"They should be scared. This is a big, @#$%^ car."

Only parody..., I think.

That's How We Roll

As seen on one of the bike routes in the Temescal District of Oakland. Perhaps this is Lauren's route to work or something?

Why don't you call me some time when you have no class?

Thornton Melon - Back to School (1986)

Graduation day at preschool ended with a trip home on the Green Machine because Grandma left early and took the car. I got there solo, but had a hunch I'd need kid helmets.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Yep, still alive and getting around by bicycle. After a grocery run down the hill with the little one, we rode up to school to get the older one and her friend.

It Ends

Know what? I think this blog has run its course. I think I'm just going to shut up and lead by example. I'm still blogging about my garden and I'm ramping up to build a bicycle frame, so stay tuned.

I may post something here, but don't check too often.

It begins.

My posts are more brief these days, but my riding is less so. I finally got the road bike out for a real ride yesterday. Berkeley to Danville and back. Not a ton of climbing or mileage, but 53 miles while still not fully recovered from a cold this past week isn't too bad.

Gratuitous bike shot at the reservoir near home:

The hill are alive, with the sound of traffic...

People seem to like to see photos of other people's commutes, so I slowed down today, took a completely different route, and took some pictures. They look like this one, and can be seen by clicking on the photo or on the flicker album off to the side. Yeah, the day wasn't so bad.


A lot better than 1991 when that whole hillside erupted in flames and nearly every home up there was lost. Per Wiki: "The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres (6.2 km²) destroyed included 3,354 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss has been estimated at $1.5 billion."

Anybody growning their own?

I am. And I'm using the Xtracycle to transport used Starbuck's coffee grounds back home for use in the compost pile. No photos available, but my four year old and I headed to downtown Berkeley last Friday to get a copy of her birth certificate (for school), have lunch, get some groceries and see how many bags of used coffee grounds we could pick up. Check my gardening blog if you care about growing your own and getting free fertilizer to do so.

As this is a cycling blog, I'll tell you that we ended up carrying home four bags of grounds probably totaling 40+ pounds, a bag of groceries and ourselves. The 700' of climbing to get home was a bit rough with a full load, but certainly good exercise. My daughter has also decided to ditch the peapod and just sit on the snap-deck, so that's pretty neat.

Update: Everyone likes photos, so here is one of the maiden coffee ground voyage. Do be careful of leaks, so use heavy garbage bags to protect your bike and panniers.

I felt a great disturbance in the Force,

as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Obi-Wan, Star Wars - 1977

I happened upon this video, and because I noted the title, "Worst is Yet to Come" I just had to look (I guess I'm like that.) So the average American's style of living is going to permanently decline? Got that. At first I got worried, then I thought about what that really means (before I even watched it.) No vacation trips to far-off lands? I don't anyway. Buy cheaper or used cars? Not much of a problem here. Designer clothes, electronics and jewelry? Please. Family living with you? Done.

How about growing some of my own food and getting around by bicycle? How about figuring out how to use the sewing machine to repair our clothes? (Oh, yes I did.) If I buy a pressure canner to preserve food, has my standard of living really tanked? Perhaps in the eyes of a lot of my fellow citizens, but I think I can easily argue the definition of what constitutes a low standard of living is not what lots of people think it is.



Well, as long as I can pay the mortgage, I think I'm not too terribly worried that my comfort will suffer. Thank Dog that they didn't mention beer in this whole notion of cutting back. That would truly constitute a low standard of living...

Wheels

I was riding home one evening last month, and I kept hearing a sort of "tink" sound from the rear wheel when I was pressing down on the pedals. Having owned cheap wheels on a cheap mountain bike, I recognized that sound as a loose spoke (or loose spokes.) After finally pulling the rear wheel, I found that yes, indeed, I did have a very loose spoke. Once again, owning a truing wheel and spoke tension gauge came in handy. I corrected the tension of the offending spoke, but also made sure all others where relatively tight.

Rear wheels take a lot of abuse. They are dished (uneven spoke length), they are powered, and they often carry a lot more weight than the front wheel. Unless racing or riding light, I recommend lots of spokes (36), brass nipples and a stout rim made for touring. A well-built wheel with those three details will serve you well for a long time. Plus, if it goes out of true, you can true it and get back to riding.

