April 2013
1 post
Your rights as a bicyclists in Texas →
http://bicycleaustin.info/laws/CyclistsRights.pdf
March 2013
1 post
WatchRed lights are merely a suggestion to stop I guess.
February 2013
10 posts
WatchHere is something I encountered a few days ago. I wish the video was crisper, but it’s not. What you really can’t see is the face on the old lady in that car that honks and peels out a bit. She had an angry look on her face. A look of I hate the world and everyone in it. A look of I hate my life so I’m going to make everyone’s life a living freaking hell. I never learned...
Quite the Dream
I had a dream last night that my car was stolen.
A Bicycle Built for Two
We had a couple of meetings that we had to attend tonight. I wasn’t going to go, but my training ride was cancelled, so Deby and I rolled out on the tandem. We hit up City Hall and UTPA for some meetings.
We feel that’s important to stay involved and to prove that we’re serious about what we advocate for, we do it, in a major way. We show off all the various ways to get around...
Riding a non-traditional bike
I have found that riding my long tail cargo bike has caused drivers to react differently to me. For the most part, I get more room on the road. I also get people slowing down to take a look at this beast of a bike. They aren’t sure what they are looking at. Even vehicles on the opposite side of the road slow down to look. I’m not sure this is a positive thing yet. Only time will tell.
WatchLooks like my AirZound works. I think next time I’ll really lay in to the horn.
Flower Delivery
Deby asked me to drive over to work so that I could pick up her flowers that I sent her for Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t believe the request. How dare she ask me to drive to pick up something so light. I rode over on the Big Dummy and placed them right in the side bag. I got them home without incident and intact.
I guess I always have a backup career of delivering flowers by bike if my...
Dorking out my bike
I think it’s fitting that my gigantic bike has an excessive amount of accessories on it. I have a nice and bright Lumina 650 light, a Go Pro Hero 2, a bell, and now an air horn on my handle bars. I also have a rear light, but I need two just to balance it out and make it feng shui.
I need the Go Pro because people can drive like idiots, and it’s also the only way you can probably get...
I said I would start posting and I really should.
I’m using my Big Dummy to take a bunch of Girl Scout cookies home today. I’m probably doing this biking thing wrong…or maybe not. Who cares.
Riding the 47.2 lbs beast is a blast. It’s smooth as hell and it’s definitely an attention grabber. OK, maybe not for everyone. Somehow I didn’t manage to get some ladies...
January 2013
1 post
Time to get this started again
The cargo bike is on it’s way. It’s time to start this car free thing again.
August 2011
3 posts
Neville Rooney Longbottom
Dear little Neville has been my companion through this. He has been doing his best to keep me happy at home. So it only makes sense if I was to venture out he would accompany me. Not far of course just somewhere safe and fun. Maybe we will expand our small adventures of Deby and Neville. Right now we watch birds and nap but maybe tomorrow we can go for a short walk around the block then do...
Survivor
As hard as it was to get out, I needed it out. I realize I have a huge fear of failure but I am not going to let myself or anyone or anything keep me down. Setting goals and dreaming big, I’m a survivor.
DGM
Trying to be Optimistic When your hit by a car
I know it has been a while since the last post. A few days after the last post I was hit head-on by a car who failed to yield right of way.
Today is 31 days since I was hit, the recovery has been a long process both physically and emotionally.
I still can’t ride, and each day that passes it has been harder to cope with. It is harder each day to keep the optimism alive and going. At...
July 2011
2 posts
Still here...
We’re still here and we’re still riding. We don’t get to ride as far anymore, but we’re still trying to be car free.
New commute...
Today was our first day riding the new shorter commute. It was a whole new ride today. We usually haul a change of clothes with us, but today we were able to cycle in our work clothes. It’s just like riding in the fall and spring, but with 100 degree weather. It’s absolutely great being in the middle of town now, as opposed as the outskirts. It isn’t a 20 minute ride to get...
June 2011
8 posts
Kind of a sad day...
We didn’t get to ride today, errands over in another town that had to be done during lunch. It’s also the last day of work for us, we’re off for the next two days, packing up and moving. It means that we didn’t get to ride our commute for the last time before the moving day. For me, it’s kind of sad. It wasn’t that far, but it wasn’t too close either. It...
Full morning...
After a full morning out, we got accomplished what needed to be done. We were able to do nearly all our errands by bike. We priced boxes for our move, but we were unable to bring them home. Unfortunately, I’ll have to drive this afternoon to pick them up, but on the bright side, the person I’m buying them from is a cyclist.
The adventure continues...
We’re fueled up and ready to head out to our next destination. Time for a haircut.
Back in business...
I’m starting up the blog again. Now that I have a phone with a Tumble app, I can blog on the go. Stay tuned for EPICNESS.
May 2011
2 posts
Baby on the road
Careful there is a baby on the road in the east bound lane of University Drive.
Oh it’s plastic but it’s still there.
Yes, we are still commuting
Okay so David hasn’t been keeping up with the blog. We are still riding and definitely still commuting everyday. It amazes me that people still ask if we are commuting. Their theory is weather has to be an issue so during the winter it was too cold now it is too hot. For me those are just excuses that some people use not to feel guilty. I mean there are plenty of theories on why cycling...
April 2011
6 posts
Sighting...
Today, we had a great sighting, a fellow cyclist in our neighborhood. He passed us as we were getting ready in front of our apartment, but we caught up to him down the road and had a brief chat.
