Hello, fellow stompers, spinners and coasters!

I'm having a good time with this blog communication and reading everybody's stories.  I just tried to copy and paste from my page to here and couldn't make it happen.  So, if yr looking for another proud biker story, come visit.

Thanks!

Butch

My anticar...

Kyle, thanks for adding me to the fold. James and Kyle, it's great to see your efforts in building a community of commuters. I've used a bike to get around for most of my time in C-ville, but had an inspirational moment last spring. You'd like me to share? Great!

About 3 hours into a Saturday night rickshaw shift, four stout guys hopped on while I was parked near Orbits. Where to? Cabel Ave. at the top of Grady. It wasn't a fast trip and it featured plenty of granny gear, but we made it and they had a great time in the process. My 165# motor and a 200# vehicle had moved roughly 800# of intoxicated cargo over a fair distance and gained substantial elevation. That was the moment of a changed perspective.

I live a rather pedestrian life here in town. Work is half a mile from home. The stores I use are less than 5 miles away. If my own power could move such a load, then why do we tend to move cargo with cars of mass far greater than their payload? It's not that cars are bad, but perhaps they're inefficient because we fail to use them to their potential. Maybe all that power and space isn't well used by my needs.

Perhaps by choosing to live close to work, we could use our commuting minutes to run errands by bicycle. Generally I save time by moving faster than traffic and having available parking on the far end of my trips. Recently I discovered the joy of a real rain jacket and rain pants. A rubbermaid tote on my BOB trailer keeps bulky cargo secure, clean, and dry.

So add me to the "fan of bike commuting" list. With a bit of planning, some versatile gear, and a sturmey 3 speed, it's a blast.

492.5 MILES!

That's right four hundred ninty two miles!  The list below has the current points standings as of midnight last night.  It looks like JN has taken the lead with many many short trips.  Other people in the top ranks seem to be racking up the points with longer trips on heavy bikes.

It's still *very* early in the month so we'll see who keeps trucking along steadily and who fades into laziness.  

Remember to submit your miles you must complete the survey.  You must click the "Done" button at the end.  

Note:  The points listed above include all of the bonus points for rain, weight etc.  The total mileage is just the raw mileage that we've all tallied together over one short week of riding to work.  

Bike Bailout

I don't know the details about the Bike Commuter Bill; however, it was one of the pieces of pork added to the bank bailout bill that Congress passed last week.

I found the news on a local blog, it is the Friday, Oct 3 post: http://discoveringurbanism.blogspot.com/

A little good news in a week of crazy news.

bike snob? more like bike blog!

Speaking of blogs, I found this guy's NYC commuter blog. It is hilarious - flush with sarcasm, the occaisonal wit on food, idiots, and living in a massive city, as well as containing ample imagery - I think this one is staying under my "bike" itnernerd linkbar for awhile.
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

A Conversation....

between me and the woman and the drive-thru tax window at the county office building. (keep in mind the we were both FRIENDLY to each other)

Woman - Can I help you?

Kyle - I'd like to pay my taxes

Woman - You have to come inside

Kyle - Why?

Woman - Your on a bike

Kyle - I don't understand?

Woman - We don't accept walk ups at the drive-thru

Kyle - But, I'm on a bike

Woman - What's your account number?

Unexpected benefits of bicycle commuting.

In a world with gas prices at $4/gallon and with obesity being nearly pandemic, commuting by bike makes a world of sense. People have pointed this out before and I'm not here to repeat those points. But, with ever more people commuting by bike, there are some unexpected side benefits. Here's mine.

On today's commute, totally unplanned, a friend and I ended up at the same stop light. We ended up riding the rest of the way to work together and had a nice conversation along the way. It wasn't that far, but enough time to catch up on a few things. This isn't the first time this has happened, but it surely doesn't happen daily. But who knows, if everyone takes up commuting by bike, maybe it would.

I got to thinking as I sat down at my desk that people used to bump into friends and neighbors regularly before cars became the primary mode of transportation. I noticed I felt significantly happier having just 5 minutes of social time before having to focus on work, as opposed to running directly from bed to shower to work.

So, I'm going to say "extra social time" is my anti-car. What's yours?

-j

p.s. This also makes me want to set up a "bike pool" (as opposed to a car pool) in which friends in the same part of town meet and ride to work together. Safety in numbers, and all that. Probably a far fetched dream, but who knows.