the sidewalk is that at intersections, drivers are not expecting high-velocity traffic on the sidewalks. I think that in the back of the driver mind is the belief that what can be expected on a sidewalk is something moving at pedestrian speed. I think that unconsciously a person knows how far down a sidewalk he has to look to see something that could intersect his path if that something is moving at pedestrian speed. If something is moving faster, and is at a distance such that with its greater speed in could intersect the path of a car, that faster thing will be farther down the sidewalk and the driver of the car will not see it because he unconsciously will not look that far down the sidewalk.
So the danger of riding a bicycle on the sidewalk comes mainly at intersections. There are more variables for everyone to process at those points, and thus more possibilities for errors. A driver could make a right turn and not realize that a bicycle is coming up from the right-side blind spot. A person on a bike has to do extra checking to make sure that there is not a car in a position such that if the driver does not see him, the driver will do something that could hit the bicycle. Generally, drivers are looking out for other vehicles on the street, and a bicycle that is on the street behaving like a vehicle will be noticed more. Being noticed is being safe.
Are there exceptions? Probably not legally, but I do ride on the sidewalk at a particularly nasty intersection where, if I were behaving correctly, I would be in one of the middle lanes of six automobile lanes. I suspect that most drivers are happy to have me breaking the law at that particular spot.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The urban biker's five-bike stable
A car costs thousands of dollars. A new one is many thousands for purchase, a used one is fewer thousands for purchase plus unknown thousands for repairs. If a person can get by without owning one at all, it might be reasonable to divert some of those thousands to other transportation, specfically, bicycles.
One should have proper tools for the jobs one is expected to do, and if one is doing a job that saves thousands of dollars, it seems appropriate to have enough tools of good quality. So if the job is to get around by bike and not have to use or even own a car, spending a bit on bicycles does not seem out of line.
This line of thinking leads to the concept of the urban utility cyclist's basic five-bike stable. This is just my current idea, and yours will vary. A person could get by with just one, but sometimes a special tool just makes certain jobs so much easier. So here is my current five-bike goal.
The basic commuter. This bike gets person to and from work most days, and can run some errands. Mine is a Trek 4300 with the classic milk crate attached to a rear rack. It has fenders, and a homemade light with a 20-watt halogen spotlight. It can go in all weather except snow.
The winter beater. This is for riding in parts of the world where there is snow. It has studded tires and is old enough that I don't worry if it starts to rust away. It has acceptable lights, but not ones that require a heavy battery. It is light enough to drive through some snow. In the summer, it does double duty as a backup bike or as the multi-modal bike, one that is light enough to heave up on the bike rack on the front of the bus. Mine is Diamondback that I got used at the bike store.
The urban errand bike. This is a bicycle with no quick-release anything on it, something that is not a big theft target, and would not cause great financial loss if it were stolen. Mine is a Schwinn Suburban that I found for free on the curb in the neighborhood. It has a generator headlight that I salvaged from the garbage. Currently the rear derailer is broken and it is in the bike shop being modified to a single-speed, which should decrease its theft value even more.
The folder. This is used for those times when nothing else will do, like when taking the car in for repair and then proceeding on to work. Mine is a Sun Rambler-7 that was my 2007 Christmas present from my father-in-law.
The cargo bike. This is something that can haul at least four standard bags of groceries. I don't have on of these yet. I am thinking that my budget will allow for only an Xtracycle at some future time. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a bakfiets, but even when we can dump one car, thousands for a bike is not going to be in the picture.
One should have proper tools for the jobs one is expected to do, and if one is doing a job that saves thousands of dollars, it seems appropriate to have enough tools of good quality. So if the job is to get around by bike and not have to use or even own a car, spending a bit on bicycles does not seem out of line.
This line of thinking leads to the concept of the urban utility cyclist's basic five-bike stable. This is just my current idea, and yours will vary. A person could get by with just one, but sometimes a special tool just makes certain jobs so much easier. So here is my current five-bike goal.
The basic commuter. This bike gets person to and from work most days, and can run some errands. Mine is a Trek 4300 with the classic milk crate attached to a rear rack. It has fenders, and a homemade light with a 20-watt halogen spotlight. It can go in all weather except snow.
