Winter?! Where?! How!?

December 4, 2014

Seasonal greetings to you!  And to you!  James Brown is smiling in heaven.  And I have been smiling whilst bicycling about and thinking about that first precious spin of my hard drive as it cranks out “Christmas in Heaven.” 

What have you been doing with yourself of late?  Please text me for a chance to win an exciting interactive musical bicycling funkfest prize if you actually tell me (in detail) what you have been doing with yourself.   Mmmmmm.  Feels good!

Here are some things that I have been itching to bee listing for yous. 

1.1     I went out bicycling on Thanksgiving Eve and it was cold.  Also Bob did not go. ;-{(->

2. 2    My tyre was not able to withstand the festive fatness of my inner tub(e) any longer and burst at the seam.

Bye Kenda Kwest!  You were great!

3. 3    Did you know that you can log your bicycling myles at the following self-indulgently improving web siteuation? https://www.endomondo.com/challenges/19093104

4. 4    That is all.

But wait!  That is not all.  How’s about some philosophizing?!

Some base their worldview around their actions.  Others have a worldview upon which they base their actions.  Still others have acted upon their base worldly basic instinctive stinkiness, & et cetera.  Wherefore art thou sense?  Herefore.  What is upon us with this portly bicycle-mania?  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatbike

I am as befuddled as usual!?  I do not have the thyme, energy, or liquid assets to jump upon this cushy trendfest of comfortable happiness.  “Why?” you may be asking yourself or others.  Well, it is probably because I’m cheap and also I value my garage space.  It is also due to my minimalist tendencies, although I do not like to burden myself with the label of a minimalist.  Also I am hoping to find the perfect commuter bicycle with a dynamo that powers daytime running lights, a USB port, a cigarette lighter, and a flirtatious onboard GPS navigational system to guide me seamlessly through the seamy neighborhoods I sometimes find myself riding through.  And that is when I ask myself, “How did I get here?”

Close, but no cigar.  http://inhabitat.com/silverback-builds-urban-bikes-with-usb-chargers-for-your-gadgets/

But I am not above enjoying a balloon tyre enjoymental orgy.  Is there, I ask, a way for a man of meager means to enjoy a semblance of big-boned bicycle smiling without expending resources upon a Clydesdale of such plentiful proportions?  Why yes!  It's a very wide tyre!  Like this!:

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/offroad-reader/hans-dampf.html
 

Well, I do knot know a hole lot, but I do know how I got here.  I drank some coffee of the uppity variety at 7 p.m.!?!?  I know!?   No, I don’t know why, but I do know how.  Alright, nice chat.  Now, get back to something productive!  The both of yous!

Gomaha! Nebrasking!

October 8, 2014

What are you doing!?  Why!?  Why you do that!? 

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

    

Dear Councilman Pahls

September 13, 2014

 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?

References:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1761989/bike-pedestrian-street-projects-create-more-jobs-than-car-only-projects

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=10.1289/ehp.1103440

http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/04/28/1078087411403120.abstract?rss=1

http://www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf

Doom + ginger beer + gloom

September 11, 2014

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 strategy  that 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.  

rolandpasnet.blogspot.com

Q:  How does he stop?  

A:  Not applicable.  

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.  

http://www.cityofomaha.org/citycouncil/council-members

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!