Category Archives: Transportation

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Not Biking To Work Day

Because I am retired, I “work” at home.  So I can’t bike to work.

Part of Bike Month is something called bike to work day.  Like many other cities, Austin has a slate of events, including breakfast stations and afternoon beverage stations.  There is also a ribbon cutting ceremony for a recently completed segment of separated bikeway downtown.  Today is about celebrating those intrepid souls who ride their bike to work.  Some of them ride significant distances.  Kudos. Congrats. Pedal on.

While I applaud those who bicycle to work, I grow weary of the promotion and advocacy.  Cute videos like this and this (I know a couple people in this one).  Food stations. News reports. Press releases. But there is a small problem. All the promotion and celebration is chasing a goal that is a long way away, at least here in Austin. Housing and employment distribution, development patterns, lack of robust public transportation are headwinds against significant mode shift toward bicycles.  Bike to work promotions also ignore the low hanging fruit of non-work automobile travel: short trips for shopping, errands, entertainment, etc.

It also ignores the invisible bicycle commuters.  The ones who have no choice, who bike because they can’t afford a car.  They ride on cheap bike shaped objects or poorly maintained used bicycles.  They bike without lights and helmets. You can see them pedaling upstream on the sidewalk or on the wrong side of the road. They’re just trying to get from A to B. They’re not celebrating or being celebrated.

I’m not biking to work today.

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That’s the future…

…What a fascinating modern age we live in. – J. Aubrey 

Boing Boing

loopwheel

A friend sent me a link about this new bicycle wheel.  He offered it “without endorsement or commentary,” knowing I would more than likely make comments about it.  The loopwheel replaces spokes with springs.  Springs made of carbon fiber.

Interesting concept,except for the obvious drawbacks:

  • made from expensive carbon fiber. Haven’t seen a price point for these yet but I can almost guarantee it will be well above a standard aluminum rim, steel spoke and hub wheel.
  • not repairable.  Well, actually there are methods for repairing carbon fiber, but highly unlikely these methods will apply t springs.
  • failure modes. Spoked wheels tend to fail gracefully.  Well except for the spectacular folding failure of front racing wheels with stupidly low spoke counts and radial lacing.  How will these spring wheels fail when the carbon fiber goes crack!!?
  • inefficient.  Significant power will be lost to the springs when pedaling.  The wheel will flex more than spoked wheel and absorb a lot of power.
  • unstable.  What dampens the oscillation inherent in spring systems?
  • throwaway. Aluminum and steel have mature recycle and reuse streams.  To my knowledge, carbon fiber cannot be efficiently recycled.

Meet George Jetson

130509142450-flying-car-tfx-terrafugia-story-topAnd then there is the never ending question of when do we get our flying cars?  Apparently, feasibility studies are underway. Once again we see people trying to invent and build something because they can without asking the question of whether they should.

Set aside that the idea that this will be horribly expensive to buy and maintain.  Ignore the glaring issue that this is a solution looking for a problem.  Are we really going to sanction this insanity?  Far too many motorists can’t even control a vehicle in two dimensions, let alone three.   What will the mishap rate be for these?

Here’s a hint.  General aviation (private airplanes) has the highest mishap rate of any segment, including very risky military aircraft.  The leading cause of crashes of small aircraft is engine failure due to fuel starvation.  Yes, private pilots run out of fuel. It happens all the time.  And these are people who get far more training and scrutiny than your average joe driving a car.

How will these vehicles interact with the surface transportation system?  Will they be required to land at an airport and then transition to car mode?  Or will be eventually allow takeoffs and landings direction on our highways?  Who certifies the operators?

Progress?  Not too sure.

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First Tuesday

First Tuesday is the monthly collective meeting for Yellow Bike.  I always look forward to these days.  It usually means a leisurely bicycle ride followed by meeting with my fellow bicycle subversives.  Sometimes the meetings are fun.  Sometimes they are tedious.  But I never feel like I’ve wasted my time.  Tonight’s meeting included creating a “book club.”

Lately the meetings have been followed by a post-meeting.  Time for fellowship, beer and interesting discussions.  This evening we debated the impact of 3D printing and the relative merits of nail guns versus manual hammering.  There were several side discussions about wheel building, whiskey and scotch, various beers.  Then there was wide-ranging banter about employment selection and management.

IMG_0705

Bonus:  I got to drink beer in yet another bar I’ve never been to.