The winter beater. This is for riding in parts of the world where there is snow. It has studded tires and is old enough that I don't worry if it starts to rust away. It has acceptable lights, but not ones that require a heavy battery. It is light enough to drive through some snow. In the summer, it does double duty as a backup bike or as the multi-modal bike, one that is light enough to heave up on the bike rack on the front of the bus. Mine is Diamondback that I got used at the bike store.
The urban errand bike. This is a bicycle with no quick-release anything on it, something that is not a big theft target, and would not cause great financial loss if it were stolen. Mine is a Schwinn Suburban that I found for free on the curb in the neighborhood. It has a generator headlight that I salvaged from the garbage. Currently the rear derailer is broken and it is in the bike shop being modified to a single-speed, which should decrease its theft value even more.
The folder. This is used for those times when nothing else will do, like when taking the car in for repair and then proceeding on to work. Mine is a Sun Rambler-7 that was my 2007 Christmas present from my father-in-law.
The cargo bike. This is something that can haul at least four standard bags of groceries. I don't have on of these yet. I am thinking that my budget will allow for only an Xtracycle at some future time. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a bakfiets, but even when we can dump one car, thousands for a bike is not going to be in the picture.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Advertising the future 2
I was amazed to find yet more advertisements for utility cycling from St. Louis in the USA.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Advertising the future
Since I am a blogger newcomer, I am interested in seeing how this all works, as well as in posting things of interest. We all are going to have to change the way we think, and below is (I hope) a little advertisement for a new way of thinking, found on the internet. It is here for its value, but mainly to show me how to put it here in the first place.
You must be cold
It has been cold here in my adopted home town and I have occasionally enjoyed the wonderment of co-workers that I would ride a bike in such weather.
I started riding my bike to work in nice weather, but as time passed I felt the natural challenge of extending my range into winter. In February of 2007 I set my personal temperature record of riding at fifteen below (Fahrenheit), and in the winter of 2007-2008 I achieved full winter capability by getting a winter beater bike with studded tires and riding on snow-covered streets. One thing that amuses me is how so many people comment on how I must be freezing when I'm riding.
Just as one would not go for a walk in the winter in one's underwear, but instead would put on a proper coat, I don't go out on a bike without whatever clothing is needed to keep warm; I don't like being cold. It is perfectly possible to ride a bicycle in winter in comfort. It is only in our automobile culture where that seems strange.
There are plenty of internet sites offering suggestions for winter riding, so I will just explain what I myself do for proper clothing. You don't have to have fancy and expensive bicycle clothing. You just need normal stuff, but enough of it.
On the feet, I wear waterproof insulated hiking boots from Payless Shoesource, around $25. I start wearing just the boots and cotton socks when the temperature gets around freezing, and then change the sock configuration as the temperature drops. First I will add heavy wool socks over the cottons socks. Then I will swap out the cotton socks for wool dress socks. Next I will add the thin white "wicking" socks next to the skin. Finally I have some extra-heavy wool socks to replace the normal heavy wool socks.
On the legs, I wear regular cotton Docker-like pants, and over them I wear some shell pants that are designed to go over regular pants. They came from some military surplus store that I can't find any more. They have zippers part way up the legs for easy removal, and zippered slots where the pocket would be so I can reach through them into the regular pants pockets. When it gets into the single digits I replace those shells with some heavy wool paratrooper pants from the surplus store. These have plastic wind shields in the thighs. Below zero, I add long underwear.
On the torso, I wear a regular cotton shirt for work, over a white T-shirt. Over that I wear a fleece jacket, like a zippered sweater. On top of that, as the outer layer, I used to wear a Thinsulate parka, but now I have a custom-made biking jacket made of wind-resistant fleece. It has extra-long sleeves, and is extra long in the back. It zips up tightly at the neck to hold in warm air. These two items, the fleece jacket and the outer jacket, are warm down to zero degrees. Below zero, I will either add long underwear or replace the inner fleece jacket with a heavy wool sweater from the surplus store.
