the.road.less.traveled.

What THE TRUCK?

2010-03-01T15:00:00.001-08:00

Brace yourselves. Things are about to change in a big way and this little blog will never be the same.

Okay.

Are you ready??

Today I bought a truck. Yes. A vehicle with four wheels that burns gas. But how could I? I am suppose to be living car-free right? (Technically its a truck, so does it really count? haha). Well my friends... after one year and eight months my journey has come to an end. I am taking a job in which I must move to Johns Island, have reliable transportation, and the ability to make deliveries. After spending the last two years biking, catching the bus and negotiating rides- I have finally reached a point where living car-free is simply not feasible anymore. And honestly, when I am riding in other people cars everyday, how will I ever truly become car-free anyway?

So what are my first thoughts? Well... when I got in the truck and drove away I was extremely anxious. My hands were shaking, my palms were sweating, and I felt as if the moment was surreal. For one, I had just taken out a loan from the Bank of My Parents and the thought of even more debt freaks me out. Second, after having such an epic failure of a car experience my last go-round, I am like a rider afraid to get back on her horse. I was convinced that at any moment, the car would break down and I would be unintentionally car-free AND broke. Welcome back to the world of the auto-slave. When I had my mechanic look at the car, he admitted in a thick southern accent that "Guuurl, I thought you was NEVER gonna buy a car again." But he gave the car a big thumbs up and admitted that if I didn't buy it, he would, so that's a good sign, right?

So my first few hours of owning the car went something like this:

After buying a new battery, then the engine NOT turning over (panic!!), then having the auto-zone hero man strip wires and attach a new contact thingy (yup, that's what its called), my questionably trusty steed revved up. THANK GOD. I then headed to the County Tax office, spent MORE money and proceeded to the DMV where I spent even MORE money. Still, I was proud that I was able to get in 7 hours at my job, buy a car, get a battery, fix the wires, get the taxes, tags, plates, and insurance all in one day.

As I sit here and reflect on the last year and a half, I know that I will always be fond of my car-free experience and I look forward to hopefully being able to do it again in the future. Yet vehicle or not, I will continue to ride my bike when possible, car-pool, and catch the bus when I can. Living car-free gave me a new found freedom to explore, more exercise than I ever wanted (seriously... not an athlete), tons of amazing friends, and even helped me to meet my dog-fox. In the end, I want to thank all of the people that supported me, followed my blog, gave me rides, lent me their cars, taught me about bikes, and will hopefully understand my decision to move on.

If you want to continue to follow my adventures in life... check out my new blog: http://wings-of-tin.blogspot.com/

Since I started my blog with a picture of my car, I will end it with the same. Here is my new truck, dubbed "The Magic Carpet".

Thank you all :-)

Nik

2010-02-05T08:35:00.000-08:00

Event!

2010-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

Come out to the Southend Brewery on February 4th to meet with Jeff Mapes, the author of Pedaling Revolution to hear about his ideas and ask him questions!! Click the picture for more information :-)

Camper Bike

2010-01-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

Make sure and click the picture for the link and then check out all 9 pictures... they are awesome!

Charleston Biking Website!

2010-01-04T07:31:00.001-08:00

Why are you biking?

2009-12-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

At my current part-time job as a case worker, my co-workers are having a hard time understanding why it is that I bike to work. I am constantly entertained by the commentary... so I thought I would share some of the dialogue...quotes are from co-workers, italics are my sarcastic thoughts, and all others are my actual responses.

" Did you ride that here?? "
Haha. Nope. I carried it.

" Who's bike is this?"
Me: Mine.
" Oh, how cute. "
Yep. That's what I was going for. I want to make a statement, and I want that statement to be "Cute!"

" Do you have a ride?"
Me: Yes, I ride my bike.
" Well, do you want a REAL ride?"
Me: No, I am fine with my fake ride.
- She had to laugh at this because she realized how ridiculous it sounded.

" Its so cold, how are you biking?"
Me: With a coat, hat, and gloves
" Well, I still don't know how you do it."
First, I sit on the bike, then I use my feet to push the bike forward, and then I pedal. It gets tricky, because I also have to steer AND brake.

" Why don't you just buy a car?"
Me: Why don't you just ride a bike?
" Haha, but seriously, why don't you buy a car."

The answer to this last question is two-fold.
1. My attempt at being car-free would be pretty much over.
2. I can't afford to buy and maintain a car.

Despite the constant questioning of my bike riding, this position has made it much easier to be car-free because I only live about 1.5 miles from my office. The biggest challenges are finding clothes to wear that are work AND biking appropriate, dealing with the rain, and getting off work late at night (not the best neighborhood). I carpool when necessary, especially since I hurt my knee, but I try to bike when possible. Here's to the constant struggle to live car-free...

