Season's Greetings

I hope you, dear reader, find yourself in fortuitous circumstances on Christmas Day 2014.

We had a bit of snow overnight... just enough to call it a "White Christmas."  I braved the streets, which are bare except in the shady spots, for a little nativity bike ride.  I share a couple photos I took today, of a trailside makeshift nativity scene.  It's been there for the better part of a year, in a rusty box mounted on a power pole.  I quite like it.  Also, a couple other nativity scenes that I've passed on the bicycle, this year and last.

Christmas Bicycle Joy

Take a look at this photo.

The pretty little girl - does she look happy? She's Annie Rasmussen, and she's sitting on her sweet new bike, courtesy of the Boise Bicycle Project. The BBP overhauled and gave out more than 350 bikes - and helmets - to kids here in Boise this year.  The bicycle giveaway project is now a well-established tradition.

Now notice the guy in the photo.

Santa?

No - better! It's Clancy Anderson, who freely shares his time and talents with the BBP on a regular basis. Does Clancy look happy?

Clancy not only volunteers (at the BBP and at Recreation Unlimited), he's also a devoted transportation cyclist and a regular commenter here on the Bike Nazi. And he's rightfully profiled in a story on the Idaho Statesman website... read it HERE. Jimmy Hallyburton down at the BBP calls Clancy a "magical volunteer" - and that he is!

The world is a better place, because of organizations like the BBP, and especially because of guys like Clancy.

(Photo stolen from the Idaho Statesman website - it's a great one!)

Gas for less than $3!

Motorists are rejoicing!  For the first time in quite some time, gas can be had for less than $3 per gallon!

Our long national nightmare is over!

I'm surprised that Obama, and/or the newly-elected Republican Congress, haven't already taken credit.

There are a lot of factors that go into the price of gas, but ultimately it boils down to supply and demand.  Supplies are up - as fossil fuel becomes more valuable, there's more incentive to discover and extract it.  North Dakota and eastern Montana and Wyoming are fossil-fuel beehives these days.  Meanwhile, the middle eastern oil terrorists are keeping their prices low, in the hopes of starving out the small-time oil barons who are competing for a tiny slice of the pie.

(I doubt demand is any lower... they say that big SUV sales are creeping up.  Sub-$3 gas will probably result in some GMC Conestogas and Ford Battle Wagons under the tree with big satin ribbons, come Christmas.)

Motorists are discovering... "Hey - if we spend less on gas, we'll have more to spend on other stuff!  Cool!"

Transportation cyclists reply, "Well, DUH!!!"