New Moon

Said my good nights and headed off into the moonless night.  Quiet streets of late night Austin.  A nice tailwind.  I love riding during late night.  Sparse traffic, well-behaved.  Arrived tired but energized.  Sipping a beer, listening to tunes, struggling with a way to describe what it’s like to ride late at night in this town.

Memory Triggers

On my ride down to the shop this afternoon I observed at least 4 cars sitting on the side of the road, emergency blinkers on, driver standing on the curb cell phone in hand desperately seeking assistance.  Broken down.

The car is without a doubt very convenient method of transportation.  If you can overlook the death, injury, environmental mayhem and debt.  But when the car stops working…With my bicycle there is very little in the way of failure or breakdown that I can’t remedy with a little work.  At the very least I can walk the damn thing home.  Most cars these days require rescue and tow truck transfer to a repair bay.  Fortunately, these individuals were safely within the confines of an urban center.

The sight of these broken machines reminded me of two occasions when my car broke down literally in the middle of nowhere.

Montana Snowstorm

Was driving from Spokane to Missoula in my Datsun pickup.  It was late December night in a blinding snowstorm.  I had just crossed the pass between Idaho and  Montana and pulled into a rest stop.  Unknown to me the idiot light for the alternator had burned out, so my vehicle couldn’t tell me that I had been running down my battery.  After warming myself in the restroom I ran out to my truck, jumped in and turned the key.  Click.  Not the sound of a starter motor struggling to turn over the engine. Just the simple click of the key.  It was then that I noticed that none of the lights on the instrument panel were working.  Dead battery.  And I mean dead.

It’s late at night on a remote stretch of interstate highway.  Nearest town is 20 miles away.  It’s -10 F and snowing.  Not looking good.  As I was pulling out my camping equipment and preparing to settle in for the night (and maybe longer) a trucker pulled in to relieve himself.  I asked him for a jump but his electrical system was incompatible with mine.  We did manage to wrestle my truck in front of his and he gently pushed me so I could pop the clutch and get the engine started.  Drove straight through and parked in front of an auto parts store so I could buy a new battery in the morning.

Arizona Desert

I had just finished attending a mapping and mission planning conference at China Lake, CA.  I decided that I could drive straight through and get home to Yuma that night.  I was on I-10 just west of Blythe, CA when blam!  Tire blowout.  Pull over and change the tire.  My car had a full sized spare.  After getting back on the road I began a little mental debate.  One voice was telling me to stop in Blythe and get the tire repaired.  The other voice was calling me a wimp and saying I could make it no problem.  What are the odds of another tire failure anyway.  The voice of caution lost the argument and I pressed on.

There was a brief repeat of the debate as I exited I-10 at Quartzite to head south on 95 to Yuma.  It was almost midnight and the voice of caution was not happy.  But it lost again and I pressed on.  You can see where this is going.

Twenty miles south of Quartzite BLAM! Another tire failure.  Oops.  Now I’m screwed.  This is a remote stretch of highway.  When I got out of the car the only sound was a soft desert wind and the baying of coyotes in the distance (at least I hope it was distant).

My luck turned when a north bound car stopped and offered me a ride back to Quartzite.  After waking the local on-call repair guy (it was now almost 2 AM), we headed in his tow truck, got my car and back to his shop where I bought two used tires.

Somehow I just can’t complain that much about throwing a chain or having a flat on my bike in the middle of a city.

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A Hand Up

A hand out is what you get from the government, a hand up is what you get from a friend.

A quote from one of my favorite movies (name the actor and the movie).

A Hand Up

Rode down to Yellow Bike this afternoon.  Gray day.  Humid, wind in my face, the usual smattering of motorists.  My usual route into east Austin.  I volunteered to assist with a bicycle donation.

The Texas Pie Kitchen recently contacted us for some assistance with two of their graduates.  The TPK runs a job training program.  These graduates had recently found employment and assistance with housing.  What they were lacking was transportation.  Being disadvantaged car ownership is problematic.  We donated two bicycles, with locks and lights to recent graduates who had found employment and housing.

Met the first person this afternoon to find a bicycle.  We lucked out and found a perfect fit for him.  I did a final quality check and then showed him how to patch a flat and how to check the bicycle.  We talked routes for his commute.  He happily pedaled off toward a second job interview.

