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Today's picture gallery: On Saturday morning my neighborhood's main drag became a lovely spring promenade, with a long stream of slow-moving vehicles. Residents from far and wide jammed the sidewalks in front of Heine Brothers Coffee to enjoy the Frankfort Avenue Easter Parade!
 Motorized parade floats are just ducky, but a group of Louisville bicylists added their share of color and energy to the Crescent Hill Easter Parade on Saturday, April 23.
 Dr. Garrett Adams brought a healthy message along with his commuter bike to the Easter weekend festivities.
 Katie McBride, an everyday bike commuter, rode her bakfiet, a Dutch-style cargo bike, loaded with the season's first flowers and greenery.  David Dillard does his part to "Keep Louisville Weird," on his classic 3-speed.
 John Paul's classic Dutch Azor bicycle is decked out with crepe paper an a banana.
 Louisville Metro Mayoral candidate Jackie Green wasn't the only politician in the parade, but he was the only City Hall hopeful truly going green – riding tandem.
 Walter Lay's bike serves as a mobile arbor, generously adorned with a variety of fresh spring flowers.
 Ian Ritchie's "float" featured balloons, two young bunnies and a cooler of refreshments trailing behind.
 Tracy Barnes waves at the adoring crowd from her bike with a robin's egg blue color scheme and some Easter decorations.
 Kevin Klaphaak apparently came equipped for spring home improvement projects, with a tool bucket on his rear rack.  David Morse broke out the shorts and sandals in a rite of spring that draws enthusiastic crowds to wave and cheer in front of the restaurants and shops all along Frankfort Ave., through Crescent Hill and Clifton. PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o............\<,.......( )/ ( )Enjoy the ride home.
See you at LouisvilleMojo.com/pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Ian Ritchie and his younguns.
Garrett Adams has a healthy message.
Katie McBride's bakfiet with floral cargo.
David Dillard keeping Louisville Weird
John Paul's Dutch banana bike.
Jackie Green isn't running, he's riding, for Mayor.
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Jax Rhapsody
sun apr 04 2010
at 4:22 pm
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I didn't know Jakie was running for mayor, lol. You know you can option to not show pictures at the front and end of a post. The same ones atleast. I kinda wish I had went. I still haven't seen you on the road yet. |
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Today's picture: We're just a month away from Earth Day, April 22. This will be the 40th anniversary of a day set aside for the hardest working planet in our solar system. This button is my souvenir from the first Earth Day, way back in 1970. I was just a baby, of course!
What do you have planned for April 22?
You still have plenty of time to come up with a plan to observe Earth Day in a meaningful way that can do some good for the Earth. Make it an event for your family or school to plan activities for kids and adults.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Earth Day Website is devoted to things you can do to protect The Third Rock on Earth Day and every day. One example is the Earth Day Photo Project.
Back in the day, we had Earth Day "Teach-ins" and "Sit-ins." They were forums and seminars on subjects like ecology, pollution, energy, and novel ideas like recycling. Four decades later the EPA is serving up daily podcasts on up-to-date earth-friendly topics. Here's a transcript of one of their podcasts:
1 - Reduce your carbon footprint! Leaving your car at home twice a week can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 pounds per year. Save up errands and shopping trips so you need to drive fewer times. If you commute to work, ask if you can work from home at least some days, and you'll reduce air pollution and traffic congestion - and save money.
Play the podcast (MP3, 724KB, runtime 0:44) | Reduce greenhouse gases on the road. A Great Prelude to Earth Day, 2010
Just a few days ago, as the National Bike Summit was wrapping things up in Washington, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a significant policy statement that's causing some excitement in bicycling circles. And it will be good news, too, for anyone who likes to use our primary form of transportation – walking.
This from LaHood's blog:
“People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning,” “This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.” But wait, there's more! The Secretary's policy statement is pretty much music to the ears of cyclists and pedestrians.
"We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities." Read More about the new Transportation policy here: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/03/lahood-policy-statement/#ixzz0isXGw8Wt
So, maybe the past four decades since Earth Day No. 1 haven't exactly been kind to "the big blue marble" where we live. We pretty much ran amok with our addiction to petroleum. Gasoline fumes generally clouded our judgment on a lot of public policies that are literally killing us today. But maybe – just maybe – announcements like Secretary LaHood's will become more commonplace. And we can only hope those words translate into tangible results – safer and more numerous routes for active transportation.
