New Goal

I went over to D&D bike shop in Berkley today, looking for a small bag to put under my saddle for keeping my tools, keys, wallet, etc. I ended up buying a chain tool, a spoke tool, and some tire levers too. I'm disappointed in the bag itself though. I bought one of the cheaper models (it was on sale), and I've decided I don't like it. For one, it's a little bit too big, but the real problem is how it attaches. I'm not sure I can really describe it on here, but suffice to say it doesn't work too well on my saddle. So I'll probably take it back tomorrow for a different one (this time I'll actually try fitting it to my bike before I buy it). I later went by the used book store and got a new book, which I sat outside reading for a while. Yeah, I know, sounds weird, sitting out in the cold reading, but as long as it's above freezing, it's not bad at all. And I prefer it to my over-warm, smoke filled house (thanks to my mom's cigarettes and the fireplace with which we're keeping the gas bill down). It's nice to have living things all around me, too, instead of being shut in by lifeless walls. Sounds "touchy-feely" but it's true; and it gives me hope, with the birds singing up a storm and the squirrels acting as squirrelly as ever... Spring is almost here.

I've been riding (almost) every day lately, it's a new goal of mine. Ideally I'd ride everyday except weekends (I work all weekend and frankly don't feel like riding when I get home), but it got pretty damn cold the last few days and I have a hard time riding when it's below freezing. That seems to be the edge of my comfort level, I'm finding. And though I don't really count going to the store as a ride in the full sense, at least I'm in the saddle for a while, so it's good in that sense, so I count it anyways.

I don't really have much to write about right now. I could go on about Bush's plan to sell our ports (22, I hear, some military in nature) to the UAE, but there's nothing I could say that the rest of the pundits out there haven't. I'll simply say it seems ludicrous to have ANY foreigners in charge of our ports (essentially a sea-facing border). It'd be like putting China in charge of our border with Mexico. Though, they could hardly do a worse job than Chimpy McFlightsuit, given that an estimated 5,000 people stream through our southern border everyday. And yet almost daily he prattles on about terrorists and why he needs to be listening to our phone calls, making us take our shoes off at the airport, and is generally forcing us to surrender our rights daily, while him and his buddies wipe their ass with the Constitution. I guess cheap, illegal Mexican labor is probably the only thing left keeping our economy afloat, because where would the housing industry (90% of the economy's growth last year was in housing ALONE) without illegal laborers working for $2 an hour? But still, who is he to talk to us about security when he won't take the biggest step in actually keeping the country safe: securing the borders? Of course, I highly doubt this man, or Cheney (who is probably actually running things), or any of the rest are actually motivated by such high-minded ideals. They don't care about our safety, as Hurricane Katrina proved; they care about money and power, and the police-state they are instituting all around us every day should be proof to that.

Good weather, good ride

The other day, a little stir-crazy from all the cold weather, and really wanting to do something bicycle related if not actually going riding, I finally got around to putting my rack and water bottle cage on my new bike. The rack looks good, I can't wait to start making use of it. More importantly, at least for the moment, was the bottle cage. I didn't have it there for my last ride, which was stupid of me, but I kept forgetting to put it on, and didn't remember till halfway out on the ride, when I started getting thirsty. I stopped by a park that had bathrooms (which were locked) and a fountain (which was turned off). I was pretty pissed off about it all, and especially at the city of Birmingham, until I realized that they have to do that because pipes freeze. So, I was happy going riding today, knowing I'd have some water on board. Ironically, I didn't drink at all today, even though I put on more miles (13.5 compared to the earlier 11).

It was a good ride too, for the most part. The weather was great; 43 degrees, mostly dry pavement, and the sun even came out. I should have waited longer after eating that oatmeal, because my stomach was getting upset for a while, and I thought I was going to hurl; and as always, it took me a few miles to get into a rhythm such that I'm not gasping for air. Being out of shape sucks. But that aside, it was all good. I went with my dad, who showed me a great hill (and a good ride in general). Coming around the corner, I saw it standing there, very difficult looking. But oddly enough it wasn't that bad, there's a nice (smaller) downhill leading up to it, which I used to much advantage. I think it looks worse than it is, though it still wasn't what I'd call easy. Sure would be fun coming down it though. I'll have to return to it at some point to practice my climbing skills and strength.

