I Forgot my Pants!

Wow! What a commute to work today. Was it the birds chirping? The warm air that was perfectly moderated so that going downhill I felt buffered by soft Mediterranean breezes? Was it that I climbed the hill as if pulled up by a mysterious tow rope?

I dunno. But it was great, and I don't want to jinx it by introspecting too closely.

As I had partially climbed the "big hill" (Beacon Hill in Seattle) I remembered that I had packed two shirts and NO PANTS! Oops.

Dilemma.

Should I go back down, fetch the pants and return back up? Before going to bed I had read a tract on climbing and Greg LeMond's tips. One was to always choose the hilly course. By that I should have gladly rolled back down, then back up the smaller hills to the house, then back down from the house and up again to the "big hill". Nope. I remembered that I had a crumpled pair of pants from last week sitting in a grocery bag at work. That'll do.

Unencumbered by propreity or proper training techniques I resumed the sheer exhillaration of this morning's commute. It could have been the cast of the Sun's rays, but it sure was sweet. Like riding your first faster bike as a kid and discovering serious speed. Everything was right in the world of flying bicycles.

All I could conjure up was that I was on a bicycle with wings.

I needed a picture for the post so I Googled bicycle with wings and got two great features.

The first is a reprint from "The Silent Worker". "The Silent Worker" I learned was a newspaper for the deaf. In a story from a 1909 edition they report on a man with a bicycle with wings. And he took a test flight in Pittsburgh, my home town, between landmarks I know. What a trip! Ended up crashing into a... well, see for yourself. Check it out here: The Silent Worker. Be prepared, the story also includes a reference to how society viewed "negroes" at the time.

Fascinating paper, "The Silent Worker". Seems to be a focus on how deaf mutes are entitled to good jobs and make good workers. Reminds me of U.S. Senator Tom Harkin's remarks (hero of the Americans with Disabilities Act) when I was in D.C. last month (subject of a future post).

Next, I found this video of another chap on a winged bicycle assisted by a rocket of some sort. All I can say is it's a good thing he didn't forget his pants! Check him out here: Google Video.

Keep your curious pants on. Or not!

CurioRando

In Awe.

I’ve not yet ridden a 600k, or even a 400k, so I am in awe.

The Oregon Randonneurs conducted their Oregon 600XTR over the weekend and judging from the comments it was a humdinger. How about 21,269 feet of elevation? If you’d like some insights into the ride, here is a wonderful photo album that will give you a sense of what it means to ride a 600k, at least as well as any group of photos can: Michael Johnson's Flickr Page.

The elevation graph of the Oregon 600 XTR at the top of this post is from The Kramer Blog. Visit there to get the low down about the route, how such an event is organized, and how some the riders were talking to themselves prior to the ride.

I tip my helmet to all the riders who finished, those who couldn't, and to the organizers! Thanks for the inspiration.

Keep it awesome,

CurioRando

Inauguration Day

What's the connection between cycling and the inauguaration of the first elected Salvadoran President from the left?

Trust me, I can find the connection between bicycling and just about anything that's good for the masses.

It's so easy because the bicycle is such a fundamentally democratizing machine.

In this case the connection was provided serendipitously by a chance encounter in a local bicycle shop. I overheard a conversation yesterday between a woman with a taco-ed rear wheel (from her second auto-avoidance maneuver) and the mechanic. A "tacoed" wheel means the wheel is in the shape of a taco shell--irrevocably damaged usually. Upshot was that her wheel was a 27" wheel, and the array of choices was getting expensive given nobody makes or sells 27" wheels much anymore. As they bantered I remembered that I had a 27" wheelset sitting in my basement shop that I had been planning to donate to BikeWorks. I offered Rachel the wheels and she offered me chocolate. Not satisfied I bargained hard, and true to my shameless self-promotion I told her she could have the wheelset and keep the chocolate if she'd just look at this blog and pass it along to her friends. Deal was struck. Or so I thought.

In accepting the deal via email, she "hinted" about a ride she is planning to participate in. So now here I am promoting HER agenda AND giving her the wheelset AND she's keeping the chocolate! Tough bargainer, Rachel!

Actually, I say the meeting was serendipity because she sent me the link to the CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) website and the Solidarty Cycle 2009 ride to raise money for CISPES. I was familiar with CISPES back in the day, but hadn't been tracking lately. The serendipity is that President Mauricio Funes was sworn in today! How wonderful. Even Hilary Clinton is attending. Talk about a shift in U.S. policy!