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Earth Day honors our Big Blue Marble.
Original 1970 Earth Day button
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J.S. Holland
mon mar 22 2010
at 9:40 am
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Of course, back in the day, we also used to be more aggressively militant against mega-polluting megacorporations. Somehow the burden seems to have shifted away from them and to the individual.
As long as DuPont, Simplot, Cargill, Monsanto, Ford, Boeing, Chevron, Souther Co. Utilities, American Electric Power, Massey Energy, Alcoa, etc. are allowed to continue to pollute the Earth on a grand scale, any effort of the individual to reduce their own tiny output is exactly like peeing in the ocean. |
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Today's picture: Save the date and leave your keys at home. Next Tuesday is your chance to join the active transportation movement at Louisville's monthly Car-Free Happy Hour. You'll see posters like this one popping up all over town.
Louisville's monthly Car Free Happy Hour started last fall. It's the grassroots brainstorm of locals who have discovered a variety of alternatives to motor vehicles for getting around town. They're not anti-car – just pro-bike, pro-transit, pro-pedestrian. They draw inspiration from very bike friendly cities like Portland, Oregon.
 Brent Tinnell's original intention was to have a follow-up to Metro Mayor Abramson's Bike Summit last February. He organzed a group of people to carry on the lively conversation that started at the Summit. He met with public health worker Katie McBride. They scheduled the first Happy Hour for a Tuesday night in October last year.
Katie had long wondered if an event of this kind would work here in Louisville. She's delighted to see it grow every month in spite of miserable weather conditions – ice, snow, and pouring rain.
True Grassroots effort
Car-Free Happy Hour has no real sponsorship. Its founders are nonetheless serious about making Louisville more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Brent is on the board of Bicy cling for Louisville and is involved with the Sustainability Forum and Freewheel Collective.
Katie works on contract with the Louisville Metro Deparment of Public Health and Wellness and works on bicycle and pedestrian projects for them. She's lso a commissioner on the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission and does volunteer work for AARP on transportation issues for seniors.
"I'm amazed at how popular this has become," said Katie. The new faces and connections that have been made and the creative synergy are just awesome. The numbers have grown from 20 in October to 40 in January – in spite of some horrible weather."
Brent is likewise pleased. He was browsing bikeportland.org and noticed their Car-Free Happy Hour. They have their Happy Hour in a different part of town each month. "I wanted to try to see what might happen here with an event like Portland's. What impressed me right away was that I started meeting so many car-free people and cycling advocates I didn't know about," he said.
"It's promising to see how many people are hopping on bikes and how many have been doing it for years – Tom Armstrong, for example," said Brent.
(Tom is another local bike blogger and the Education Chairperson for the Louisville Bicycle Club. Check out his bikelounger's meandering thoughts )
"Car-Free Happy Hour unites cyclists from all over town. It helps us get together on a grassroots level to talk about ways our city can fund and support bike projects. The city can make this a priority and help louisville become more bike friendly and better place ot get around," said Brent.
Who's invited? Peds, transit users, bicyclists, nerds, activists, neighbors, friends, community members, even politicians running for mayor!
Come join us to discuss issues relevant to us in the Louisville area.
Expect folks from Bicycling for Louisville, CART, Freewheel Bike Collective, and Bike Louisville (among others) to be there!
The Car-Free Happy Hour is happening at Sol Aztecas this month. Come out if you're a pedestrian, transit user, or bicyclist and want to hangout with other folks, eat food, and listen to people talk about the projects they're working on related to sustainable transportation.
This months theme is bike-business. We will hear presenters from a plumbing business that moves by bike, as well as SoupBycycle, a new bike-based soup delivery business working from the Highlands.
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: 520 S. 4th St.
For more information about Car-Free Happy Hour, call Brent Tinnell at 502-619-4352.
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Car-Free Happy Hour Poster
Katie McBride organizes Car-Free Happy Hour
Brent Tinnell borrowed a good idea from Portland.
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Today's picture: Electric bikes. They're not in Louisville shops yet, but plan on seeing them soon. The Yike Bike folds to carry on a bus or train. It requires no effort. But isn't that kind of defeating the point?
