Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Ode to Chris Balish


I ran across a Planet Green video of Chris Balish showing car-centric LA city dwellers how convenient and doable life without a car can be. Chris Balish's book How Live Well Without Owning a Car was one of the books that started me thinking about relying less on my car and possibly even going car free in the future. I have nothing against cars for certain kinds of use but they can be a real financial drain over time. Before tallying up all the costs related to my car, I had never realized how much my used Honda Civic had really cost me. I was astounded to find out that most people will pay about $150,000 in car related costs over the course of their life time. That is a HOUSE. *gulp*

Since moving to Columbia I rely less and less on my car. I bike many places that I never thought I'd be able to and spend far less on gas and car maintenance than ever before. I am far more aware of how many times a day I am tempted to buy something or go somewhere simply due to the "convenience" of jumping in my car on a whim. While the varying weather here has not made it easy all the time (I still don't care for riding in the rain but do it anyway), I love having more freedom and physical ability due to my bike. I also love saving money and realizing I have driven exactly half the miles than from the previous year. This has resulted in less wear and tear on the car, only one oil change, and only one afternoon wasted as I got the car tires rotated and balanced.

Ride on people! :-D

Friday, May 21, 2010

Grown-Up Cyclists Need Helmets, Too



Read another interesting article in the Times online today about helmet usage among adult cyclists. I am among those that think they are a good idea if you are cycling along with cars. While they are not on par with a motorcycle helmet in case of a high speed/high impact crash, for the stuff I face day-to-day, I wouldn't be without one. I am always amazed at what seemingly minor head injuries can really do to a person so I try to protect my melon. I also am glad to see so many interesting and sassy helmet options out there---maybe I'll become the Imelda Marcos of helmets? :-D

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Floyd Landis Admits Doping



I was really sad to see an article in the NYTs today where Floyd Landis admits to doping during his cycling career. He has also claimed that Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie, among other of his cycling teammates (such as Tyler Hamilton who tested positive for blood doping in 2004), also doped, etc.

I find the allegation against Armstrong a bit hard to believe since he is considered one of the most drug tested athletes on the planet. I openly admit to crying when he won his 7th Tour.

On the flip side, other than cycling and swimming, I stopped caring about professional sports a while ago. Too many overpaid, crybaby, rapists for my taste. Now so much of it is simply about greed.

This is why I like community cycling including the bicycle as alternative transportation. This is about the personal, humble-yet-effective, methods for countering the greed, speed, waste, and often pointlessness of modern life (where people drive to the gym!). This form of cycling does not require that I wear someone else's name on my jersey and pay $80 for the privilege of doing so.

I am sorry to hear all this from Landis (if it is true) but it only reconfirms my commitment to local, grassroots efforts to increase the real freedom of people and move away the false idols of this world.