Truly, the only serendipity is in my learning about all this. Funes' election is the culmination of years of struggle by many selfless and committed folk in El Salvador and of course here by the CISPES folks. Here is a little background about this historic day:

Funes' March 15 election highlights the leftward political shift witnessed throughout Latin America in recent years, and marks the rise of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) to win executive power in El Salvador for the first time. The former guerrilla group became an official political party after signing a peace treaty with the U.S.-backed Salvadoran government in 1992, ending 12 years of civil war. The historic nature of Funes' election is adding to the international attention being afforded his inauguration. CISPES representatives will join heads of state and other international dignitaries in witnessing the first peaceful transfer of power between two distinct political tendencies in Salvadoran history. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to attend the event. She and President Barack Obama previously met with President-elect Funes at the Summit of Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April.

Funes, a former television journalist who campaigned on a platform of change, hope and support for El Salvador's poor and disenfranchised majority, will inherit a nation seeking a break from 20 years of far-right government under the ARENA party, a staunch Bush administration ally. The new president will be challenged with an economy hit particularly hard by the current economic crisis, due in part to its reliance upon trade, migration, and investment ties with the United States. In recent months, under the current ARENA administration, key ministries have been unable to carry out their basic functions due to budget shortfalls.

So please check out the CISPES Solidarity Ride website to find out more about joining or supporting the ride and about the work of CISPES.

And please don't tell the people I work with that I'm such a poor bargainer; I work for a labor union after all!

Keep it curious,

CurioRando

Billbicycles for Health Care!

Bicycles as Billboards, perfect!


Look what I spotted at the Mothers' March for Health Care. This "billbicycle" (variation of billboard) was pedaled by Sheila Hoffman and Spencer Beard. They were among the 3500+ folks who marched, rolled, and got pushed for Health Care reform in 2009!

It was a righteous march in Seattle that couldn't have been more timely. The battle for a public option is where the action is and Sheila and Spencer capture the tension. The health insurers are afraid to compete against the public option because they are all about providing profit disguised as insurance instead of providing health care. Suddenly they don't like competition. Hmmm.

Sheila and Spencer have their own site s2cycle.com that is very cool. Among other endeavors, they started a tandem club, sold their house for a smaller footprint, have cyclotoured far and wide, and have fascinating individual profiles. Do check them out.



Fiona and Stella (l. to r.) are counting on us. We better get Health Care right! Papa Stefan is getting them wheeled good and early.






The Seattle Police were either on their bicycles or motorcycles. I was the designated "police liaison" for the march organizers, and I had contemplated being on my bicycle, but I figured it might hinder my ability to be a part of the crowd. What I found was that for the police is gives them the combination of mobility and integration. Next time.
I enjoyed working with the Seattle (Mounted) Police. It was a calm and celebratory though militant march and there were no major issues. Thanks, officers.


But what got my beat really going was the band at Westlake Mall, the march destination. Check out Big World Breaks. They did a sweet cover of Stevie Wonder's Living for the City, and I really dig their Beep Beep. I was trying to figure out how to describe them when I found this on their MySpace: Original and re-mixed Breakbeats, Soul, International Funk, Hip-Hop, Afro-Latin, Afro-Carribean, Reggae, Afro-Brazilian, Dancehall, Roots Rock, Reggaeton, Afro-Beat. A percussion heavy collection of intesity, groove and spirit ... and ya don’t stop!!!

I say: Yeah!


Ya Don't Stop Ya Curiosity

CurioRando

Swing Wide, Sweet Chariot!

Here is my ride report from my very first brevet, the Tahuya Hills 200k. It is renowned for its hills. I rode it without any idea what I was getting myself into; it was sponsored by the Seattle International Randonneurs, my (now) home club. Hint: RUSA is the national organization for randonneuring, Randonneurs USA.

Swing Wide, Sweet Chariot!

Out of the pasture
And into the lane,
A small herd of horses
Toward our peloton came.

Eight horses galloping,
They wheeled into our way,
Is this randonneuring?
But it’s my first brevet!!

Nostrils flaring,
Eyes glaring,
It’s just the first turn,
And already quite daring!

I’d figured on dogs,
(We had them too!)
But unbridled horses…
I hadn’t a clue.

They swung wide to miss us,
“Good horsies”, I said,
That’s just what you say
When you’re glad you’re not dead!

As quickly as that
They’re behind us, and I
Am randonneuring again,
To the Hills…Oh My!

They’d declared at departure:
“There are plenty of hills,
Eight thousand feet climbing”,
My blood took a chill.

Uphill and then down,
Seems more of the up,
Anderson Hill…One-Mile Hill,
So darn much up!

The route was well laid,
Controls: organized;
I got into my rhythm,
Perhaps I’d win my prize?

I finished in time,
“Where’s my medal?” I asked.
“See RUSA” they told me,
“You’ve completed your task.”

But this one’s not past,
It’ll stay with me till
Sweet Chariot carries me home,
Up that biggest of hills.

For I’ll remember that look
Till my dying day,
In the lead horse’s eye,
“Let them live,” it did say.