On the head, I have a balaclava (a hood with a hole for the face) from the surplus store. If it's really cold I will stuff a small rectangle of fleece inside the helmet to plug up the vents. For the gap between the hood and the jacket, I have a tube of stretchy fabric that I wear over the neck. Mine is home-made, but they can be found in stores.
when wind chill is a factor, I have a mask covers the nose and mouth and fastens in the back with the hook and loop closure.
Over the eyes I have some ski goggles from the surplus store. They came with interchangeable lenses so I can have a clear one. At least half of winter commuting trips are in the dark, so tinted goggles would not work.
The hands are the only weak point in my gear, but even those are at the point where the only parts of my hands that get cold are the tips of the thumbs at single-digit temperatures. Starting on the inside, I have hand-knitted wool mittens from my late aunt. Over that I have a hand-made mitten shell of generic fleece material. Over that I have another hand-made mitten shell of wind-blocking fleece from the Malden Mills on-line store. I had to make a minimum order of one yard at $20 a yard. Finally, on the outside, I have the standard Minnesota leather mitten shell.
It's a lot of stuff to put on, but not much more work than dressing to walk the dog or go skiing. We just have this idea in our collective head that riding a bike in the winter is odd or difficult or uncomfortable. It is odd only because few do it. It can be difficult if the streets are bad. It is rarely uncomfortable.
I started riding my bike to work in nice weather, but as time passed I felt the natural challenge of extending my range into winter. In February of 2007 I set my personal temperature record of riding at fifteen below (Fahrenheit), and in the winter of 2007-2008 I achieved full winter capability by getting a winter beater bike with studded tires and riding on snow-covered streets. One thing that amuses me is how so many people comment on how I must be freezing when I'm riding.
Just as one would not go for a walk in the winter in one's underwear, but instead would put on a proper coat, I don't go out on a bike without whatever clothing is needed to keep warm; I don't like being cold. It is perfectly possible to ride a bicycle in winter in comfort. It is only in our automobile culture where that seems strange.
There are plenty of internet sites offering suggestions for winter riding, so I will just explain what I myself do for proper clothing. You don't have to have fancy and expensive bicycle clothing. You just need normal stuff, but enough of it.
On the feet, I wear waterproof insulated hiking boots from Payless Shoesource, around $25. I start wearing just the boots and cotton socks when the temperature gets around freezing, and then change the sock configuration as the temperature drops. First I will add heavy wool socks over the cottons socks. Then I will swap out the cotton socks for wool dress socks. Next I will add the thin white "wicking" socks next to the skin. Finally I have some extra-heavy wool socks to replace the normal heavy wool socks.
On the legs, I wear regular cotton Docker-like pants, and over them I wear some shell pants that are designed to go over regular pants. They came from some military surplus store that I can't find any more. They have zippers part way up the legs for easy removal, and zippered slots where the pocket would be so I can reach through them into the regular pants pockets. When it gets into the single digits I replace those shells with some heavy wool paratrooper pants from the surplus store. These have plastic wind shields in the thighs. Below zero, I add long underwear.
On the torso, I wear a regular cotton shirt for work, over a white T-shirt. Over that I wear a fleece jacket, like a zippered sweater. On top of that, as the outer layer, I used to wear a Thinsulate parka, but now I have a custom-made biking jacket made of wind-resistant fleece. It has extra-long sleeves, and is extra long in the back. It zips up tightly at the neck to hold in warm air. These two items, the fleece jacket and the outer jacket, are warm down to zero degrees. Below zero, I will either add long underwear or replace the inner fleece jacket with a heavy wool sweater from the surplus store.
On the head, I have a balaclava (a hood with a hole for the face) from the surplus store. If it's really cold I will stuff a small rectangle of fleece inside the helmet to plug up the vents. For the gap between the hood and the jacket, I have a tube of stretchy fabric that I wear over the neck. Mine is home-made, but they can be found in stores.
when wind chill is a factor, I have a mask covers the nose and mouth and fastens in the back with the hook and loop closure.
Over the eyes I have some ski goggles from the surplus store. They came with interchangeable lenses so I can have a clear one. At least half of winter commuting trips are in the dark, so tinted goggles would not work.
