Just
curious.Many people have asked me the
same question in relation to my relentlessly confused webly ramblings. My answer is generally along the lines of
Luckily I have cut back on my habit, although
I do listen to a lot more country-western music these days, so I’m not sure if
this was a good trade-off.
If
you are in Nebraska and/or Omaha, then you may have been riding your bicycle
and recording your miles on your computer for the National BikeChallenge/Live Well Omaha Commuter Challenge.We’re number 2!Yayay!We are winners! Nebraska was #2 and beat those mapley Vermonters. Maybe if those Vermonters weren't so busy fox-trotting to Rudy Vallee's catchy Deep Night they would be able to be #2 instead of we persistent mid-westerners.
We did that because we like to bicycle.Also we like to be recognized for our
bicycling relentlessness.I myself have
a compulsion to document various aspects of my bicycling related thoughts and
experiences.
By the way, what is almost as much fun as actually bicycling is finding out stuff that relates to bicycles. Here
are some neat bicycles.
Hey, I've got an idea! Let’s
all bicycle!
Carefully! Easy!!! DON'T TENSE UP!!!!!!
Note to self: less coffee, more bicycling
Here is my letter to Councilman-on-the-scene Pahls.
Dear Mr. Pahls,
I would like to encourage you to vote to override the
mayor’s veto in support of creating a position dedicated to active
transportation in the Public Works Department.I believe the benefits to of doing so would outweigh the costs.Creating this position now will continue the
momentum Omaha currently has towards becoming a progressive midwestern city
with a lot to offer for energetic people who like to get out and move.I often see people of all ages and
backgrounds out enjoying our city’s many multi-use trails.They may be walking, bicycling, or
rollerblading, but one thing they tend to have in common is a smile.They also seem to be healthy.These are the kinds of people I am proud to
share our city with.
I remember as a kid in the 1970s 1980s riding my bicycle along Q
Street to get to the Q Cinema 6 to see a movie.We did not wear helmets back then, and the
shoulder was slender at best.Luckily I
survived and since then I have developed a pretty serious addiction to
bicycling.I reckon there are worse
habits!Since then the Keystone Trail,
the Big Papio Trail, the West Papio Trail and the Huntington Park Trail have
been built and have greatly increased the quality of my life here in
Omaha.I think many Omahans share this
view.I also am fortunate enough to live
about 5 miles from work.On most days, I am able to bicycle along several multi-use trails then a few side streets to my work.It keeps me in shape, I save a bit of money
that I would be spending on gas, and it’s one less car on the road during what
can be a busy commute.We have come a
long way as a city.
I am able to stay healthy and support my family while still
enjoying my bicycling habit.But when
friends and colleagues bring up my habitual mode of transport they often seem
bemused or concerned for my safety.I
look forward to a time when bicycling is not considered an alternative form of
transportation, but a practical and useful way to commute and run daily
errands.The safety aspect is one that I
take seriously.I try to ride somewhat
slowly and predictably, especially as I approach intersections.I always have at least two blinking lights on
my bicycle.I prefer using multi-use
trails and side streets when possible.But I have to admit to myself that it is somewhat dangerous.Bicycling becomes less dangerous when there
are more bicyclists.This encourages
motorists to become more aware of bicyclists and promotes a peaceful and
harmonious coexistence.
Mayor Stothert may believe that multiple means of transport
are already viable options in our community.It is true that we have come a long way.But there are still many things that we can do to continue to create
more versatility in our transportation systems.I think we need to create an east-west bike lane or multi-use trail to
provide more opportunities for bicycle commuters who do not want to ride on
roads that are often busy and may not have shoulders.Cities like Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, as
well as smaller cities like Madison, Wisconsin have created many multi-use
trails and bicycle lanes that make these cities very attractive to active
people who are looking for a welcoming community in which to settle and raise/flee families.