Also, I saw one other rider out there, though actually not on my long ride. I later went up to the video store and saw another guy coming towards me. We were both riding along Woodward so we were necessarily on the sidewalk. Amazingly, he actually waved at me and even smiled. Such a rare thing around these parts, in my experience. It put a smile on my face. I guess it doesn't take much to please me. Still, it's amazing more people weren't out taking advantage of the weather, even if it is the middle of the week. Shoot, I'm about to go clean up the dog poop out back, just for an excuse to be outside.

PS I'll try to get some pictures of my bike some time soon.

Better Arguments for Bikes

You read a lot these days about global warming, and the big debate between those who think it's human-caused and those who don't (there's a third camp who don't think it's happening at all, but they're clearly clueless so we'll ignore them). I am of the first group, because the logic of it is so simple: carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, we burn A LOT of fossil fuels. What other conclusion could you possibly come to? We obviously a hand in it.

But when it comes to doing anything about it, I have to wonder if it even matters. I am concerned about global warming but there are more obvious and tangible reasons to stop using so much energy (most of it fossil fuel energy). When you start talking to people about how our driving habits are truly bad habits, there are much better arguments to use than global warming, which seems not to hit close enough to home for most people to get motivated to change. Why not set aside this controversial issue which is generally too big in scope for the general public to really grasp, and instead aim for issues that affect everyone, every day?

Smog is a major problem in many American cities and cities around the world. Much (though not all) of it is created in your car's engine. I read that there is an epidemic of asthma among children these days. Don't you think it would be easier to motivate people to stop driving so much by using this very personal issue, rather than some controversial, overly-broad issue like global warming? There's no debate about smog, you can see it and you can smell it, its effects on our bodies is obvious, and the connection to automobiles is easily made.

Another issue is obesity. Again, there is a so-called epidemic of obesity among American children, as well as diabetes, though of course adults are dealing with both problems as well. With all the obvious health problems associated with obesity, as well as the general decrease in standard of living, this should be a major motivating factor for people, one we bike-activists and environmentally conscious individuals could use as part of our argument. While driving cars doesn't direclty cause obesity, the general lack of physical activity in our daily lives is a major factor. We probably spend 90% of our day either sitting or laying down, though that's just a guess. The point is, sitting for hours in a car while commuting to work, while inhaling any number of toxins is not good for one's waistline (apparently, there is an argument that toxic environments cause obesity, as the body tries to dilute the toxins in the fat). Even if you still have to work a desk job, incorporating some physical activity into your commute by bicycling to work (or school) could really help keep your weight down.

Anyways, the point of all this is that while I do worry about global warming, it doesn't seem to be a big motivator for people to change their actions. It's too big to really grasp. But when you live in a city with horrible air quality, and you're slowly growing fatter and fatter because you don't move except to walk to the fridge, well, these are the kinds of arguments that might get people biking more. You have to make it personal, and frankly, it's hard to REALLY make global warming a personal issue, because you can never say if that week of warm weather in January was caused by global warming. We CAN say for sure that smog is (in large part) caused by cars, and that obesity is (in large part) caused by an inactive lifestyle. There are probably countless other issues similar to these, all personally meaningful, that will have a larger impact on people than the global warming issue. I didn't even get into the personal and societal economic reasons that favor bikes and reduced energy use, which will probably end up being the reason people eventually stop driving so much, when gasoline costs $5 per gallon.

Cartoon-like Outrage

By now, you've probably all heard about the furor in the Muslim world created by a cartoon series, some of which showed Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, published in numerous European papers. I think it was stupid of the newspapers to print them, knowing it was insulting to Muslims everywhere (I'm all for free speech, but it must be tempered with wisdom. Just because you can doesn't mean you should). The other day I was watching the BBC world news, where they were showing a segment on the protests that have been occurring. You saw many posters along the lines of "behead the desecraters" and "you will pay." I also heard them chanting "jihad! jihad!" Apparently, depictions of Muhammad are a sacrelige in Islam, as they are all very paranoid about the possibility of it becoming idol worship. One might suggest that their worship of the Quran has turned THAT into an idol, but that's not where I'm going with this post.