Wheels are the sort of thing where the sum exceeds the parts. I had a friend that started commuting by bicycle for financial reasons, and she noticed a funny sound coming from her front wheel. I took a look and found a broken spoke, and that that it was broken off in the nipple. Luckily, having built lots of wheels, I had a suitable spoke and nipple ready for replacement. Again, the truing stand came in handy as I replaced the broken spoke and nipple, and trued the wheel right back up. To me, it's pretty simple stuff to replace a spoke, but to my friend, it was a huge deal.

Wheels are awesome. I've got a set of road wheels build with King hubs, Mavic rims and Sapim CX-ray spokes. They are nearly as light as my Mavic Ksyriums, but I can fix them. While a bicycle is one of man's greatest inventions, it really isn't all that difficult to service. Buy me a sixer of Lost Coast Brewery's 8 Ball Stout and I'll be happy to show you how to build a wheel. Having actually built yourself a wheel, you will look at the pre-built low-spoke wheels in a whole different manner (I suggest lots of scorn.) Don't buy into the hype unless you race professionally. I was only four categories away from pro, and these were good enough for me.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

Steve McCroskey - Airplane, 1980

Yay, the adults are in charge again! Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of town, guys. Wow. W is gone, a black guy is president and the Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl. What a crazy week it's been.

At least I'm feeling grounded with my garden. Come hell or oil shortages, I'm eating well this summer. See my garden blog for details if you care about that sort of thing.

And finally, time to shed real tears. Our perfect weather is gone and replaced with this crap where we don't get the sunshine we want or the rain we need. Now, I know there will be no sympathy from my brother in Wisconsin or my friends in the Midwest/Canada (sorta the same thing), but this is me we're talking about, and I'm bummed.

When life hands you lemons...

make a pith helmet. (That one's mine.)

We badly need rain, but if it's not going to rain, I'll take this:


Yeah, I'll enjoy my commute this week.

Don't go back to Rockville...

Click here if the title makes no sense.

To assuage the fears of my friends, no I'm not injured or kilt by an automobile. The economy is dealing out a beat-down of stress, and my garden has taken priority. That's it. I've got three yards of soil sitting out front that needs to be moved to the back, and then it's time to plant out. We've got all manner of vegetables ready to go, and it's time!

My only riding since maybe September or October has been commuting. Crazily enough, my good friend Mike called to get a ride together for last Sunday. He said, "Rockville!" I said, "Geez, I'm a little rusty for Rockville." Male bonding got the better of me and the next thing I knew Vince was here at 7:00 ready to load up the van. I understand that many local residents were chilled at the thought of near-freezing temperatures, but I (being from Wisconsin) scoffed at the frozen-over puddles and frosty cars.

Besides, Rockville has some very technical spots and wearing armor helps keep the extremities warm. I think we'll head back in preparation for NorthStar (the ski resort in Tahoe) this summer.


Pay to play. $3.00 each? A total rip-off, but at least it's sunny and there's no snow on the ground.

One of the many trails we encountered.

Mike, Tom and Vince. A slight mechanical caused this break. I took the opportunity to give one of the trees a shot of nitrogen.

Mike makes the descent.

Tom in the shadows. I was mostly trying to capture the rolling hills.

More rolling hills. I bet it gets like a furnace out here in summer.

Mike again. I'd have gotten more photos, but my frickin' battery died.



Mike dropping a not-as-technical-as-some of the stuff we rode. Truth be told, I walked a bunch. Armor or not, I was rusty.

Check this out. After the ride, I turned down a beer. Terrible, I know. I wasn't feeling the love, and I was worried I'd want to sack out when I got home. Thanks for the ride, guys. It was bunches of fun.

This One's for Brian

Quote: "Help a brother out and photo-shop me into one of these shots, will ya? I have already forgotten what riding outside in sunlight is like!"

Helping a brother out with sunshine:

Here you are riding in the Carson City area with el Jeffe and his friend Scott. I think you need a coat! Head west when it starts snowing, brother.


Hanging in Oakland 'cause it's snowin' in Nevada. We're gonna do some bar-spins and skids on our fixies. After that, we're slowin' down and cruisin' on our scraper bikes. Go Raiders!!



Night-riding on Mt. Tam. Naughty boy, the mountain closes to fun at sunset. Hope your batteries are topped-off, cause it's a long ride down.


There. No need for endless miserable hours on the rollers keeping time to NightRanger and Dokken just because it's Michigan outside. You've been added to all the great riding out west, and now you have a new way to stay in riding shape.

You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too - yeah!

The Beatles, 1968.

What did you get for your birthday?

My older daughter got Flower.


Dad got a new hobby.

I guess you've noticed something a little strange with Dad. It's okay, though. I'm still Dad.