The hands are the only weak point in my gear, but even those are at the point where the only parts of my hands that get cold are the tips of the thumbs at single-digit temperatures. Starting on the inside, I have hand-knitted wool mittens from my late aunt. Over that I have a hand-made mitten shell of generic fleece material. Over that I have another hand-made mitten shell of wind-blocking fleece from the Malden Mills on-line store. I had to make a minimum order of one yard at $20 a yard. Finally, on the outside, I have the standard Minnesota leather mitten shell.
It's a lot of stuff to put on, but not much more work than dressing to walk the dog or go skiing. We just have this idea in our collective head that riding a bike in the winter is odd or difficult or uncomfortable. It is odd only because few do it. It can be difficult if the streets are bad. It is rarely uncomfortable.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Bicycle in snow
Part of my preparation for whatever awaits us after the age of cheap oil is to develop the capability of transporting myself to anywhere within ten miles of home in some way other than personal motorized transportation appliance. With current technology, that would mean bus or bicycle. The winter of 2007-2008 is the first winter when I have been able to go in snow. I tried last year, but it was too hard to plow my heavy commuter bike through deep snow. This year I have a lighter winter bike with studded tires, and have not been challenged yet with any deep snow. To show off a bit, here is my winter bike upon my arrival at home one day when the streets were not cleared down to the pavement.
I am going ahead with my claim to "full winter certification" (a concept I made up for myself to give myself a little motivation), but I have to admit I have not tested myself in the two remaining potential conditions of winter in Minnesota, deep snow and glare ice. I am hoping we get one bad storm this year, but things are not looking good at this time.
The bicycle seems to be OK in snowy conditions if I just park it in the unheated garage. I have had the experience of parking a wet bike in an unheated garage before the temperature dropped below freezing, and the brakes and shifters froze up. But if the temperature starts below freezing, the bike gets covered with snow, and the temperature stays below freezing, things continue to work. I would not take the approach of just leaving the bike covered with snow from day to day if I could figure out a way to clean it, but I don't want to bring it in the house and I have no other ideas.
They said at the bike shop that leaving the bike covered with salty snow will wear it out sooner. I can see that, because I can see rust on various parts already. My Brother The Biker has shown me parts of his bikes that have worn out over the winter, so I know it happens. I might be in for some maintenance expenses in the spring.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sheldon Brown
If you have searched on the internet for anything related to bicycles, you probably have seen the name of Sheldon Brown. He seemed like a force of nature or something, in the world of bicycles. Even I, a most unlikely person, exchanged an email message with him, a get-well wish when he developed multiple sclerosis. He died today, and it seems like the passing of such a person should not go unnoticed. His web site (see the bicycle links at the left) probably will last for many years in his memory.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Why I ride, reason 1
Here is one of my main reasons for trying to get to the point where I can use a bicycle for all personal transport (within reason). The email below was copied from a web site (moralequivalentofwar.wordpress.com) that copied it from another web site (www.theoildrum.com) that copied it from the Shell oil site. I figure that if the head of an oil company starts talking about running out of oil, the idea probably should be taken seriously.
From: Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
To: All Shell employees
Date: 22 January 2008
Subject: Shell Energy Scenarios
Dear Colleagues
In this letter, I'd like to share reflections about how we see the energy future, and our preferred route to meeting the world's energy needs. Industry, governments and energy users - that is, all of us - will face the twin challenge of more energy and less CO2.
This letter is based on a text I've written for publication in several newspapers in the coming weeks. You can use it in your communications externally. There will be more information about energy scenarios inthe months ahead.
By the year 2100, the world's energy system will be radically different from today's. Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy too will have a place.
Mankind will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles.
Indeed, the distant future looks bright, but getting there will be an adventure. At Shell, we think the world will take one of two possible routes. The first, a scenario we call Scramble, resembles a race through a mountainous desert. Like an off-road rally, it promises excitement and fierce competition. However, the unintended consequence of "more haste" will often be "less speed" and many will crash along the way.