Karmic Reward

The monks will tell you that karma is not about reward or sanction.  Karma just is.  But on the return ride home I couldn’t help feel that the universe was providing reward.  A healthy tailwind.  I made at least 5 or 6 signal lights that I don’t usually get through without stopping.  And mother nature held off on the rain until I was pulling into my driveway.  I mean who can pass up coincidence like that?

Taunting From Software

I’m telling you that I think Apple has installed artificial intelligence software on my iPhone.  About halfway home I got Roseanne Cash singing 500 miles.  Message or another coincidence?

Lord I’m one, Lord I’m two, Lord I’m three, Lord I’m four, 
Lord I’m 500 miles from my home. 
500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles 
Lord I’m five hundred miles from my home

I just laughed. In response I selected a higher gear ratio and mashed the pedals.  I’ll show you how far from home I am.  I made record time (ok, ok, it was wind assisted).

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Defying Poverty

New addition to reading list

Defying_Poverty_-_front_cover

This book arrived this weekend.  Opened it up last night to read the Preface and first two chapters.  It resonates with a need I see here in Austin (and elsewhere). In particular the author’s viewpoint confirms one of my own:

…the bike industry stopped making quality, affordable transportation bicycles a long time ago. What we have been left with are bicycles that cost several month’s salary or garbage, bicycle-shaped-objects that breakdown after a few rides, if they are safe to ride at all.

I also heard repeatedly from local partners that even if impoverished people in their communities managed to obtain a quality transportation bicycle, there was no place for them to go to get the bike fixed…all of this adds up to a very unwelcoming environment for disadvantaged people and even some people who want to try bicycling for the first time.

How true.  Especially the second issue.  The author goes on to discuss co-ops, which stings a little but is true as well:

In response, do-it-yourself volunteer-run bicycle co-ops and collectives have been popping up in cities across the U.S. and Europe. While the intention is good, the loose organization structure tends to form around the limited time these volunteers can offer. Open hours are often sporadic and unpredictable. Also, many of these programs are based on the do-it-yourself concept designed for people with time to spare. Unfortunately, most disadvantaged people cannot afford the time it takes to build a bike or learn bicycle repair by trial and error.

Nailed it. Exactly.

Social Bike Business

This book is about establishing something different:  the “social bike business.”

…program is designed to bridge all of these gaps by guiding struggling people toward their own entrepreneurial success. Advantaged people are well served by bike shops, collectives and co-ops. Now it’s time to create the places that invite our most disadvantaged neighbors to purchase their own bike–refurbished or manufactured locally through the program–and engage in a new career that will enable them to lift themselves out of poverty. Even obtaining a quality transportation bicycle can save a person several hours a day if they had been walking and save them thousands of hard-earned dollars each year.  Bicycles shrink cities at no charge. [emphasis mine]

Barely started the book but I’m intrigued.  As I stated in the beginning of this post, it resonates with some ideas I’ve had to fill gaps I see.  I have to caution myself to read the book through before grabbing my lance and tilting at windmills, or add to the growing pile of lightbulbs which never get screwed in (thanks again to “The Professor” for that analogy–brilliant).

Discovery

The book’s author, Sue Knaup, is founder of an organization called One Street.  Had not heard of them until this book arrived. I see a new path opening up in front of me…might be fun to pedal down it.

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Tell me where is sanity

Old Guy losing his mind

You’ll have to excuse taking a snipet of a songwriter’s lyrics and using completely out of context. Or did I?

I’d love to change the world
But I don’t know what to do

The past few days I’ve had the incredible privilege of participating in the surface road network. Unfortunately it was not on two wheels. Circumstances of time and space required that I wrap myself in a metal cage and become traffic. I can’t tell you where is sanity, but I’m still looking. If heaven exists, then Alvin Lee is watching me and giggling.

Still in the way

Thursday morning found me driving out of the Barton Creek area. For some reason I was alone on a short segment of the road but noticed an expensive fast car rapidly closing on me. Quick flick of the eye scan confirmed I was at the speed limit but this didn’t satisfy the owner. He had places to go in a hurry. Truth be told his vehicle can handle much higher speeds, despite the certainty that he couldn’t have that skill set. Apparently he fell victim to the sports car snake oil about open-roads-wind-in-your-hair-fun.

After a half mile of frustrating downshift we hit Bee Caves Road and he zipped by me and disappeared. I manuevered onto 360 and about four miles later I burst out laughing. I pulled up next to my friend in the bumper to bumper of morning excitement that is 360. Inching along, my meager family sedan doing exactly the same speed as this racing machine. Porsche, there is no substitute.

