Hardly a Commute!

“A cyclist can ride three-and-a-half miles on the calories found in an ear of corn. Bicycles consume less energy per passenger mile than any other form of transport, including walking. A ten-mile commute by bicycle requires 350 calories of energy, the amount in one bowl of rice. The same trip in the average American car uses 18,600 calories, or more than half a gallon of gasoline.”—Marcia D. Lowe, The Bicycle: Vehicle for a Small Planet

Whether we are inclined to accept these assertions or not; it is interesting that each U.S. household had 0.86 bicycles and 1.9 automobiles in 2001. In China, bicycles significantly outnumber automobiles, approximated at 250:1. India has a 30:1 ratio, and South Korea has a 20:1 ratio.

Why, then, in the U.S. does that ratio digress so significantly? Why is it speculated that only one out of forty bicycles is ridden for commuting? Are the rest used for strictly recreation or retired to the garage in disrepair? As a commuting bicyclist we should be thinking of ourselves in the vast minority…but, a healthy, environmentally and economically sensitive minority.

That being said, I thought I would share a video of my hardly a commute to work. It is a two-and-a-half minute video during which you can hum either Ghost Riders in the Sky by The Ventures, We Will Rock You by Queen, The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens, or Remember the Days of the Old Schoolyard by Cat Stevens…as if you were at some nostalgic silent movie. I often switch-up my own humming on my one-song-commute; for example, in inclement weather you might catch me humming Buy for Me the Rain by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band or Wipe Out by The Surfaris.

For you techies, this real-time video was filmed with my son’s Oregon Scientific helmet cam mounted on the handlebars of my trusty winterized Hop Rocker. The raw footage was edited with Solveig Multimedia AVI Trimmer 1.6 Freeware. Forgive me for amusing myself…

If you are really bored, watch the commute home. Oddly, it is a slightly shorter video…must be the prevailing winds!

Power to the Pedal People!

The Rodent Conspiracy Continues...

Have you seen this reprobate, good-for-nothing, troublemaker…this, this…this SQUIRREL?

Okay, the story continues…

My biking friends, our safety is at risk! Like the Biking Brady that has started posting license plate numbers of vehicles that have little or no awareness (or respect )for bicycles sharing the road, I am starting a Rodent Registry. This Rodent Registry is an attempt to identify these vermin for what they are…NUTS! I’m certainly convinced that the culprit pictured in this blog is, in fact, the same rascal that at the midday on June 21, 2008, intentionally and deliberately fell…no leapt…onto my helmet (and subsequently positioning itself eye-to-eye with me) to cause malicious cardiovascular distress and emotional duress. (Disinclined Riding Partner, August 14, 2008)

Look closely at this adrenaline-junky, this malevolent, maloccluded, mangy, may-do-harm. Look deeply into his beady eyes and observe the chainring grease still staining his furry little-coat. Don’t be deceived…these varmints are ANIMALS…I tell you!

The Registry will use photographic identification of the offenders, rather than names or numbers. After all, who has time to even catch a license plate number when you are trying to recover from a near-miss collision with a motor vehicle—least of all dodging the acrobatic antics of an agile antagonist. Check out how Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Oregon, Illinois, Utah, Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Tennessee, South Carolina and Maine have legislated a three-foot passing clearance. Check out Joe Mizereck's "Three Feet Please" Campaign and view the videos here. How close is too close?

Unlike other registry systems, out-of-state offenders will be featured, just like Brady’s…no motor vehicle licensure, voter’s registration, or mail-forwarding address will compromise the integrity of this registry of reprobates.

Oh…and, don’t get me started on the deer, marmots and gophers…

No animals were harmed in the production of this blog. Unfortunately, they were likened to an unthinking fraction of the human population that is creating a dangerous condition for both cyclists and motorists--by not passing with a reasonable clearance.

Please Share-the-Road, Thank You!

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

—Andy Warhol

This 1968 pop-culture statement is often misquoted, perhaps conveniently so since Andrew Warhola (AKA Andy Warhol) deliberately tried to confuse reporters by changing it when he was persistently asked about its particular meaning. However, the statement refers to the transitory (short term and disposable) celebrity status that an object has when the media features it...followed by its subsequent loss of recognition as the public’s interests wane.

Even though the bike lanes, routes and paths in Sioux Falls could fall to this cliché, the community’s commuting and recreational cyclists need to maintain the vision for improving the trail and route system. Influential organizations and individuals have made sustentative recommendations to the design, development and alterations of this system and its detours. It is through committed labor, vigilance and expertise that Sioux Falls is emerging as a safe-cycling community. I extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude to those organizations and individuals for the privileged opportunity to have such a system available for my use—thank you!

Warhol Sharrows?

“Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.”

—Grant Peterson

Ice Fetish?

They’re mounted and inflated! No more messing around on this ice…Continental Spike Claw Studded Mountain Bike Tires.

Went for a very short ride today, just before sundown…what a beautiful day! I’m still not convinced that crashin’-n-burnin’ is that impossible with these tires. It just doesn’t seem right—riding on icy roads—but so far so good, not a single slip. Maybe the advertisements are right—“use the 240-stud version for riding around in hockey rinks… and get a grip on your masochistic ice fetish.”

The Mom-in-Law wants me to be safe on the ice so she got me protection for Christmas…check out the helmet. If this isn’t an outtake from either Animal House or Wild Hogs, I’m not sure what it is…but it’s warm and comfy! Ja wohl, dies ist ein guter Helm!

Merry Christmas to All!

Born unto the World was a Savior, Christ the King.
Best of Holiday Wishes to You and Yours!
The Sprockets

Bike-Sharing Simple

"Since the bicycle makes little demand on material or energy resources, contributes little to pollution, makes a positive contribution to health and causes little death or injury, it can be regarded as the most benevolent of machines."--Stuart S. Wilson

Riding the global wave of interest in alternative transportation, the University of Sioux Falls is launching a Bike-Share program for students and employees. Starting this Spring 2009, The USF Bike-Share Program will “pedal off” with 10 Giant Simple Single Cruisers™ —available on a first-come, first-serve basis. These bikes will be equipped with locks and a removable rack/basket and a helmet so that the participant has everything they need for a bicycle commute/ride. The goals are to reduce traffic/parking congestion on and around campus, reduce fuel consumption, and promote fitness and an appreciation for the outdoors.

The faculty and student sponsored program is modeled after similar efforts at other colleges/universities around the world. Bike-share programs are not new creations. They were first developed in Europe in the 1960’s from a need to protect the environment through the use of sustainable transportation; the same purpose as they serve today. However, bike-share programs fulfill a second purpose by contributing to the participant’s well-being by increasing mobility and leisure activity, improving health, as well as offering alternatives for short distance trips.

The concept of Bike-Sharing is quite simple; bikes are loaned, free of charge, to members of the university community. A user applies to become a member, completes a registration form, agrees to the terms and conditions of use, is issued a membership card and can borrow a bike-share bike. It’s that simple and elegant.

The USF campus is uniquely situated between municipal bicycling routes, some of which that have been most recently marked with “Share the Road” sharrows and signage. Bike routes along 22^nd Street and Summit Avenue intersect at the northeast corner of the USF Campus, providing easy access to municipal on-street bike routes (approximately 35 miles) and the bike trail system (approximately 22 miles).

And for those of you that missed it...USF is the NAIA National Football Champions! Congratulations players, coaches, trainers and cheerleaders!