The alternative scenario, called Blueprints, has some false starts and develops like a cautious ride on a road that is still under construction. Whether we arrive safely at our destination depends on the discipline of the drivers and the ingenuity of all those involved in the construction effort. Technical innovation provides for excitement.
Regardless of which route we choose, the world's current predicament limits our maneuvering room. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to population growth and economic development, and Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.
As a result, society has no choice but to add other sources of energy - renewables , yes, but also more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels such as oil sands. Using more energy inevitably means emitting more CO2 at a time when climate change has become a critical global issue.
In the Scramble scenario, nations rush to secure energy resources for themselves, fearing that energy security is a zero-sum game, with clear winners and losers. The use of local coal and homegrown biofuels increases fast.
Taking the path of least resistance, policymakers pay little attention to curbing energy consumption - until supplies run short. Likewise, despite much rhetoric, greenhouse gas emissions are not seriously addressed until major shocks trigger political reactions. Since these responses are overdue, they are severe and lead to energy price spikes and volatility.
The other route to the future is less painful, even if the start is more disorderly. This Blueprints scenario sees numerous coalitions emerging to take on the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution through cross-border cooperation.
Much innovation occurs at the local level, as major cities develop links with industry to reduce local emissions. National governments introduce efficiency standards, taxes and other policy instruments to improve the environmental performance of buildings, vehicles and transport fuels.
As calls for harmonization increase, policies converge across the globe. Cap-and-trade mechanisms that put a cost on industrial CO 2 emissions gain international acceptance. Rising CO2 prices accelerate innovation, spawning breakthroughs. A growing number of cars are powered by electricity and hydrogen, while industrial facilities are fitted with technology to capture CO 2 and store it underground.
Against the backdrop of these two equally plausible scenarios, we will only know in a few years whether December's Bali declaration on climate change was just rhetoric or the beginning of a global effort to counter it. Much will depend on how attitudes evolve in Beijing, Brussels, New Delhi and Washington.
Shell traditionally uses its scenarios to prepare for the future without expressing a preference for one over another. But, faced with the need to manage climate risk for our investors and our grandchildren, we believe the Blueprints outcomes provide the best balance between economy, energy and environment.
For a second opinion, we appealed to climate change calculations made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These calculations indicate that a Blueprints world with CO2 capture and storage results in the least amount of climate change, provided emissions of other major manmade greenhouse gases are similarly reduced.
The sobering reality is that the Blueprints scenario will only come to pass if policymakers agree a global approach to emissions trading and actively promote energy efficiency and new technology in four sectors: heat and power generation, industry, mobility and buildings. It will be hard work and there is little time.
For instance, Blueprints assumes CO2 is captured at 90% of all coal- and gas-fired power plants in developed countries in 2050, plus at least 50% of those in non-OECD countries. Today, there are none. Since CO2 capture and storage adds cost and brings no revenues , government support is needed to make it happen quickly on a scale large enough to affect global emissions. At the very least, companies should earn carbon credits for the CO2 they capture and store.
Blueprints will not be easy. But it offers the world the best chance of reaching a sustainable energy future unscathed, so we should explore this route with the same ingenuity and persistence that put humans on the moon and created the digital age.
The world faces a long voyage before it reaches a low-carbon energy system. Companies can suggest possible routes to get there, but governments are in the driving seat. And governments will determine whether we should prepare for a bitter competition or a true team effort.
That is the article, and how I see our challenges and opportunities. I look forward to hearing how you see the situation (please be concise).
Regards
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
From: Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
To: All Shell employees
Date: 22 January 2008
Subject: Shell Energy Scenarios
Dear Colleagues
In this letter, I'd like to share reflections about how we see the energy future, and our preferred route to meeting the world's energy needs. Industry, governments and energy users - that is, all of us - will face the twin challenge of more energy and less CO2.
This letter is based on a text I've written for publication in several newspapers in the coming weeks. You can use it in your communications externally. There will be more information about energy scenarios inthe months ahead.
By the year 2100, the world's energy system will be radically different from today's. Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy too will have a place.
Mankind will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles.