Electric bikes and electric-assist bikes are taking off in Europe. I'm told electrics may be the fastest growing segment for sales over there. A few have made modest debuts here in the states. But are electric bikes really an improvement – or just another way to add comfort at a huge expense? This blog is called "Pedalaround" for a reason. It's about active transportation that keeps your heart pumping and keeps fresh air fresh. Electric add-ons seem to defeat both objectives. Or do they?
Check out this Yike Bike video. Looks like a lot of fun. But the $5,500 sticker is way out of my price range.
Clean electric?
Electric power may seem green enough when it's quietly charging your bike's $1,000 battery, but it's available basically because a mountain was toppled into a stream for coal-fired power. Just because your Yike Bike has no exhaust fumes doesn't mean it's clean. Your local coal-fired generator burns and emits carbon into the air. And don't believe the "Clean Coal" ads on TV. They're fiction. Clean Coal is one of the advertising industry's latest fantasies. No, make that a bald faced lie.
Another thing: Isn't the jury is still out concerning all these batteries? What kind of damage are we doing to the environment with their production? And what about disposal?
Let's think positive!
Oh, there I go again, getting into thorny details. Maybe I'm a little overboard here. Alright, I'll concede that power-assisted and electric bicycles may be a big improvement over even the most fuel-efficient cars. And if they get people out for a spin, what's the harm? Electric bikes may be the gateway vehicle that can lead their owners to the truly sublime pleasure of 100% human-powered cycling. That would be a plus.
And speaking of a plusses, I really like the Trek promotion for their new line of Ride + power-assisted bikes. They invite you to "Expand the Possibilities." Their selling copy goes like this: "If you think you can't commute by bike, Trek Ride+ electric assist changes the game. Suddenly pulling a trailer or carrying heavier loads becomes doable. A sweat-free commute becomes a reality. And going up hills is as fun as going down. Ride+. It's your p ower, plus."
The Trek Ride + is basically a Trek FX 7.3 – just like the $700 hybrid I've used as my main form of transport for the past two years. But when you add the power-assist features, the price takes a big jump to about $2200. The credit card companies will at least get a charge out of it. There's an economic stimulus package, eh?
The local Trek dealers I talked to recently didn't plan on carrying the Ride + anytime soon. Howevert, I'm sure they can order one if you can't do without a boost up the hills of Cherokee or Iroquois parks. Better still, you can spend a whole lot less and get cartons of Cliff Bars and energy drinks instead. – totally green. True biofuel.
NOTE: In case you're new to this blog, Pedalaround currently serves as a journal for My Car-Free Experiment that started on Sept. 16, 2009, when I sold my 1991 Volvo 940 Turbo station wagon on Craigslist. I don't own a car. I get around mainly by bicycle, walking, using public transit, and ride sharing.
On Feb. 9, I broke my leg when I crashed my bicycle while crossing railroad tracks at something other than a 90º angle. I learned a valuable lesson and have accepted kind offers to share rides to work with my generous friend and colleague Marte Markwell.
Thanks also to Walt and Lynn Kunau for giving me a lift to and from church this morning. And thanks to my kind buddy Ben St. Clair for getting me out in the fresh air – then to Cumberland Brew for a righteous quesadilla. I owe you, brutha!
PS: Remember, every lane is a bike lane. Share the road.
freewheelin
............__o
............\<,
.......( )/ ( )
Enjoy the ride home.
See you at pedalaround
© Copyright, Kirk M. Kandle, MMX
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Yike Bike
Trek Ride + Electric Assist
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Jax Rhapsody
mon mar 08 2010
at 9:26 am
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I've seen electric bikes for sale. Not lately though. The only benefit I could see is using the motor to help on hills and ceertain times when your tired. Not really as usefull as a Motoredbike, gasser style. And that thing looks like a big wheel. I could see something like if you had a dynamo to recharge as you rode it. |
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Mixed Mojo
mon mar 08 2010
at 9:59 pm
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"Electric add-ons seem to defeat both objectives."
I'll put pedals on my Kia and you can tell me how it doesn't get my heart rate up or keep the air fresh (you should smell me after I've ridden a few miles by the way).
No, even though they bolted on pedals and call it a bike, the people who make this contraption don't share you idealism. Most people don't. They're just trying to make a buck. |
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Jax Rhapsody
tue mar 09 2010
at 11:21 pm
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Besides, the last thing you want is a front-drive bike anyway. |
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A bicycle commuter's essays, how-to tips, reflections, and observations. Follow my car-free experiment! Go to http://pedalaround.blogspot.com/
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