I know that your job is to make tough decisions.One decision that I hope you will make is to
invest the time and effort to consider this issue.I believe that you will find that promoting
multiple means of transportation in a city creates stronger, happier, healthier
communities.Although automobiles might be the primary way we get around for a long time, as our community grows I feel
our choices in transportation should grow as well. A number of studies (referenced below [and stolen taken from ModeShift Omaha's website]) have
documented the economic and social benefits related to developing
infrastructure that supports multiple forms of transport.
I hope that you will support this effort to provide a path
towards a more flexible and progressive transportation plan for our community
by voting to override the mayor’s veto.Thank you for being a leader in our community and for standing up for
what we believe.
Sincerely,
Bike Snot OMA
P.S.: Please stop by so we can go bicycling together. What size shorts do you wear?
As I hope you have often noticed, sometimes things are going
great.Other times, as you may have had
to admit to yourself, things are not going so well.As you may also have noticed, sometimes you
may want to have a beer from a bottle that does not have a twisty top.Sometimes this is fine because you have a
bottle-opening strategythat you feel is
appropriate.Other times you encounter
difficulties and/or breakage, etc., et al.Tonight my
friend Bob and I experienced a bit of the not going so well/difficulties/injury
perspective.Things started off well
enough as we layered up and saddled up to ride our trusty steeds down to
Margaritaville to try to finish off at least part of my formidable stash of
highly carbonated ginger beer.Sure it
was kind of cool and dreary, all the more reason to get out and try to enjoy
what’s left of these technically-still-summer days.As we rode to M-ville we griped and joked
good-naturedly.We saw a serious-looking
fellow flying down the trail on some kind of crazy aggro-unicycle.
We met up with a small but festive group of
fellow cyclists at Margaritaville.They
turned out to be well equipped with medical supplies and knowledge, we found
out momentarily.I handed Bob a highly
carbonated glass bottle of ginger beer and told him I didn’t have a bottle
opener but that there was a grill right here that would probably do the
trick.I did not mean Bob any harm.The highly carbonated bottle did, however,
explode when Bob opened the beer in spectacular fashion.Unfortunately his hand got sliced up pretty
good.Fortunately a helpful fellow
bicyclist had a wrap-up-your-wound style/compression bandage.He had had it since his Army days.It provided a secure dressing to the wound as
we pedaled somewhat dejectedly back to the parking lot.Bob seems to be recovering well.He has described the event as a “lesson learned” in that he has resolved that
we should always be equipped with either a bottle opener or a first aid kit
when we set out upon the taco trail.
Although completely different, yet somewhat similar, our
friendly town of Omaha is now going through a somewhat difficult time.Parts of our multi-use trails are coveredwith mud.Our benevolent
empress/mayoress seems to be hell bent on ending our glorious years of bicycle
ascendancy within the city’s transportation echelon.It would appear that the mayoress’s veto on
creating a multi-modal transportation representative has doomed our town to
gloomy Gotham City-like muddiness and traffic.However, you may grasp for a shard of glass to cut through these bonds
of despair by contacting your local city councilperson (especially if your councilperson is Rich Pahls (Rich.Pahls@cityofomaha.org) who may choose to help override
the mayoress’s veto. Rich Pahls? District 5?! Holy shit! That's me!
Oooooo. I've actually got something that involves bicycling and typing that might be considered worthwhile! So I am hoping that
our city council will gang bang the mayoress’s veto off the table so we can get
on with some good ol’ wholesome bicycle mud-slinging! I will be sure to provide you with my letter to our venerable city council man/Pahls on the scene.
I am not, however, holding my breasts breath. My hopes have been dashed by our empress often enough and I feel that it
is probably best at this juncture to keep my expectations as low as a slumping,
slurpy, slippery mudslide. Yum!
Some say we move through life.Others, that life moves through us, motion an illusion.Some days it feels that we are at a fork in
the road we are travelling.Some days it
feels like we have found a pear in the road upon which we have stopped to take
a photo.
Some days we cross a
mini-mudslide and find a barricade on the other side.
Other days we feel saturated.This saturation may be due to sunlight or
liquid sunshine.
Possibly even liquid
acid, but that, my friends, is another storey.