Simon says turn left

That afternoon found me back on Bee Caves. The segment that goes through Rollingwood. I nicknamed this section “left turning SUV hell.” I was taking my grandaughter and her friend to dance class. We were a little late. Getting pre-teen girls out the door is a little challenging. Herding cats is probably easier.

This road has no center turn lane and the light sequences are something out of an engineer’s nightmare. Every other car is trying to turn left into the bizarre scattering of strip malls. The rest are trying the lane change dodge and weave. I experienced the rising frustration of being in a hurry with a side order of road rage until I calmed myself with the truth that we were not going to make it in time. Not my fault. “Grandpa, what are you laughing about?”

Signals of difficulty

Friday afternoon I was headed back south to enjoy some burgers, beer and Masters on TV with my son-in-law. Took my usual route: Metric…Braker…Mopac access…360. As I turned onto Braker I found myself at the back of a very long queue of cars. Despite it being Friday, this amount of traffic is a little unusual. Thought about escape routes but rejected them. We were very slow but there was some progress. I finally got past the Domain and caught sight of the issue. The signal lights at the Braker overpass on Mopac were in blink. This means 4 way stop rules were in effect.

Four-way stops can be challenging with heavy traffic. They get positively nightmarish with complex turn lane sequences. Fortunately Austin’s finest showed up to referee so traffic flowed, albeit a little sluggishly. The technicians fixed the issue and shortly after we had a return to less insane conditions. A half hour trip turned into well over an hour. Good thing I wasn’t in a hurry. Probably could have gotten there faster by bicycle.

Chicken or egg

Is our lifestyle the result of the car? Or did we become so dependent on the car because of our lifestyles? Both and neither. The car and its attendant road system is a wonder of modern convenience. No doubt about it. Or is there? What price do we pay? And isn’t convenience a highly subjective concept anyway?

Does the existence of a car and decent roads make it convenient to live so far away from my grandkids? What would that same trip, almost daily, look like via bus? Train? Trolly? Bicycle?

Where is sanity?

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Wormholes

wormhole1

Wish I would have thought of this.

I call these wormholes since they magically connect parts of the universe otherwise kept far apart.

 A reader, John, gave me this idea.

It would be cool to have a map of Austin that included all of these secret passages.

Brilliant.

First Edition

So here it is.  First edition.  Google maps with photos linked to a Picasa album.  I’ve opened this particular album and map to the public.  Feel free to post.  Or send the photo and location to me and I’ll post it (click on map).

wormholes

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Greenwashing

a superficial or insincere display of concern for the environment that is shown by an organization

I recently became party to an email discussion that has started another internal mental debate.  On one hand I want to educate and change behavior; on the other I don’t want to lift a finger to help a certain corporation.  I won’t name names but if you have any intelligence at all you’ll figure out who I am talking about.  I’m probably going to piss some people off and for that I apologize.  Anybody reading this should clearly understand that these are my opinions.  I speak for no organization or company.  Just exercising one of my first amendment protections.

The conversation revolves around a new commercial location and a corporation’s desire to “partner” with a local non-profit to promote/encourage cycling.  Nice thoughts but I have doubts that this company really gives a hoot about cycling or making their stores more accessible.  At best they’ve managed to only provide a paltry few bicycle parking racks and some fix-it stations.

Location, Location, Location

What really has me in a non-cooperative mood is the location of this new store.  Couldn’t have picked a worse place to accommodate bicycles if you tried.  Now I understand that there are a lot of variables that go into real estate transactions, especially for large commercial enterprises.  A great deal of compromise.  The problem is that, in my very humble opinion, not one single thought went toward bicycles in the design of the building or the access roads and parking lots.  I’m not saying this idly.  I have watched the construction of this building for some time and routinely bicycle in and around the area.  (remember, I am part of that “fearless 1%” and will ride my bicycle almost anywhere).

Here is a satellite view of said location.  This place screams “go away”.  I mean the parking lot covers more acreage than the damn store.  And it is further surrounded by pavement, none of which has any bicycle accommodation other than the flimsy protections of Texas vehicle code.  The shopping center that this store is anchoring couldn’t even paint the few sharrows it begrudgingly installed correctly.

wf-north

Once again we see bicycle transportation as a media and community relations afterthought.  Feel good without substance.