Indeed, the distant future looks bright, but getting there will be an adventure. At Shell, we think the world will take one of two possible routes. The first, a scenario we call Scramble, resembles a race through a mountainous desert. Like an off-road rally, it promises excitement and fierce competition. However, the unintended consequence of "more haste" will often be "less speed" and many will crash along the way.
The alternative scenario, called Blueprints, has some false starts and develops like a cautious ride on a road that is still under construction. Whether we arrive safely at our destination depends on the discipline of the drivers and the ingenuity of all those involved in the construction effort. Technical innovation provides for excitement.
Regardless of which route we choose, the world's current predicament limits our maneuvering room. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to population growth and economic development, and Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.
As a result, society has no choice but to add other sources of energy - renewables , yes, but also more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels such as oil sands. Using more energy inevitably means emitting more CO2 at a time when climate change has become a critical global issue.
In the Scramble scenario, nations rush to secure energy resources for themselves, fearing that energy security is a zero-sum game, with clear winners and losers. The use of local coal and homegrown biofuels increases fast.
Taking the path of least resistance, policymakers pay little attention to curbing energy consumption - until supplies run short. Likewise, despite much rhetoric, greenhouse gas emissions are not seriously addressed until major shocks trigger political reactions. Since these responses are overdue, they are severe and lead to energy price spikes and volatility.
The other route to the future is less painful, even if the start is more disorderly. This Blueprints scenario sees numerous coalitions emerging to take on the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution through cross-border cooperation.
Much innovation occurs at the local level, as major cities develop links with industry to reduce local emissions. National governments introduce efficiency standards, taxes and other policy instruments to improve the environmental performance of buildings, vehicles and transport fuels.
As calls for harmonization increase, policies converge across the globe. Cap-and-trade mechanisms that put a cost on industrial CO 2 emissions gain international acceptance. Rising CO2 prices accelerate innovation, spawning breakthroughs. A growing number of cars are powered by electricity and hydrogen, while industrial facilities are fitted with technology to capture CO 2 and store it underground.
Against the backdrop of these two equally plausible scenarios, we will only know in a few years whether December's Bali declaration on climate change was just rhetoric or the beginning of a global effort to counter it. Much will depend on how attitudes evolve in Beijing, Brussels, New Delhi and Washington.
Shell traditionally uses its scenarios to prepare for the future without expressing a preference for one over another. But, faced with the need to manage climate risk for our investors and our grandchildren, we believe the Blueprints outcomes provide the best balance between economy, energy and environment.
For a second opinion, we appealed to climate change calculations made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These calculations indicate that a Blueprints world with CO2 capture and storage results in the least amount of climate change, provided emissions of other major manmade greenhouse gases are similarly reduced.
The sobering reality is that the Blueprints scenario will only come to pass if policymakers agree a global approach to emissions trading and actively promote energy efficiency and new technology in four sectors: heat and power generation, industry, mobility and buildings. It will be hard work and there is little time.
For instance, Blueprints assumes CO2 is captured at 90% of all coal- and gas-fired power plants in developed countries in 2050, plus at least 50% of those in non-OECD countries. Today, there are none. Since CO2 capture and storage adds cost and brings no revenues , government support is needed to make it happen quickly on a scale large enough to affect global emissions. At the very least, companies should earn carbon credits for the CO2 they capture and store.
Blueprints will not be easy. But it offers the world the best chance of reaching a sustainable energy future unscathed, so we should explore this route with the same ingenuity and persistence that put humans on the moon and created the digital age.
The world faces a long voyage before it reaches a low-carbon energy system. Companies can suggest possible routes to get there, but governments are in the driving seat. And governments will determine whether we should prepare for a bitter competition or a true team effort.
That is the article, and how I see our challenges and opportunities. I look forward to hearing how you see the situation (please be concise).
Regards
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Transmission maintenance
Everything is connected, especially in middle age. It seems you can't just ride a bicycle, like you can just walk. Or so it seemed last year when I was off the bike for three months with a sore knee.