Roy Neary - Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977

Would it be rude to suggest to other bike commuters that they ought to consider a light that actually works? I realize times are tough, but $20 for a Superflash has to be more important than date night at a movie, doesn't it?

What oncoming traffic sees when I'm out there:



This is a Superflash and a Niterider tail light w/ 12 LED's. For the record, if I ever get hit, it ain't cause I was invisible. I'm half-way to UFO status and plan to add another serious headlight for rainy days or just for the heck of it. I just need to configure a mount.



As a general plea to fellow commuters, please get some lighting. I wouldn't call mine overkill, but it sure isn't the bare minimum either.

Update: For more self-sufficiency and do-it-yourself inspiration, I chronicled the building of my new, nearly finished compost bin at Pushing Up Daisies (my gardening blog.)

How To Lighting

Since the rainy season in California has arrived, I've decided to finally create a light mount that will work with my rain cape. The cape is an awesome way to keep mostly dry while commuting, but a handlebar mounted light gets covered up by it, and that's no good during darkness. My solution was to buy a copper elbow and a short length of copper pipe.

I cut the pipe to a rough length of 3" and 4", and then soldered them to the elbow. I added end-caps, but I don't see any reason you'd have to. The rubber-coated P-clamp was found in the electrical aisle, and the zip-ties were added for stability. I should probably add a second clamp or another zip-tie because it seems just a tiny bit less stable than I'd like to see. It's pretty good, but I want perfect.

The beauty of this mount is that it's cheap (and could be cheaper by using PVC if you think it would last), and there is a full range of directions the light can be aimed.

You should use a pipe cutter and a torch for a quality build. The hardware store ought to cut the two lengths if you don't have a pipe cutter, but you really need a torch of some sort to connect the parts. Ask the old guy down the block that fixes stuff himself. He'll have one.

While I'd definitely prefer to ride with the light on the handlebar, it still is at a normal vehicle's height, and at least now I can use my rain cape and light at the same time. For whatever reason, I happen to own two mounts for this light, so I also don't have to worry about size differences between the lower mount and the handlebars. I just pull the headlight off the upper mount, and attach it to the lower one. And, the light is low enough to clear the downtube which is an important consideration for alternative mounting points.

I've got a second light that I'd like to mount to the other side in a similar fashion for when the weather is really bad. Besides being lower than I like, the tire blocks some of the light from the side, and a second light would be nice to have. Be safe, be seen.

Finally, check out my cycling good fortune. A neighbor was cleaning out the garage of things no longer useful for her growing kids. She didn't feel like craigslisting, and I was happy to help clear out her clutter. The trail-a-bike connects to a seatpost, and I'd like to somehow bolt a pipe to the deck of the Xtracyle so one kid can ride in the Peapod and the other can ride a bike. I've tried it a few times attached to my old Cannondale road bike, and I don't care for the results. The Xtracycle or my commuter bike would probably be better, although I'd have to gear-down the commuter for using around home. I was also thinking how an internal-geared 3 speed hub might be a cool addition at some point.

I like the trailer because it keeps the kids out of the weather when it's wet or cold. We went to school with it one day when it was sprinkling, and the kids thought that was cool.

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

Brody - Jaws, 1975

So I said back to bikes & beers, but this tickles me so much that I had to share it. Upset with the way the current administration has handled things in OUR government? Take heart, because: Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions.

I'll give you a few teasers, but go read the article and feel good again. You know, first time since a few days ago...

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

"The kind of regulations they are looking at" are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, in pursuit of what Democrats say was a partisan Republican agenda, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget. The list of executive orders targeted by Obama's team could well get longer in the coming days, as Bush's appointees rush to enact a number of last-minute policies in an effort to extend his legacy.

President Bush denied California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The president-elect says he will overturn that decision.

Finally.

Because everyone likes photos, here I am four years ago standing inside a Redwood in Marin.

We've been kickin' ass for 200 years. We're 10 and 1.

John Winger - Stripes 1981

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means." President Calvin Coolidge

Want something more contemporary?

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential." Barack Obama (pre-President Elect)

Mrs. Smudgemo was at a talk given by a state economist yesterday, and she wasn't in too good of spirits when she got home. We're in for a long haul on this one, and it's going to hurt. The Bay Area has been spared most of the sub-prime problems, but the next wave is going to affect the expensive homes, and there are lots of them around here. There will be a lot of downsizing and leaving the area going on if she (the economist) is correct. This area is definitely going to be better off than a lot of the country, but the economist's thought was people are going to have to start doing for themselves a lot more than they have been. Credit usage and offerings we are accustomed to are likely to be a thing of the past, and living within ones means will be generally required.