Swing wide, Sweet Chariot,
So I can cycle lots more,
Randonneuring’s exhilarating,
To enjoy: endure!

Keep it rhymin'

CurioRando

Cyclists: You Have a Right to Vacation!

French fought for more vacation...and won a cycling movement!

About seventy-five years ago in France a movement emerged in reaction to the Great Depression, the object of which was the establishment of the 40 hour work week and 15 paid vacation days per year. I know this because I read every word that Jan Heine writes about cycling, cyclotouring, randonneuring, bicycles, and France. He has the complete story in the latest issue of Bicycle Quarterly. If you want more try Wikipedia; the interaction between opposition to the rise of Hitler and the role of sport and leisure is fascinating.

The movement, called the Popular Front, was also about generating general progress on the conditions and wages of workers and the masses of the unemployed. This meant that French laborers had more time to spend at leisure. They began to explore their country, and thus a new boom in cyclotouring was born. Today, we are very much the beneficiaries of this boom of interest in everything cycling. And we owe this in large part to the leftist parties and unions of France that formed the foundation of the Popular Front.

Americans: less time with family, friends…and cycling

Here in America, we’ve traveled a different path. Our real wages have failed to keep up with the cost of consumption, our health care costs have risen dramatically, and we work more and harder than ever. While the productivity of American workers has increased, we don’t seem to get any material or time benefit. I heard one expert refer to the extra month per year that the average American now works as the month of “Workuary”.

Opportunity Now in Congress

Fortunately for us a new American movement is on the rise, and a bill was just introduced by Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL) last week that would ultimately guarantee two weeks of vacation for most American workers. The movement is spearheaded by my friend and fellow Seattleite, John de Graaf. John is Executive Director of Take Back Your Time, an organization dedicated to ending the U.S. and Canadian epidemic of overwork.

Who else supports the idea of more free time? Well, trade groups like travel agents understand what's at stake, and naturally support the notion. See right2vacation.org. Shouldn’t the bicycle, cyclotouring, and everything-associated-with-bicycling industries get on board too? It takes time to cycle, especially for slower cyclists like me! John, can you insert a slow-cyclist amendment so we doddlers get an extra week of vacation?

Remember what it means to just live

But it’s about more than cycling. For peace of mind, for just remembering what it means to live, we need more time. It could be you work for a company that is generous with time off, or are a union member so that you have won time off from a not-as-generous employer. Great. But for cycling to grow and be true to its pedestrian roots (yes, I get the irony of the pun), it can’t be for those of means and time only. Our mission, like the French of the 1930’s, ought to be to expand the right to time off from work to as many cyclists and would-be cyclists as possible.

The young in particular get little time off. Those who switch jobs, voluntarily or not, often start back at the beginning. If you have children, wouldn’t it be great if they had plenty of time to still hang with the folks as they enter the work world? Time off is family-friendly.




Vacation as Stimulus

Studies prove that workers who get time off are more productive. If more workers get vacation, employment will grow to cover the time lost to vacation. Health Care costs are reduced when workers get vacations, and of course burnout is reduced. Fundamentally, it is good for business.




Beginning, not the End

I don’t imagine we’ll win the legislation this summer given Health Care reform and other pressing issues, but I wouldn’t dismiss it either. Polling indicates 69% of Americans are supportive of paid time off with the largest portion supporting three weeks off (huh, just like those French cyclists won).



Let's take back our time...to cycle!

Follow the link, email your congressmember, and talk it up with fellow cyclists. If you are in the bicycling industry, your letters of support mean a great deal. And for you bloggers, just think of the posts we could compose: even longer diatribes like this one. Oops. OK, we could find more pictures to post, yes, that's it!


Take time to stay curious!

CurioRando

New Site to Report Hazards & Injuries

Got a "favorite" worst road hazard?
Been injured while cycling?
The Cascade Bicycle Club has launched a new website that tracks bicycle crash sites and locations hazardous to cyclists according to a comprehensive story in the Seattle Times today. The best part is that the site is available to and tracks hazards and crashsites around the country.
The new site is called bikewise.
In Seattle alone, two cyclists have been killed this year in collisions with vehicles.
And just this weekend, another fatal accident occurred when a woman testing a battery-assisted bicycle was killed when she went over the handlebars in an accident. She struck her head in the "freak accident" and was not wearing a helmet. The Seattle Times also reported on this story.
Our sympathies go out to all the families and friends of those killed and seriously injured while cycling.
It's also clear we must be vigilant, take advantage of all our tools--helmets, reflective clothing and gear, perhaps wider tires--and we must spread the word of new tools like the Bikewise website.
Keep it safe,
CurioRando

Energy efficient rimless bicycle wheel with Sputnik hub?

Hardly!

