Play

I was recently interviewed (along with several other cyclists in the area) for a play on transportation. Essentially we just sat around telling stories about cycling while a group of drama people eavesdropped on the conversation. We went to the play that they made from that on Saturday (they also incorporated interviews with senior citizens, people who frequent the bus, teenagers and other groups).

First off, it turned out really well. They feared taking quotes and real experiences and trying to dramatize it because it loses something in the translation, so they essentially just used exact quotes put together into conversations. They took some dramatic liberties, but it turned out really well. I could sit and watch the play and think, "I said that, Dan said that, Aaron said that, etc." I think they did a better job of quoting me than journalists ever have. I really enjoyed the play.

Now I want to share what I learned. Here's the big thing for anyone who waters their sidewalk. I know, you are just trying to water all of the parts of your lawn without having any dead spots. Sure it's just a little inconvenience for passers by, it doesn't kill anyone and it doesn't waste that much water. Here's what it does... it makes it impossible for electric wheel chairs to pass. Oddly enough, electric wheelchairs are electric and they don't especially like water. In fact, water kills electric wheel chairs. Now think of walking around your neighborhood in the summer. How far can you go before you run into a sprinkler watering the sidewalk? How would you like to be confined within those "walls"? I have always been annoyed by people watering their sidewalks, but I never realized how much it can affect some people.

Seniors also had it rough. Their baby-boomer children in the suburbs would eventually take their drivers license and give them a line like, "It's OK Mom, we'll take you any where you want to go." Here's the fine print, "AFTER WORK, AT OUR CONVENIENCE, WHEN WE ARE NOT TOO TIRED, AND IF IT SEEMS IMPORTANT TO US". And after they shuttled us around for the first 18 years of our lives we welcome them into our homes, give them false hopes of mobility and let them live out their days in a pseudo-prison that we call home.

One of the other groups portrayed by the play was teenagers. It never ceases to amaze me how much teenagers think they know, yet how ignorant they remain of their surroundings.

The cyclist portion of the play was done to resemble James Bond. It was well done, he doesn't even know the dangers that he will have to face.

Response to Fatty

So I was studying for my last final today and I had about 20 minutes before class. I was sick of studying, so I went to Fatty's blog to see what he had to say. I don't know why I made a link since 98% of the people reading this came from there in the first place. Anyway, my final is done and so I'm free for the evening. I thought I would post pictures of my bike mobiles, along with their attributes.

This is going to be a little different than Fatty's post, because Fatty wrote about his truck that he uses to haul his bike in stuff. I use my bike just to haul stuff or to travel. I didn't get a picture of the fixie, that's sort of the "Geo Metro" commuter bike that isn't pretty, but serves its purpose as a workhorse getting good mileage day after day and never really breaking down. Except I'm going through spokes at a rate of about 3-4 a month.

Next, I have the a picture of the road bikes. Mine is the Mongoose. it's like a mid 90's Camaro. It's not a bad bike, but it is far from top of the line. It serves it's purpose and if the engine were taken care of like it should be it would be pretty fast. Until then, it hangs there waiting to be ridden (the bike, not the engine). My wife's bike hangs next to it, putting mine to shame (Thanks Cathi!). Hers is an old Basso with a real lugged steel frame, fully Ultegra equipped with down tube shifters and all. It's like a 60s Mustang. It's a classic and I'm afraid to drive it. My wife uses it around town on nice days, but it doesn't get the use that it was built for. Some day.
Here are the Mountain bikes. Mine is the Novara. It was a good bike in its day, but needs a bit of a make-over and overhaul. We'll compare it to a 62' Chevy Pickup that has been well used. My wife's is a Schwinn Moab. I'd compare it to a Early 90's Toyota. It serves its purpose well and hauls around the trailer on most of its trips.

And here's the trailer. It's an old Burley that has seen better days, but still serves its purpose. It hauls the two boys just fine, but our friends generally refuse to ride with us (they say it would be cramped back there). There's plenty of room behind the seat for a diaper bag, snacks, bike lock, tool kit and the cargo that your trip needed to drop off or pick up. When hooked up to one of the mountain bikes, it's an SUB (Sports Utility Bicycle). This isn't a bike, but it's a workhorse of the family. It's a double stroller. It will haul the two kids to the grocery store and one of the kids and the groceries home (The older kid has to walk home). It's nothing pretty, but it serves its purpose. We'll compare it to an old station wagon.
And below is the engine. You see, my wife is beginning to prefer the station wagon over the SUB because at 8 months pregnant her knees hit her belly while she's riding. While I've never been in that situation, I think that would take me off the bike as well. My wife is like a Ferrari engine that doesn't have a good home. It's foreign and a little mysterious, and it has tremendous power that demands respect. I know that it's more of an engine than I should ever be entrusted with, but she's got all of my respect. Powerful beyond measure, but with a simple elegance and grace that makes it oh so attractive.
And how do I haul my bikes? Who needs to haul a bike when you are riding it? It's such a shame to see bikes strapped to the backs of cars. They pass me all the time and I can hear the bikes telling their owners, "Look, he rides his bike".

Global Warming

A friend asked me the other day if I was big into the global warming thing. I said yeah, but then I got to thinking about it. I'm really not. I don't want to be misunderstood, I think global warming is a problem and I am sure that humans (or the "stuff" we produce and use) are the cause. I just don't happen to think it's the biggest problem and it's not the reason that I'm trying to simplify my life. So why did I tell my friend yes, I was into the global warming thing? Because it is a buzzword that people listen to (or choose to ignore). Sometimes, especially during an extraordinarily hot summer, people will hear the phrase "global warming" and it will initiate some change in them. So I associate with global warming and will use it to my advantage at times, but really there is much more that drives me toward simplicity.