Growing your own food, darning your own socks, decreased mobility, etc. was the name of the game. My thoughts? Big f*&#ing deal, sign me up. My only real concerns are a roof over my family's head and food in our tummies. They are pretty important items, but it's only two things to focus on. The rest of it is luxury.

For quite some time Mrs. S had decided Kunstler is too far off in the Gloom & Doom end of the pool, but the stuff she got out of the meeting yesterday is pretty much what he has been writing for years. Finally. I will state for the record that while there has been some occasional eyeball rolling, she doesn't try to talk me out of my craziness or treat me like I've lost it. I appreciate that. It's just a matter of hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

In fact, heading towards simple living has had unexpected benefits. The driving less, riding bikes for utility, gardening and composting have proven to be fun family activities. We explore our neighborhoods, expose our kids to nature and develop bonds that have so often gone missing in modern America.

It's exciting to see a number of friends that have decided to move closer to work, downsize their home, get rid of stuff they don't need and live a more simple life. I'd recommend that each one of us take stock of our possessions and skills, and try to modify them for what might be coming down the pipe.

In hard times, being handy is very useful. Being cunning and wholly lacking of scruples is also beneficial if I understand some of the stories my maternal grandparents told me of life during the depression.

There are tons of great how-to books out there dealing with important aspects of simple living. Gardening, raising small livestock, storing of food, general home repair & improvement, rain water collection, and bicycle repair might be good subjects to start with. I still have to sell my Subaru, and my earthquake/disaster preparedness isn't 100%, but I'm chipping away at it. I'm also seriously considering taking a brazing course at the local community college. I'd really love to learn how to build bicycle frames/forks, but welding knowledge would certainly be a useful skill to posses.

I've also got this idea for food production for hard times. I know a little about gardening, and I've got a cargo bike. I could set up compost piles and gardens in people's yards that one might call unattached micro-farming. I'd map out the yard, get the garden and compost pile set up and planted, then regularly ride my bike with my gardening tools to each garden plot to weed and harvest. I then split the harvest in some pre-arranged fashion, and head home with my share. Food at no cost but for seeds, effort and a bicycle's wear and tear. I'd have a lot more land to farm, and I'd be helping my neighbors learn how to feed their families.

Perhaps I was born 100 years too late, but this sort of future isn't all that scary to me. Just remember that the people that fare best in hard times are the ones that are prepared for them and able to do for themselves. Hopefully we'll not see hard times, but if we do, are you ready?


Just a little fun stuff:

She only speaks French, Roy. She doesn't speak imbecile.

Lane Myer - Better Off Dead, 1985




Kudos to John McCain for getting behind President-Elect Obama for the good of the country. I can almost forgive the shitty things you and Palin said.

What I want to know is how we're going to stay alive this winter.

Gromeko - Dr. Zhivago, 1965

Well, winter in NorCal isn't exactly all that tough. It was 50* and foggy when I left this morning, and even during most winter nights we don't see temperatures in the 30's. So when I say I commute all year long, don't bother thinking too highly of me. It's not all that tough. Of course, I grew up in Wisconsin, and the week I moved to CA the high temperature had been (for a week straight) -5*. I'll never look at above freezing as anything but not all that cold. I do love commuting before dawn in the fog, though.

In an effort to lighten things up and prove that I sometimes still do ride dirt, I snapped some photos of the final leg of my commute today. I haven't been hitting this part lately, but I should. I'm often altering my commute home to find nicer roads or less traffic. This section qualifies as no-traffic and super-nice. Should you care to do a little research, this is part of Tilden Park. Aside from trails, there is a merry-go-round (the old and wooden kind), swimming, miniature steam trains that you ride on, picnicking and a miniature farm/petting zoo. It's a bitch to ride back out of the canyon with the kids, but they love it and so it's worth it.

This is a pictorial of my section of commute which is the west side of the park, up on the ridge. Side-shot of my commuting machine. Note the bar-end shifter upgrade. They aren't has handy as STI, but they work really well, and I like them a lot. I was going to blog about the switch, but didn't care enough to.

Another shot with Wildcat Canyon in the background.

A couple of minor drops to keep the trail interesting. Funny how I rail this at warp speed on my mountain bike, but take it somewhat easy on the cross bike. Note my excessive lighting.


Another shot of Wildcat Canyon. This is less than half a mile from home. Perhaps a quarter mile as the crow files.