What I would like to say is this. Hey Muslims; chill the fuck out! While you have a right to be angry about this insult to your faith, there's no call for shouts of war or firebombing embassies. Why is it that every time something insults them, like pictures of the Prophet or soldiers pissing on Qurans, even when the outrage is justified, why is it that they always want to kill people? I think it's great that they're protesting en masse (I wish we the American public could learn to do more of that), but why always the violent bent?

I'll close by posing a question: What desecrates Islam more? Cartoons of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, or Muslims daily killing themselves and innocents with bombs on their belts in the name of Muhammad's teachings? Where is your outrage on that?

First post

For my first post here, I'll start out by explaining the title of my blog. I just recently bought a Bianche Volpe touring bike, and it turns out volpe means "fox" in Italian. Since I'm also about to sell my truck and begin relying on my bike for transportation, as well as my plans for a cross country tour this spring, I think the crazy part fits. But since I rarely use my truck anyways, given the fact that I work only 2 blocks away from my house, don't like burning gas, and simply prefer my bike anyways, I think it's a smart thing to do. So, there's a method to my madness, and a madness to my method; hence the title.

Most people would think I'm especially crazy for the cross country tour. This is because I've not ever ridden any great distance in my life on a bike. But I'm in pretty good shape (could be better, cardiovascularly speaking), and I hear about old men on single speeds doing it. Surely a healthy 22 year old man with a decently geared bike can do it too. I have no reservations or fears about that. I think the biggest challenge for me will be mental. I'll be honest and say that I've lived a relatively sheltered life up till now. I've never done anything extrordinary, or even much out-of-the-ordinary. So I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared about throwing myself out upon the world with basically no safety net. But it also thrills the hell out of me, and I can't wait.

So, I try not to focus on that, and instead am working on getting in better shape. However, that's hard right now since I *hate* riding in the cold. I just can't stand it, I'm a baby when it comes to cold. But yesterday it was 40 out, so of course I jumped at the chance to ride. Having a brand new, hardly-ridden bike laying around helped. It was a great day for a ride; the rain had stopped, though it was still cloudy and wet everywhere, but the traffic seemed to be less. Maybe because it was midmorning on a Friday. Didn't see any other cyclers, and only one jogger. I gave him "the nod" but he acted as if I didn't exist. That's the problem with this city, or maybe all cities, but no one seems to want to acknowledge strangers. Maybe it was because he was old and I'm just a long haired, bearded "kid." It still really annoys me.

Anyways, the ride was going great, though I'm still babying the bike. See, there is a nice downhill on this one road that I love flying down, but because I'm still not used to the narrower "road" handlebars (I previously rode a hybrid), and because the downhill goes around a bend, and because it was wet, I didn't get as fast as I'd have liked to. Maybe next time.

One of the great things about getting out of the car and into the saddle is that you see so many new things. Even on the bike, and even on old routes, you still discover so many new things on each ride. Yesterday, it was that nature preserve I must have ridden past countless times without noticing. It's right on the Rouge River's main branch, a prairie-and-forest site called the Douglas-Evans Nature Preserve. I didn't stop long, but I did grab a flier out of the stand by the road, and plan to go back some time when it's warmer to take a better look. The great thing is that I'd probably have never seen the place if I'd been driving instead of riding.

The rest of the ride went better. Even though it was only 11 miles on relatively flat terrain, I learned something about myself. The first part of the ride is always harder. Of course, because I'm usually heading west, there's usually a headwind, but I think it just takes me a while to get warmed up, both physically and mentally. I find myself bitching to myself about how hard it is or how tired I am, but after a few miles, once I get into the ride, it's extremely pleasant. I think I'm psyching myself out, most of the time. Hey, as I said, I have mental problems. Wait, did I say that right?