I'm really against the over reliance on cars. Sure, cars are a huge contributor to global warming, but they are far worse than that. Cars are closely associated with the 5 leading causes of death in the United States. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive lower respiratory disease and accidents are the five leading causes of death in the US. The exhaust from combustion engines contributes to the top four leading causes of death to some degree. In addition, the automobile contributes greatly to a sedentary lifestyle which also contributes to the four leading causes of death in this country. To be fully honest, a sedentary lifestyle isn't a huge contributor to cancer or lung disease, but I have seen links to both of these in peer reviewed journals. To this point I haven't mentioned the fifth leading cause of death, accidents. The majority of all accidents involve a motor vehicle.

Of course I don't like that the over reliance on cars is killing people. I wish we could all live longer and be healthier. What really gets to me is the things that I don't have a choice in. I do my best to prevent expelling exhaust. I have a reel lawn mower and ride my bike for the vast majority of my transportation. I don't use much gas. What makes me mad is that my taxes subsidize the use of gas. Gasoline and diesel should cost at least $8/gallon so that tax money doesn't have to pay for gas. (I may go into why gas should be so expensive another time, I have other points I want to make now). So first I subsidize your fuel and then, as a result of your use of the fuel I get hammered with more taxes for Medicare and Medicaid and a huge insurance premium. If people weren't so reliant on cars, there wouldn't be as much pollution making people sick and killing them. I have grown up the son of a capitalist pig (my mom... she admits it openly), and it just doesn't seem fair to me to be charged (through my taxes used to subsidize the cost of gas and diesel) for a product that I don't use and then charged again for all of the problems that it causes. What do I get for my money?

I had a lot more to say, but I stopped... you should be grateful. Cars have also contributed to the downfall of social ties. How many people walk into their garage, start their car, drive to the parking garage at work and walk inside without every being outside and without ever corresponding with another human being? Oh, I know they have cell phones for that (further contributing to the fifth leading cause of death), but I will save that soapbox for another time. On my bike ride to school, I pass at least 3-5 cyclists going each way. Most of whom I have talked to and look forward to talking to again. How often do you meet a new friend in a car? Dr. Putnum has written extensively on social capital and cars are destroying it. We just don't get out and talk with people anymore and it's destroying neighborhoods.

If I have to take a stand against global warming to get cars off the road, I'll do it. Not because I think that global warming is the worst problem we face, but because if there are fewer cars on the road, it will help alleviate the other problems that are wreaking havoc on our society. I also don't believe that cars are bad or that they should never be used again. They are sometimes needed, but people rely on them far too much and I think that everyone should be able to make a smooth transition to living without one if it was necessary (that means that most people need to make a drastic change!)

Distance

I remember a college psychology class where we talked about a study that hit me. The study was about electrical shock... I don't remember what they told the participants they were studying, but they lied to them. There was an actor behind a window/blinder so that the subject could hear, but not see the actor (the subject also didn't know that the person there was an actor). There was a guy in a white lab coat who was a leader of sorts who gave commands (I think he was the study administrator). The subject sat at a desk and was in charge of giving electrical stimulation to the actor (who didn't actually feel anything, but would pretend he did). The subject was directed to press a button to give an electrical shock to the actor, wait a moment, turn up the voltage and give another shock. As the voltage increased, the actor would make louder expressions of how much the shock hurt. The subjects would generally look to the supervisor to see if it was OK to continue, he would indicate to continue. Although a few would refuse, the vast majority continued to shock the individual, thinking that they were administering a substantial amount of pain to the actor. At a certain voltage level, after much screaming, the actor would stop making any noise at all, leaving the subject to wonder if he was unconscious or even dead. Many of the subjects would continue to shock the non-responding actors even after they stopped responding to the shock.

Looking at the results, psychologists say that it was the guy in the lab coat (which certainly makes them all knowing) saying that it was OK to continue was a major contributor to the continuing shock. The subjects felt distanced from the actor, they were merely following orders. It certainly wasn't their fault that this official looking guy was directing them to administer pain and possibly death. The subjects felt distanced from the outcome because it was just how things worked. They were part of the situation and unable to make a difference.

How would I react as the subject in this situation? I don't know. I like to think I would stand up and walk out, or better yet, go rescue the poor guy being shocked. Most people didn't do that. Am I that special someone who would take a stand, or another lemming that would just follow along? Do I want to know the answer to that? Of course I don't want to be another of the multitude that would have continued administering pain to another human being. But if I were one of the select who was able to stand up and walk out, does that increase my responsibility in this life? I think it does, but I don't know that I can make the differences that I want to see made.

In how many other aspects of our life our we distanced from consequences so that we keep doing something that is really detrimental for ourselves and others around us? I spend a lot of time studying obesity and weight maintenance. We are distanced from the consequences of over eating by time. If every time you overate a little you felt terrible and gained several pounds and had to buy a new wardrobe, i don't think that obesity would be the problem that it is. Or even more obvious, if when you overate, you died of a heart attack, fewer people would overeat... or we would have a lot fewer people in the world.

Another place where we are distanced from consequences is driving. Automobiles contribute to the five leading causes of death. Those are cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, pulmonary diseases and accidents. Automobile exhaust and/or the sedentary lifestyle promoted by car travel are major contributors to the first four leading causes of death. The majority of deaths caused by accidents involve a motorist. While I don't think we need to get rid of all motorized vehicles, we do need to rethink transportation to make it safer. I've heard it argued that putting in public transportation infrastructure is expensive. Isn't health care also expensive? We need to look beyond the price tag toward long term consequences. Automobile traffic is contributing to the death of my family. I am unwilling to put a price tag on that, health is the most valued asset that i have, even beyond the convenience of a car.