My part of the trail ends at my daughter's school. You can keep going north on and off road, but this is my stop.


Nothing exciting compared to Joaquin Miller Park or Marin, but it's on the way home, and it's mine.

If it's all the same to you... I'll drive that tanker.

Max - Mad Max 2, 1981

Hey! Lately it costs less to gas up the car. Time to ditch the bike for Smudgemo? No thanks. McClachy reports that, "Gasoline prices are falling, but consumption still down."

Drivers were bitching about fuel prices, Smudgemos were laughing as they rode past the pumps, and the idiots were advocating for additional drilling and gas-tax holidays. And what happened so far? Recession baby, recession. "Oil prices settled below $70 a barrel Thursday, their lowest level in 14 months and down 53 percent from July's record price of $147." Whoa, half-price! Buy baby, buy!

The question gets asked, "Does that mean that Americans are driving more now?"

"'If they are, we haven't seen any evidence of that,' said Michael Morris, an industry economist for the EIA."

For the record, I had hoped for people to warm up to the idea of reducing consumption voluntarily. Sort of as a patriotic thing, you understand. No need, the economy sucks: "The U.S. economy is now widely thought to be in recession. That means more Americans without jobs, and less spending in general. Neither suggests that demand for gasoline is about to rise."

Unfortunate, but I hope that people try carpooling and the bus or train to save money and decide they like not driving. Perhaps out of this we expand public transportation and develop our rail system. (Yes, I realize I'm a hopeless romantic.)

Xenophobes and the vindictive should take heart: "The falling prices have struck fear in oil-producing nations. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday moved up its scheduled Nov. 18 meeting to an emergency gathering Oct. 24 in Vienna, Austria." Ha! Wouldn't it feel great to just drive less and make them scared all the time?

Guess this is proof that reducing usage reduces demand and price, and pretty much shoots a bunch of holes in that moronic "Drill Baby, Drill" chant we've heard from the Right.

Say, I was watching The Daily Show last night, and maybe I could parlay this blogging thing into a pundit job. If people are going to ask, "Who the F@#k Is That Guy?", it might as well be me getting paid to be that guy. I'm very capable of staying some pretty stupid stuff. Just ask my wife...



And just to end on my opinion, the guy in the video Stewart shows is either a complete and utter liar or some sort of pansy, bed-wetter. His comments have to be the most ridiculous that I've heard since, oh, maybe late last week when Congresswoman Bachmann of MN said Obama and members of Congress should be investigated for anti-Americanism (or some stupid shit like that.) What is it with these people? And just what is the definition of anti-Americanism? If so many are unhinged, does it somehow mean they are the sane ones?

Good luck on getting her out of your district, rigtenzin. Next Tuesday can't come soon enough.

An Open Letter

Dear Senator McCain and Gov. Palin,

I am curious. Living in Berkeley (where Hannibal Lecter and Dr. Evil running as the Democratic nominees would easily defeat you), am I un-American or living not in "Real America?"

My family grows some of our own food, we have reduced our fuel usage by about 70% and we work hard at minimizing our use of water and electric. I understand that this was generally done by patriotic Americans during WWII. Has something changed?

Regards,

Smudge

I wouldn't sell my bike for all the money in the world. Not for a hundred million, trillion, billion dollars!

Pee-wee Herman - Pee-wee's Big Adventure 1985

This is how the Smudgemo family gets to school when the old man is home. Beats walking. And coincidentally, last Wednesday was "Walk to School Day." You can imagine the heaps of scorn my mind tossed on that event. A lot of students live close-by, and walking to school ought to be encouraged every day. The afternoon queue of drivers waiting with engines running to pick up their little bundle of joy in the absolute safety of a two-ton steel cage is long and mind-boggling.

I, on the other hand, enjoy the ability to ride right to my daughter's classroom, load her up and ride right back through the mess of vehicles to get home. I really should build a tandem seat for them, but painting the house is taking priority.


Photo credit goes to my good friend Jeff who went mountain biking with Lauren, Brian and me later that day. You can read about our adventures on their blogs, if you care to. (Note: it was a fun day.)

And also if you care, you can indeed do some off-roading with your Xtracycle:

This is the greatest work I've ever done in my life - because it's so honest.

Stanley Motss - Wag the Dog 1997



September 30, 2008


Dear Mr. President and Congress,

We the people don't believe you. There are always alternatives, and you need to go back inside and find them.

Sincerely,

We the People
(your employers*)



*Don't ever f***king forget that part.