Things seem a bit different

December 24, 2019

Happy Christmas Eve to one and all!  I hope you are enjoying or have escaped some type of festivity.  Things here are fine, thank you for your concern.  I am currently rocking out to the latest Of Monsters and Men CD – Fever Dream.  Of Monsters and Men are a great band and, as you can read here, 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/of-monsters-and-men-interview-fever-dream-album-tracklist-tour-dates-a9017221.html

 they just wanted to do something a little different for their 3^rdalbum (I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but so far I don't like it as much as their first two).  I am doing things a bit differently these days too because I have experienced a few elements that often accompany the aging process, most noticeably to me – hemorrhoids.  So I’ve been staying on my feet as much as possible and, unfortunately, avoiding the bicycle.  Quite a blow to my self-image, forsooth!  Without my bicycling avocation, what do I really stand for?!  Well, now I stand for standing up more than I used to in order to avoid pressure on my anus!  Standing is okay, but not quite as enjoyable as bicycling.  So, Saint Goncalo willing, hopefully I’ll get better soon and get back in the saddle, but I don’t really feel like pushing it right now.  Instead, I am presently content to type bitterly about various events, such as follows:

1. To get my bicycle-related fix without actually bicycling, I went to a local bike shop yesterday and was informed that they didn’t have any single speed bicycles.  They also only had two internal hub bicycles and they were both cruiser type bikes.  I guess there’s not much of a market for a single-speed commuter-type bike here in Homaha! Well, I guess we Omahans are a pretty soft sort who like to take the easy way!?  What have we become!?  Let’s get it together crème puffs!  Time to get competitive and make our fair to middlin’ city more bike friendly!  
2. There has also been a bit of a kerfuffle related to the city of Omaha’s idea to remove a bike rack that had been put in a past and current automobile parking space.  It apparently could contain 12 bikes or 1 motor vehicle, but not both.  Well, it has been said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but that is a statement that is subject to interpretation and nuance.  In this case, there are certainly more automobilers than bicyclers moving about Omaha at any given time.  However, up to 12 bicyclers could use a space that is now only able to handle one automobile that, in many instances, carries a single individual.  If the city wants to provide transportation options now and in the future that are not exclusively based on inefficient fossil-fuel-powered motor vehicles, they should stop defaulting to installing as many motor vehicle parking spaces as possible.  It is like the monocultured, stereotypical all-American lawn that is unhealthily filled with Kentucky blue grass and perhaps some fescue – needs a lot of water, fertilizer, and herbicides and is generally expensive to maintain.  The manicured lawn does not promote a healthy ecosystem, nor do streets that are exclusively automobile-centered make safe, healthy neighborhoods.  It is time to come to terms with the reality that auto-centric cities are eventually a dead end.  We should be building healthier neighborhoods and cities that encourage more sustainable transportation choices. Here are some cities that have done a good job of providing transportation options:  https://www.wired.com/story/most-bike-friendly-cities-2019-copenhagenize-design-index/  Oftentimes, articles cite technological development as promising progress in the realm of sustainable transportation.  However, it is also possible to improve sustainable transportation by relying on the classic technology of bicycles.  Or even the absence of technology by walking.  

Well, I will cease my grouchy rambling for now and hopefully I’ll be in a better mood next year when I’m back on the bike!  

Let’s get together soon. Missing you,

BSO