Bike chain art

Do you just throw away your old rusty chains?

I thought so, you earth hater!

(Me, too. Yeah, every time I feel guilty about it.)

A more artistic person, like Nirit Levav Packer of Israel, turns old bike chains into awesome dog sculptures! Story HERE. The world is a more beautiful place, thanks to artistic people.

Okay... speaking of artistic people, I'm adding Clancy's bike-chain tree ornaments.  (Very clever, Clancy!  I hope you gave 'em the solvent bath first, or there will be some dirty Christmas outfits!  haha)

Cardboard bike

For a couple months, I've been reading about a cardboard bike being developed by a guy in Israel.  (Thanks to my friend Bob T - he noticed it, too, and emailed me a link to that particular article.)

A cardboard bike may not hold much appeal to somebody who rides a sweet carbon-fiber or steel, or even aluminum bike... but to some impoverished person in a third-world country, a bike that can be produced for "$9-12 a unit," it might look much better than walking, or riding atop a burro or water buffalo.

And, when you're riding your cardboard bike, you can protect your noggin with a cardboard helmet!  A startup company, Kranium, hopes to market them.  Apparently they provide better protection than the ubiquitous styrofoam-based buckets.  And interestingly, a custom fitting is part of the package... the thing is built to match up perfectly with the shape of your head.  (Making it a little spendy at around $130.  But a replacement would be cheaper, assuming the reason you need a replacement didn't also re-shape your skull!)

When I first heard about the cardboard bike and helmet, my first thought was - water damage.  But apparently the cardboard can be treated with stuff to make it waterproof.

Mood bucket!

Do you remember "mood rings"?  Back in the day - if I recall, a year or two before "pet rocks," they were a fad.  They would supposedly change color to indicate what sort of mood you were in.  I believe the technology was based on skin surface temperature - definitely low-tech.

Technology has marched on.

Arlene Ducao is a research assistant at the MIT "Media Lab Information Ecology Group."  She's also a bike commuter.  And she has invented the "MindRider" - a bike helmet equipped with an EEG sensor that displays your stress level.

According to the article, it uses "the visual vocabulary of traffic lights.  Green lights indicate a focused, active mental state; red lights indicate drowsiness, anxiety and other states not conducive to operating a bike; and flashing red lights indicate panic."

Ms. Ducao sees this as a possible way to improve safety for cyclists and motorists.  "One way of doing that is improving communication between cyclists and drivers."  Her helmet is just a prototype, but she wants to improve the ergonomics, and also a tracking system (probably a phone "app," huh?), so you can figure out which routes are high-stress and which aren't so much.

So - what color would your lights be?  I like to think that in most of my bike-riding circumstances, I'd be solid green.

A little taste ...

... of what I'm missing, by using a bicycle for my daily transportation.

I probably spent more than you did on Black Friday. I upgraded the Missus' transportation.

Her 2000 Honda minivan was getting pretty long in the tooth, at 134,000 miles. We bought it brand-new, and it's been a good vehicle... and it still runs fine, but the nickel-and-dime problems were starting to crop up. (You know, the stuff that costs $100-500 to get fixed.) We traded it for a 2009 Honda minivan with about 100,000 fewer miles. $16,500. (For comparison purposes, the old one was about $23k brand-new, and a brand-new 2012 is well over $35k. OUCH!!)

I'll be paying about $300/month for the next 4 years to the bank.

Sales tax was $800-plus.

Insurance is about $70 per year more than before. (Not as bad as I'd anticipated.)

License and registration - $91.

Hopefully she'll drive many, many miles before I need to buy her new tires, or do repairs other than routine maintenance. And I'm slightly insulated from the cost of gas, since I give her money on payday, and am rarely there on the fill-up days.

If we had a second car, most of those expenses would be roughly doubled. "Mamma mia!" as they say in the Olde Countrie.

My #2 reason for bike transportation has been powerfully reinforced in my mind. (I should have more respect for those motorists - they pay a LOT of money to drive around in their little runabouts!)