It came on suddenly with no known event to cause it. The doctor offered no ideas about where it came from and gave me a month of prescription anti-inflammatory drugs plus a sheet of knee stretching and strengthening exercises. I followed the prescription, and the pain did go away, but still, a year later, the knee feels like it might want to "go out" in some way if I'm not careful. The pain is located below the kneecap on the inside. My Sister-in-law The Physical Therapist says that pain in that area can be related to tight hamstrings, and can be relieved by stretching the hamstrings.
So it appears that if one wants to lead a simpler life by driving less and getting around by bike more, one has to devote some time to the maintenance activities that make that possible for the long term. Those would be the exercise, proper diet, and so on.
That leads to the question of what is the best way to live. We get into our own habits, our own rhythms of life, and after a time think that they are perfectly fine and normal. We get up when the alarm clock goes off, we eat the same thing for breakfast, we drive to work, etc. But every one of those activities, and the whole daily routine, could be questioned as to whether or not it is the best or only way, and whether or not some other way might actually be better for us.
I'm questioning one of those "normal" activities by trying to get to the point where all my personal transportation (within reason) is done without a personal automobile. To support that quest, I have to make another change into a routine of regular maintenance of my physical self. I hope to accomlish that by two gradual habit changes. The first will be up to fifteen minutes of stretching as soon as I get home from work, while I am still warmed up. The second will be a fifteen-minute morning warmup using the exercises from a recently-purchased book called "Combat Conditioning."
The ruts carved and polished over the decades are hard to get out of. We will have to see how this goes.
It came on suddenly with no known event to cause it. The doctor offered no ideas about where it came from and gave me a month of prescription anti-inflammatory drugs plus a sheet of knee stretching and strengthening exercises. I followed the prescription, and the pain did go away, but still, a year later, the knee feels like it might want to "go out" in some way if I'm not careful. The pain is located below the kneecap on the inside. My Sister-in-law The Physical Therapist says that pain in that area can be related to tight hamstrings, and can be relieved by stretching the hamstrings.
So it appears that if one wants to lead a simpler life by driving less and getting around by bike more, one has to devote some time to the maintenance activities that make that possible for the long term. Those would be the exercise, proper diet, and so on.
That leads to the question of what is the best way to live. We get into our own habits, our own rhythms of life, and after a time think that they are perfectly fine and normal. We get up when the alarm clock goes off, we eat the same thing for breakfast, we drive to work, etc. But every one of those activities, and the whole daily routine, could be questioned as to whether or not it is the best or only way, and whether or not some other way might actually be better for us.
I'm questioning one of those "normal" activities by trying to get to the point where all my personal transportation (within reason) is done without a personal automobile. To support that quest, I have to make another change into a routine of regular maintenance of my physical self. I hope to accomlish that by two gradual habit changes. The first will be up to fifteen minutes of stretching as soon as I get home from work, while I am still warmed up. The second will be a fifteen-minute morning warmup using the exercises from a recently-purchased book called "Combat Conditioning."
The ruts carved and polished over the decades are hard to get out of. We will have to see how this goes.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Motivation
My efforts to reduce my environmental impact have to start with what I can easily do that will have the greatest result, and the obvious candidate for that is reducing driving. (We already have put in a more efficient furnace, insulated the walls of our small house, and sealed the attic bypasses.) Riding a bicycle six miles to work is not that big a deal, but switching from driving a car almost all the time and getting to work in 15 minutes to riding a bicycle in all weather and getting to work in 40 minutes does take some effort, and, especially, some on-going motivation.
Depending on who is asking, my stated reasons for biking to work can be for getting exercise, saving money, or making a political statement about the war in Iraq, but as the years have passed from when I started in 2001 to now in 2008, I find that I like the philosophy of it. I think that we should not live in such a way that going almost anywhere can be accomplished only with motorized assistance, which is the way it seems sometimes in the area where I live. I like the image of a simple village life where one can run a simple errand by hopping on a bicycle and going a short distance to do it. (I do prefer big city living to the small town, but that is another issue.)
So to keep my motivation up, I lurk around web sites that talk about the idea of more widespread bicycle use in daily life. Links to places I like are to the left under the heading of "Motivation." Especially fun are the videos "Cycling-friendly Cities" and "City of Cyclists." They show that the way we do things in the USA is not the way things have to be done. I would encourage everyone to watch them sevaral times and see if it doesn't change one's views a bit.