I've always wanted to build a wheel, so I decided to remove the spokes from my flip-flop wheel that utilized a sew-up rim I've decided to abandon. As you can see from the photo, the outcome that our friend Kian is holding looks like Sputnik. He and his sister were laughingly incredulous that it had once even been a bicycle wheel!

I attempted to remove the fixed gear and single speed cogs before I launched in, but couldn't budge them. In my eagerness, I plunged forward with them intact only to discover I had a worse mess. I can't easily slip the spokes through the hub to remove them as the cogs are in the way. I can jam them through but likely ruining the threads in the process. Even if that worked, it would be trouble trying to thread new spokes through. And, after unscrewing the nipples, it is even more difficult to remove the cogs as there is no tire/rim on which to get some purchase.

The idea was to rebuild the wheel using a 650B rim so I'll get a more forgiving commuter bicycle, especially through the industrial zone and over rough railroad tracks. Also, the idea was to learn to build a wheel. Too bad I needed a lesson in unbuilding a wheel too.

So, off to the LBS where they can get a good laugh!

After that, hopefully less embarrassing updates on wheelbuilding coming soon.


Keep it Curious!

CurioRando

BWIWAB & Memorial Day

Is BWIWAB the next new bicycle ride with an acronym serving for the name (ala RAMROD, STP, RSVP, RAGBRAI*)? Nope, and if you’re looking for the bicycling aspect of this post scroll down to the end, because Memorial Day is the immediate focus.

BWIWAB is my wife’s shorthand for when I get winding up to tell a story about my bricklaying days. I start with: “Back When I Was A Bricklayer…” Tired of hearing that prelude, she came up with the idea that I should just shorten it by first announcing “BWIWAB” as if it were one word, and then she could presumably figure out what zone she wants to go to while I prepare to tell my tale. I’ll try to shorten this one.

BWIWAB…I apprenticed with Larry Tinajera. I also laid brick with his dad, Alex, and when Larry and I complained about the cold while laying bricks in Colorado he’d tell us about when he was a soldier in Korea. “Now that was cold,” he’d say. "This ain’t nothing. And, we never ever got warm."

I was thinking about Alex when my wife, Pramila, and I went to see Gran Torino this weekend starring Clint Eastwood and several unknown-to-us Hmong actors. The Korean War was fiercely fought and brutal for all, and if you want to see a mostly very well made film (it is not a war movie), go see Gran Torino. A good one for this Memorial Day weekend.

My earliest memories of Memorial Day go back to the parades in Monroeville, PA. Our uncle was a “fireman” so we always looked for him on the firetruck and he’d throw us extra candy. The parade ended at the Cross Roads Cemetery just below the Old Stone Church (c. 1834) where I was baptized. The idea was that everyone would put flags on the graves of all the buried veterans. My dad was buried there and was indeed a veteran of WWII though he died long after the war. It was always a curious holiday cocktail: parade, firetrucks, death, candy, honor, 21 gun salute, hamburgers, day off from school, flags, beginning of summer, acutely missing those now gone, picnicking, graveyard.

And it’s not just soldiers who die. Where is the Memorial Day for all the civilian casualties and refugees (Hmong people as but one example)? We don't even collaterally memorialize them?

But don’t get me wrong. I honor those who have fought even as I deplore the wars. I am a real believer in collective action. I believe that we are better and have the capacity to make the world better when we act collectively. Whether I agree with the war or no, I therefore honor anyone who offers up themselves to the consequences of the collective decision. A very generous act.

I guess my problem with Memorial Day is that today it feels as if it is immersed in a societal attitude akin to what BWIAB is to me: a throwback. It’s as if it is a Holiday marking a time when things were supposedly different and that nobody really wants to hear about any more. But soldiers still kill and get killed.

If you’ve got Memorial Day off and you go cycling, maybe you could ponder while riding. Riding is always a good time to ponder, and if you’re so moved please comment here about your thoughts this Memorial Day. Do you remember somebody? Does pondering wartime death urge you to speak out? We’d love to hear how you memorialize.

Or, go see Gran Torino.

Keep it peaceful,

CurioRando


*Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day, Seattle to Portland, Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (BC) and Party, Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa

Celebrating the Bicycle is Fun, Fun, Fun! (YouTube)

Not yet having enough fun this Memorial Day weekend? Stay tuned. I've got a treat for you.

How about tall bikes, tiny bikes, cyclotouring bikes, cyclo-sewing bikes, recumbent bikes, high wheeled bikes, big-eyed wonder, broad smiles, and a bouncy soundtrack? And everybody looks so fit and fashionable.

In Jan Heine's latest issue of Bicycle Quarterly he reviews this YouTube video that charms:

Charming You Tube Video.

Jan says the narration is Czech, and it is from the 1930's and 1940's Europe. This is the vital and exhilarating European life we seldom get a sense of when we think of Europe during those years.

Enjoy!

Keep it fun,

CurioRando