"New" Temple - same old bike rack

When the Boise, Idaho (LDS) Temple was first dedicated in May, 1984, my bride and I were there.  (In fact, our second daughter Kellyn was there too - she was born a week or so later.)  So we were full of excitement when they announced a major renovation a couple years ago.

The renovation has been completed.  The main difference on the outside is that the gray marble tiles were replaced with white granite... it's lovely!  (The inside was completely renovated, as well - photos of the interior can be seen HERE.)

I got to serve as an usher on a couple evenings during the recent Open House.  (And I could kick myself for not extending a personal invitation to my local friends!  So sorry.)

Saturday was rather dreary and wet, but I ventured by to see if the bike parking situation had changed.  (When the bride and I attend temple sessions together, we drive in her car... but when I go alone I almost always bicycle out there.  It's about a 5-mile round trip.)  Bike parking has NOT changed - one rack.  And I've never seen a bike attached to it, other than my own.

BIG Bicycle bargain - at Walmart!

Okay, this is a weird thing... I'm "recommending" a bicycle that can be bought at Walmart!  (Maybe recommending isn't the right word - more like making you aware, should you be interested...)

I first spotted the "Genesis" cruiser bike when I was strolling through my local Walmart.  (If memory serves, I diverted over to the bike department looking for 20-inch white tires for Princess Mackie's bike.  I don't spend a lot of time in the Walmart Bike Department.)  The Genesis caught my eye immediately - it was the 32-inch wheels that did it.

A bike with 32-inch wheels is a freak of nature.  And definitely a novelty... the 29er riders would be green with envy!

The Genesis is likely similar to other department-store bikes in build quality... but it is made of aluminum, and looks sturdy enough.  Shipping weight is listed at 40 pounds, so the bike probably weighs 30-odd pounds, ready to roll.  Other than the size, it's pretty much standard-issue classic cruiser - single-speed, coaster brake, rototiller handlebars, fenders, big fat saddle.

Well... a couple days ago at my local Wally-World, I again noticed the giant beach cruiser, and it was clearance-priced at $125!  I was sorely tempted!  It comes in several colors, including bright green and bright orange, my two favorites of the ones I've seen.

Maybe I need to ask Santa to bring me one.  (It would not be the first time I asked Santa for a bike.)

Gratitude

"How's it going?"

It's a question that is often thrown out casually, often even by total strangers in passing.

I have an aunt who was famous for replying, "I'm in constant pain."  And then if you didn't somehow cut off the conversation, she was happy to explain in detail the sources of her constant pain.

How's it going?

Personally... I'm disturbed by many things that I have little or no control over.  Our huge national debt and the implications it has for our economic future.  The unemployment rate.  (I'm gainfully employed, but there are no guarantees, and I'd sure hate to be looking for work in November, 2012.)  Strife and hate.  The direction our society seems to be going in.  Etc., etc.

However... I'm quite happy with the situation that I do have control over.

I s'pose I'm "in constant pain."  But it's just the low-grade pain associated with a 59-year-old carcass, sometimes more severe but mostly not.  Certainly not debilitating.  I don't focus on it, and I've never felt inclined to share my misery.

I live in a place with a nice environment.  Peaceful and stable.  Mercifully low crime rate.  Natural disasters seem to mostly bypass us.  Comfortable house, that I can afford the payments on.  Ample recreational opportunities.

Awesome family, both immediate and extended.  Good-hearted, faithful, supportive wife.  Kids who are assets to society, rather than liabilities.

From the "bike nazi" viewpoint... a bicycle I'm happy with.  Tires that give me lots of trouble-free miles.  Living close enough to work and other destinations that it's mostly easy to ride.  Moderate weather, predictable and mild wind.

Just this week, as I rode to work the air was brisk, and the sunrises were lovely.  As I rode home yesterday (taking "the scenic route" along the river), I got to watch maybe 300 Canada geese take to the air in unison, honking enthusiastically as they headed straight for the low-hanging sun.  As far as I know, only me and one other guy on a bike were blessed to witness it.  (Geese are rather pesky on the ground... but they sure are magnificent in the air, or on the water!)



Yeah, it's going mighty fine for the Bike Nazi!  I hope for you, too!