Depending on who is asking, my stated reasons for biking to work can be for getting exercise, saving money, or making a political statement about the war in Iraq, but as the years have passed from when I started in 2001 to now in 2008, I find that I like the philosophy of it. I think that we should not live in such a way that going almost anywhere can be accomplished only with motorized assistance, which is the way it seems sometimes in the area where I live. I like the image of a simple village life where one can run a simple errand by hopping on a bicycle and going a short distance to do it. (I do prefer big city living to the small town, but that is another issue.)
So to keep my motivation up, I lurk around web sites that talk about the idea of more widespread bicycle use in daily life. Links to places I like are to the left under the heading of "Motivation." Especially fun are the videos "Cycling-friendly Cities" and "City of Cyclists." They show that the way we do things in the USA is not the way things have to be done. I would encourage everyone to watch them sevaral times and see if it doesn't change one's views a bit.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Who am I and why am I here?
Happy New Year 2008, and what is this "blogging" anyway? As I enter the downward side of middle age, I have decided to find out, lest I confine myself to the technological backwater of bloglessness.
Initially, when looking for a blogging theme, I thought of a place to store plans for my homemade bicycle headlight, a very limited theme. Then I thought I might as well expand that to commuting to work by bicycle, which I have started doing, and to utility cycling in general. But, since riding a bike to work is basically the same event repeated day after day, even that is not something that would tend to generate a wealth of ideas for blog posts.
Expanding, what am I really trying to accomplish by riding a bike to work? What does it represent? It represents an effort to simplify, a course change away from a life of heavy resource usage to one of less. So that suggested the theme, a chronicle of my attempts to use less, have less, do less, reduce my environmental impact, and not leave to my children a polluted world and a houseful of stuff they will have to shovel into a dumpster when I am gone. In short, to lighten ship.
But why write about it; who cares? That was my initial thought, but then the answer came to me. Human society is like an organism, and the people are the cells. Communication is the way the organism learns and evolves. As more people start talking about something, like reducing the carbon footprint, the concept rises to the general consciousness, becomes less foreign and more accepted, and gradually people might start to do it. So if I believe, for example, that we should use less oil, I should do it myself, be seen doing, and...talk about it to do my bit to bring the idea to the general consciousness, that is, to help the organism of human society learn and evolve. I can see that happening to me as I read web sites about peak oil, climate change. Ideas that I had never heard of became common knowledge, and behaviors that I once took for granted as normal came to seem bizarre and irrational.
So I begin with that lofty goal, but still with only the small first step of riding my bike to work.
Initially, when looking for a blogging theme, I thought of a place to store plans for my homemade bicycle headlight, a very limited theme. Then I thought I might as well expand that to commuting to work by bicycle, which I have started doing, and to utility cycling in general. But, since riding a bike to work is basically the same event repeated day after day, even that is not something that would tend to generate a wealth of ideas for blog posts.
Expanding, what am I really trying to accomplish by riding a bike to work? What does it represent? It represents an effort to simplify, a course change away from a life of heavy resource usage to one of less. So that suggested the theme, a chronicle of my attempts to use less, have less, do less, reduce my environmental impact, and not leave to my children a polluted world and a houseful of stuff they will have to shovel into a dumpster when I am gone. In short, to lighten ship.
But why write about it; who cares? That was my initial thought, but then the answer came to me. Human society is like an organism, and the people are the cells. Communication is the way the organism learns and evolves. As more people start talking about something, like reducing the carbon footprint, the concept rises to the general consciousness, becomes less foreign and more accepted, and gradually people might start to do it. So if I believe, for example, that we should use less oil, I should do it myself, be seen doing, and...talk about it to do my bit to bring the idea to the general consciousness, that is, to help the organism of human society learn and evolve. I can see that happening to me as I read web sites about peak oil, climate change. Ideas that I had never heard of became common knowledge, and behaviors that I once took for granted as normal came to seem bizarre and irrational.
So I begin with that lofty goal, but still with only the small first step of riding my bike to work.
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