awesome

There's something quite addictive about bike riding all in itself.

But I've discovered the joy of riding in a group over the past couple weeks, thanks to the Sunday Nite Ladies Ride.

Large groups taking over the streets. Smaller groups stopping in the park to share wine. Taking in the unexpected with excitement, amusement.

I think I'm officially a bike addict.

little bodhran

Julia dancing, Doug guitaring, me bodhraning

reasons to bike

Riding a bicycle is the definition of freedom. Freedom from the oil companies. Freedom from monthly car payments. Freedom from expensive car maintenance. Freedom from monthly insurance payments. Freedom from obesity and all of its associated health risks. Freedom from bus schedules. Freedom to stop and admire the view any time you want. Freedom to choose your own route. Freedom to go at your own pace. Freedom to be yourself.

This was posted on a bike geek site among a list of reasons to ride a bike.

My other favorite reason posted is:

The wheeeeeeee" factor.

i like obama

These guys are called Bop Du Fway. The background is some pretty great jazz. The spoken word + singing is generally pretty funny, even though the entire experience is a little weird. I do wish I would have recorded his little pre-song speech about endorsing a candidate, and how he used to actually like McCain. The chorus parts are cheesy, but the verses are good. Captured at ComFest 2008.

wow.

This is an article about a Solar/Hydrogen powered househould. Built by a civil engineer with his own time and mostly his own money (although several grants were involved). It gives me hope for alternative fuel sources - but it also makes me sad that we're still so far away from these ideas being the "norm".

waiting...

I'm waiting on STB so we can head out to one of our favorite parks & enjoy an evening of grilling food and hanging out.

I thought I'd post a few updates...

On the biking thing.... I've put just under 80 miles on my bike in the span of about 1 month. My longest ride was probably about 5 or 6 miles - so that's lots & lots of little rides. It also means that I reduced the mileage on my car by ~80 miles. Yay!

Only very minor updates on the music stuff... Brazen Brass will be performing @ the Clintonville Farmer's Market on Saturday, June 21. Ain't Misbehavin' has a private party gig this Saturday.

On job stuff...ugh, I'm so ready for a new job. But am still being choosy over where I apply. I've added to my criteria that it must be within biking distance of my residence. So my options are even more limited. I have a list of jobs to look through, just need to find the time to do that & then apply.

Alternate Transportation

I've been trying to incorporate my biking into everyday activities as much as possible. My goal is to make the bike my primary method of transportation. (I may will almost definitely wuss out come winter, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it). I want to relegate the car to trips 10 or 15+ miles, events that require instruments, events where I can carpool, or as a back-up for really nasty weather. Right now I'm comfortable biking up to 8 miles roundtrip in a short period of time.

I have 4 reasons for this new way of thinking:

1. To save a little money on fuel



2. To be a little 'greener' in my everyday living

3. To get some exercise - I actually enjoy the gym, but I really love being outside in nice weather

4. I just enjoy riding a bike

I think #1 is going to become a huge issue for a lot of people over the next few months. What will be interesting is to watch how the majority of Americans change their lifestyles to adjust.

The first way of change would be to see more + more people using alternative fuels, hybrid or electric vehicles, walking, biking, using public transportation, etc. All positive changes to reduce our overall footprint, get more involved in local living (a byproduct of limiting your fuel consumption seems to be that you travel less for everything), and in many cases be a little healthier.

The second way of change would be to see people adjust to paying more for fuel by reducing their other expenses. While reducing your expenses is never a bad thing individually (it's typically a great thing!), it will affect the economy as large chunks of people stop spending money on entertainment and "extras". And/or use even more credit for purchases, which they then can't afford to pay off. And it will continue to deplete a limited resource, feed into the oil industry's grasp on our economy, limit research into alternative fuels, and drive up the cost of petroleum-based products EVEN MORE.

Sadly, I think it is more likely to go the way of the second option. It's promising to see a lot of people are starting to think 'green'. But Americans in general seem to be really, really in love with their big, gas guzzling vehicles. Usually with only 1 person in them.

I didn't intend this to turn into a rant, rather just a "I'm trying to bike more + more" post. So to lighten the mood: random comics to make you think about fuel consumption.

And a side note on the subject of being green: I am attending a BBQ later today (who isn't?) and checked Google Maps for directions. I was given the option of "driving directions" or "public transportation directions". Incredibly awesome. I was actually considering pushing myself to bike to the BBQ (10.6 miles each way) but I'm also going to be hauling at least 1 instrument and it's probably going to be nasty thunderstorms later. C'est la vie. Maybe the rain will pass tonight and I can bike to work all week.