A friend of mine has broached the idea of moving off to
Montana to pursue his dream of wild art.Well that is great!I support
your dream.My dream has come true since
I just started receiving my 1st of 12 free issues of Outside
magazine!All I had to do was fly 5 or
6,000 miles.And fortunately I was able
to verify that Missoula, Montana is indeed on Outside’s list of best places to live.So consider that dream validated. Some have the courage to fight for their dreams, others fight for their armchair to dream from.
I also used to dream of a city where my hardly earned
taxpayer’s money supported the work of a man like Carlos Morales who was
getting things done downtown.Kicking
arse, taking dames, that kinda shit.It
seems that his time here in our fair to middlin’ city may be nearing its
end.I wish him all the best in whatever
endeavors he chooses to undertake in his next engagement.
Fortunately there may be a glimmer of light (for the many fans of bicycles and Carlos here and abroad) at the end of
the tunnel of Mr. Morales’s disengagement.This, from our friends at ModeShift Omaha.
When the City of Omaha budget was released, it did not include the Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator position.According to Mayor Jean Stothert, the position was no longer necessary because “the purpose of this position, the goals have been reached.”
So, for a moment, that was the outlook. It was bleak.
Today, things are very different. The Mayor acted fairly quickly to create the Active Living Advisory Committee and selected Julie Harris to be its first chair. Win.
Soon thereafter, several months of ongoing discussions between several city departments, Omaha by Design and others culminated in an agreement to create the city’s first Complete Streets policy. Win.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) then offered to ramp up its multimodal planning efforts if the city agreed to chip in a few bucks to make it happen. The city obliged. Win.
And finally, a position dedicated to multimodal transportation – a balanced transportation coordinator – was restored into the budget. As it stands today, the City Council approved a position in Public Works and the Mayor agreed to a similar position in Planning. There’s still the possibility of a veto, so we’ll see where this shakes out. Nevertheless, we’ll call it a win.
Like the immediate future of multimodal transport here in Omaha, like Mr. Morales, and like my friend who dreams of becoming a wild artist, I, too, feel I’ve reached a fork in the road.
I may gradually cease all blogging activities
in a slow, disgraceful manner as I spend more and more time trying to keep our
house from collapsing, gardening, and chasing Toddler Snot hither and yon.This is certainly a possibility.Hopefully I’ll be able to continue, albeit on an even
less regular basis, to offer haphazard, inchoate, insightless drivel to those
who can stomach it.
As I reached my workly place a half a fortnight past I
noticed that I had neglected to secure me trousers in me trusty rucksack.Funny!I was a little embarrassed, but I figured my time had come. Luckily Mrs. Snot was kind enough to deliver a pair to me and all I had to do was wear paisley trousers that were a bit tight in the rumpus. One place where arriving to work with no
trousers might not be a problem would be over in bonny Scotland where everyone
roams around with either pro-independence kilts,
or perhaps even
Depends comforting their private parts.I, for one, am in favor of independence because it is likely to lead to an
increase in Highland games and viewings of Braveheart.I would also like to visit someday and it
will be nice not to have to deal with those Lobsterbacks pushing us humble
colonists onto a Mayflower and trying to teabag our rebellious nostrils!And if our honourable United Stateliness is
occasionally accused of neo-colonial behavior it’s just because that’s how we grew up –
being oppressed by colonialists!This is
not to excuse our behavior in places like Granada or Puerto Rico, but
merely to explain it.Why, even as we
serve as the frigid ice cream topping to the spicy, cinnamony cake we call
Mexico, so too, we support our maple syruppy northern neighbors who cover us
with their sweet stickiness whether we asked them to or not!All of this is to say that we may have a
limited amount of control over the ebb and flow of nations and power, but we
can all relate to bicycles.So let’s get
out there and get soaked!
Here's what my tighty whities looked like when I got to my working home today.
Yes, those are soggy and slightly gritty skivvies, and no, I did not wear them. In the words of William Wallace - Frreeeedommm!
