Biking to work

I've finally started biking to work after all these years of threatening to do it. Work is now only 6.5 miles away by car, and 8.5 by bike, so there's no longer any excuse. The reason the bike trip is longer is the lack of a shoulder on one of the roads, and the bridge construction over the highway, where cars often drift in and out of their lanes. These factors make it more prudent to cross the highway one exit closer, and go around the reservoir on the other side of the highway. It's a beautiful ride, so I don't mind the extra two miles each way.

On the way home the other day, my rear tire went completely flat. I'm still not sure how it happened, as it was parked at a bike rack when it went flat. Maybe someone didn't like the way I parked, and stuck their pocket knife in my tire. I got that fixed this past weekend, and bought some equipment as well -- front and rear lights, a reflective vest, a handlebar mirror, and a water bottle holder. Oh, and a much-needed pair of bike shorts, even though I have a cushy seat. I'm all set for a good week of biking to work. For the past 4 weeks, I have biked 2, 1, 1, and 2 times. I'm shooting for 3 or 4 times this week. Adding in 1 day a week working at home, that's 140 driving miles avoided, for about 120 pounds of CO2 not emitted.

When I arrived this morning, my legs didn't feel like jelly any more. I ride an average of about 12 mph, including stop lights, uphills and downhills. It seems like I'm working, but I use my low gears as much as possible to keep a fairly steady pedaling pace and effort. The first day I rode, my legs were quite wobbly when I got to work. Today, no problem, so my legs are definitely getting in shape, and maybe so is my cardio-vascular system. The return trip seems to be more uphill than the way to work; certainly the half mile is three very steep hills in a row, so I'm always huffing and puffing when I get home. There is a gravel path up a very, very steep hill, which is a shortcut, but I cannot yet make it all the way up. One of these days...

Bicycle power

Well, this is encouraging:

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/03/my-view-from-atop-the-table-at-the-national-bike-summit.html

Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
• Go beyond minimum design standards.
• Collect data on walking and biking trips.
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
• Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

Now, this is a start, but it's an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.

The cars always get priority over bicyclists and pedestrians, even in places like parking lots, where everyone goes from driver to pedestrian to driver again. This new regulation is a step in the right direction. Here's the link to the regulation: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/bicycle-ped.html.

Finally

Finally, I've found someone who agrees with me about ripping out highway lanes. I'm reading "Green Metropolis" by David Owen, published in 2009. He makes the point that making things easier for drivers is almost always the goal for road and highway designers, and that this goal is exactly the opposite of sustainable. He argues that increasing traffic flow encourages drivers to drive more. Cars like the Fortwo encourage urban walkers and riders to drive instead of walk. And the LEED certification process does not reduce energy consumption. As examples of the latter, he slams a supposed green building at the end of a 15-mile mountain road, and another on Chesapeake Bay that forced 80 employees to drive to work instead of taking public transit to a city center.

He spares no one in his critiques of conventional green wisdom, including Jefferson, Thoreau, the Green Building Council, and of course, affluent exurbanites who are going that extra mile to get away from the environmental "disaster" of the city. The overall point of the book is that the city, and particularly Manhattan, is the greenest place to live and work. We need to increase density, and turn lawns back into farms. According to Owen, the #1 irrigated crop in the U.S. is lawns, followed by corn. He makes the point that the lawn's only purpose is to be maintained. Walking or riding around the streets of our suburb, one sees acre after acre of manicured (by low cost labor using low cost petroleum) lawns, but no one using them. Even the school fields are almost always empty, except, of course, when the adult-organized kids sports are going on. The most-used field is the artificial turf soccer field that was built on top of a landfill.

I would love to see vegetables growing in every front yard, and we are doing our part. I've got the kids enthusiastically helping. Maybe inviting our non-gardening neighbors over for homegrown lunches and dinners will be a step in the right direction.

OK, OK

Due to popular demand from my reader, I am starting to post here once again. I've got lots to talk about, including transportation, our garden from last year and this year, and local farm action, just to name a few. Just a short post today to let you know that I am back, dear reader (and you know who you are Mum.) I have to go fire up my personal portable power plant (PPPP...) and drive it to the refueling station to fill its tank with hydrocarbons on my 6-mile commute to work.

Six miles!? Why the hell am I not riding my bike. Well, any of a number of excuses, each lamer than the next. But the main reason is that I forgot to plan my transportation for the week, and when you don't plan, the sheer convenience of the car wins out. Gas is not expensive enough to make a difference in my decision or virtually anyone's decision. If you can afford a car, you can probably afford to fill it with gas.

I'm reading an eBook titled "$20 Per Gallon" by Christopher Steiner. I'm only up to the $8 per gallon chapter, but it's an interesting read. We have so much sprawling infrastructure that will become more expensive to maintain as energy becomes more expensive. With people driving less, there is less income from fuel taxes to spend on that infrastructure, and so it deteriorates further. Higher fuel taxes would be a good place to start. Unbuilding the unmaintainable infrastructure would be a good place to continue. Building smarter infrastructure (light rail, and improved electric grid, for example) is another good endeavor.

OK, off to work then. We start working in the garden tomorrow!