Haulin' Away...

Another interesting load for a neighbor. Nice going, Alex.

Goodbye and Hello

Saying goodbye to the kids as Lisa snapped a pic. They're off to visit family on vacation while I prepare for the big move on Thursday.

This was the last day they would be in the current house. We will miss our neighbors! But 2 miles away isn't far. I'm reminded of the changes we experienced on the house. Also more importantly the changes we experienced these past 14 years as a family...

We swung on the Highland swings
Dreaming of kids that would walk to school

Aliya's name arrived in Lisa's dream,
Artem's face in her magazine,
Vision of boys swimming near a fence;
Alex too, it made perfect sense.

Winter school carnivals,
New Year's skating at Highlands Lake,
Fall picnics at the Tree Park,
Walking to school is fun to do.

"Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello"

Autmn Blaze Maple grows higher; new family will see,
Dexter's ashes nourish the tree
While we begin a new adventure much more free

Meet new neighbors, bring a pie.
Polar Express fits on the shelf.

"Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello."

Frosty malts after the pool,
Another season to walk to school.

New Painting

This just in from Karen, my sister. She writes, "Here's a recent commission. (oil 16x20) I love painting horses and people! :~) "

We both like to ride. Being a city guy, however, my steeds are steel instead of flesh and bones.

The Big Dummy Has Landed!

Flew in from Chicago and took the train to downtown, walked to One on One Bicycle Studio, paid for the piece of work (almost all used parts!), and rode home. It was fantastic!

My first ride carried two spare tires, all my luggage, and a bag of papers, cereal, and a banana. Here is the first photo as dusk set the same night.

12 people already rode it those first few hours. Ellen (pictured below) borrowed the bike to deliver Girl Scout cookies with two of her daughters on the deck. This bike is sick! It's everything I had hoped it would be...and more.

Encouraging Sprawl

What do you think about this statement: "This [cheap gas in the U.S.] allows us to move further away from the city and buy houses 30% bigger and buy larger, more powerful automobiles."

From CNBC this morning: "Discussing the economy, with Wilbur Ross, Jr., WL Ross & Co. chairman/CEO; Mike Jackson, AutoNation CEO; John Hofmeister, Shell Oil U.S. Operations CEO and Robert McTeer, former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president"

I'm at a school colloquium in Chicago and turned on CNBC. Panelists this morning are spouting off on the advantages of cheap oil in the U.S. which keeps our gas prices historically low as a portion of our income.



Sometimes I think we are in denial. Yesterday while walking to class I saw other headlines "World Environment in Peril" with shots of melting glaciers and other havoc.

Environment aside, what are the advantages of spreading humanity out to cover up the diminishing prairies, grasslands, farms, and forests? What is the cost of the extended sewer systems? The cost of additional pollution as people use more and more fossil fuels to use those "larger and more powerful" cars as they move away? What is the social cost of kids not growing up near neighbors and adults not having friends within walking distance? What about the loss of the "neighborhood school" where people actually walk to school? The walking/busing/biking ease of getting to work? Sure, short-term economic gains can be enjoyed from the incessant need to increase shareholder value year upon year. But where are the measurements for "gross national social stability"? Air quality? Carbon footprint reduction? Oil-inspired wars?

OK, now the New York auto show is being featured. My parting thoughts are that 14 bicycles fit in a standard car parking lot space. At a fraction of the energy required to melt, build, transport, and sell one regular car.

Bicycling (and other human-powered transport), busing, and other good choices are good for health, society, and the world in both political and environmental aspects. It is apparent that stakeholders such as Shell Oil, energy investors, lobbyists, and many government leaders might need further proof to see the situation in a longer-term perspective. What do you think? What will you do?

Big Dummy Ordered

G.O. at One on One Bicycle Studio was able to locate a frame for me...might come this Friday. I predict that 2008 will be the year of the utility bike. Look for continued excitement in the media, more long-tails showing up on the streets, and more positive trends for bikes as transportation and utilities. The image below is from surlybikes.com; visit the Frames section.

"...it hauls your groceries, tools, human and animal friends, surfboard, work duds, briefcase, vacuum cleaner, firewood, moonshine, camping gear, banjo, mulch, and anything else you can imagine, while providing the functionality, durability, and sweet ride characteristics that Surly bikes are known for. Use the Big Dummy for commuting to work, running errands, taking the kids to school, farm/yard work, touring, or just riding around cuz it’s fun."

P.S. I couldn't sleep today and woke up at 2:30 a.m. thinking about it. Guess it's time to ride to work....

The first photo is from the Surly blog. The next photo is not mine. Credit to Mountain Bike Review.

-14F & Still Biking Strong

My favorite biking season is winter. My favorite biking conditions are snow and ice. Have you ever ridden on freshly fallen snow? Sounds like squeaky marshmallows. How about packed snow at -14F? Sounds like pleasant but slightly unsettling alien metallic humming. Cracked ice at zero F = Rice Krispies on steroids. In the future I hope to prepare an audio file of these for your enjoyment. For now, here are some of my favorite winter images.