He started riding about a month and a half ago and he seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. He had all the proper gear also. Bags, lights, a helmet, and a non-big box retailer bike.
What’s even...
Late night...
We just got home from a birthday party. It’s 1:15 a.m. This isn’t normally a biking trip that anybody would take, but we’re not normal, so we biked there. Besides, the party was for a fellow cyclist.
Of course getting there wasn’t out of the ordinary for us. We left around 6 p.m. That’s an hour we are accustomed to. 1 a.m., not so much. I’ve only rode this...
A quick stat...
We rode about 460 miles during the month of March.
It was the last cool day...
Wednesday was the last cool day of spring. It’s already April, so I doubt we’ll have these cool and fresh mornings again. We hung out outside for a while to enjoy it while we had it.
It’s time to sweat now.
Another month...
Well, here we are, it’s April. We made it. 31 days without a car or rides in a car.
Was the whole experiment a success? Absolutely.
Did I think it ever wouldn’t be? Absolutely not.
Would I do it again? I’m still doing it.
My wife had an unfortunate tooth incident during our car-free month that has required her to go to the dentist today. She suffered a little through the...
The original bike rack...
I have yet to see a bike rack at any bank I have an account at. I usually end up locking my bike to a tree, and yesterday was no different.
March 2011
54 posts
Last day...
After today, it’s officially over. It’s not really over though.
We completed the 31 days without any problems, at least I hope we finish today without any problems. I don’t foresee abadoning the bikes any time soon, and I don’t plan on getting in my car and driving just because I can.
Nearly over...
It’s nearly over. We’ve got half the day today and tomorrow. I can’t even believe that it’s been 31 days already.
An open letter, to one person...
Dear Ms. Meth-head,
Yelling and wagging your finger at a cyclist riding down the road makes you look crazy, even more than your crazy looking face and crazy hair.
Of course, I wish I could of understood what you were saying. All I heard was a mashed up jumble of some indecipherable language. You were apparently trying to lecture me on some sort of safety, while not watching the road and holding...
Wow...
Just got back from seeing Neil deGrasse Tyson speak. It was fantastic.
I would have never been able to attend if it wasn’t for my bike. We decided to just stay after work and wait. We headed over there a little early, and I’m glad I did. The line got crazy soon after we arrived. Luckily, we were at the front of the line. The auditorium filled to capacity and an overflow theater had to...
Cool mornings are over...
I don’t see any mornings with cool temps in the forecast for the next two weeks. I guess the muggy mornings are back.
Our morning commute strategy is going to have to change. No more wearing work clothes to ride in the morning. I normally advocate riding in plain clothes, but when there is 100% humidity out, it’s just not advisable. However, once the sun comes out and dries the air...
Sunday bacon Sunday...
After a long Saturday, we knew that Sunday would just be a down day. No biking, no anything. We slept in, ate well, and caught up on some TV. The sun and wind can really take it’s toll on you if you’re not careful.
We had planned on taking a ride out to Sal del Rey, but we decided against it. Some other cyclists we know did the ride, and I’m OK with not going.
Anyway, I needed...
Gas savings and more...
Last week, we commuted 81 miles total. That’s a gas savings of $15.52.
We didn’t really do as many miles as we had been doing, and half of our miles from the week were from Saturday. I guess good planning pays off.
I really need to write these entries, because the days keep piling up and I haven’t been posting anything. I know I won’t get to it today, I’m going to...
The blog isn't dead...
The blog isn’t dead. I was working on a really nice post of our last Saturday outing, but when I tried to save the post, only the title saved, not the body of the blog. I’m a little miffed at that, since it was about an hours work. That was a couple of days ago.
I just need to take some time and sit down and write these entries.
Nice ride...
It looks like that as gas goes up, more people are riding to school. I always see Wal-Mart bikes around campus. It’s very rare to see something a little more high end. I’m sure they are our there, but I just never see them. Here are two nice bikes I saw yesterday tied up outside.
The third bike in the back is pretty cool too. It’s an Electra, but it’s always there. It...
3 tags
Gas savings...
From Monday to Sunday last week, we rode a total of 120 miles. That’s a gas savings of $24.06 for last week.
Last Friday...
Sorry for the delay on the blogs, but I just haven’t had a chance to just sit down and spend some time writing, so here it goes.
Friday, oh what a day. Nothing to really report on during the ride to work. I got the opportunity to make a friend bust a bit of a sweat on the way to lunch. Pushing 17+ mph into the wind on the way to lunch was a bit extreme, but hey, why not.
We ate at Tea with...
It's not over yet...
Don’t worry, car-free month is still going. I just haven’t had a chance to post any blog entries. It’s just been a crazy couple of days. Maybe I’ll have something when I get out of class tonight.
7 tags
Utility wins again...
Thursday was great. We had a great ride in to work. It was windy, but we kept a pretty quick pace. Of course, we didn’t want to push it to hard. No need to sweat bullets that early in the morning.
We got a message from a fellow cyclist about some interviews Team McAllen had setup to raise awareness about biking, and they need some people who bike for transport. Needless to say, we were in.
...
2 tags
Out and back...
Wednesday was nothing special. Not exciting tales to tell. We came to work and then rode to McAllen after work to visit my parents. Other than the great weather, there is nothing to report.
The halfway mark...
We have officially hit the half way mark. It’s almost criminal how easy this has been. Why isn’t everyone doing this?
2 tags
Gas savings...
I haven’t done a gas savings post in a while, so here’s one.
Over the weekend, we saved $21.28 by riding the 103 miles I traveled.