2009-12-14T14:15:00.001-08:00

Biking from A to Z

2009-11-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

On my most recent adventure, I headed to Phoenix, AZ with 28,000 others for the Greenbuild Conference and Expo. As soon I arrived, I was greeted by a plethora of public transporation options. I hopped onto an airport shuttle and caught the light rail, which was easier than I expected. With ticket in hand (unecessary I later realized), I settled in with my pack and watched as the warm golden and brassy colors of the desert blurred past, with metal roofs, and cactii providing breaks in the dusty landscape. Soon I found myself in the heart of Phoenix, a city that has blossumed in the sun and slowly crept further out into the hills, sprawling like a weed.

The conference was a blur of classes, workshops, and a variety of green building products. I learned a few new things and met new people, but I have to admit, the conference was not the best part of the trip. I had chosen to stay at the local hostel instead of one of the hotels next to the convention center. It was a cute house nestled on the outskirts of the city in a mixed use neighborhood that had been taken over by young couples and artists. On my walk home one night I noticed a sign for vegan donuts that caught my eye and I before I knew it, I was standing on the front porch of Derrick Pancheco talking about his biking store/shop/co-op called Hood Ride. Located inside of a house, surrounded by a bike wheel fence, the space came complete with a bike shop and ramps out back. Check out the pics below:

When I returned home that night, I settled in and told some of my new hostel mates about my discovery. As it turns out, I was not the only avid biker present. Also crashing at the hostel was Jason Williams originally from Baltimore. He was on a cross country ride from Atlanta to San Diego on his single speed road bike. The idea for the trip had been one he had considered before, but when he realized his lease was ending on September 30th and he had no intentions of going back the life of an accountant to pay bills, he hit the road. After a bike wreck, discovering the mysterious hills of Alabama, and earning a serious tan he managed to get in the grove. He spends his days thinking about his friends, missing the coffee from San Francisco Coffee Roasters in Atlanta, and eating fluff & nutter sandwiches. When I asked him for some advice for other bikers he said "Don't do this" and laughed and then told me that you have to be able to handle it physically but more important is the mental aspect of being in your own head everyday. He obviously is able to handle the physical part with his peak days coming in at 134 miles. I just checked his blog and it sounds like he has made it the whole way! Right on :-)And finally, on the last night, I ended up at a street festival that included a shopping cart float parade, a drum line, a night bike ride, and street wide dance party. Needless to say, I had a good time.

Halloween Scare

2009-11-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

As my scarce blog posts indicate, life has been pretty busy lately. I have been working hard to adjust to my second job and apparent lack of free time. So when my mom asked me if she could come in town for Halloween weekend I looked forward to having an excuse to take some time off to hang out with family. When she arrived, she had brought a surprise early birthday present! A new bike!

We pulled it out of the car, but alas, we had no time to test ride because as soon as she arrived she had to come to work with me then joined me on a babysitting adventure, went with me to turn in a job application, took me shopping and for her birthday we spent an hour playing with clay on a wheel at Spark studios. Finally on Friday night we got all decked out for the monthly Midnight Mystery Ride (she was a gypsy and I was cookie monster) and I got to take my maiden voyage on my new (used) custom Cannondale road bike. You can check out a few sweet pics below:

Mom the gypsy and me as cookie monster.

A few of the riders including "Elliot" w/ET on the right :-)
Mom holding my old bike on the left and my new bike on the right

The ride was going gloriously… the weather was perfect, my mom was socializing with my friends, and there was a spark of excitement in the air. Bystanders cheered us on, gave us high fives, and honked their horns. Then, just as the ride was winding down, we passed by a group of drunken guys, one of which was standing in the street. As I approached him, he put up his hand for a high-five and I went for it. Before I knew it, he had grabbed a hold of my hand and I was thrown off of my bike. I heard him curse an apology before he faded into the crowd. I landed on my left side, sliding with my bike. Of course, the first time I fall of my bike, my mom is there to see it.

I had hit my elbow, head, hip, and both knees. I was not wearing a helmet but luckily I went down sideways and did not get knocked out. The funny part was that my guy friends adamantly wanted to know which guy had done it and were irritatedly pacing back and forth …dressed as a pregnant man and max from where the wild things are :-). But the last thing I wanted was for a fight to break out so I asked them to just keep going. My mom and I broke off from the group and went home to inventory and treat my injuries. And of course, I wanted to make sure my bike was okay ;-).

I got lucky that I did not break or tear anything… my biggest injury was a contusion on my right knee which is currently making it hard for me to walk, but I got an okay from the doctor. Looking back, I obviously should have been wearing a helmet, especially on an unfamiliar bike. And of course, even though I had done it three or four times already that night, I should not have of high fived that guy because he was waaaay too wobbly to be trusted and I was definitely too unsure on my new ride. Lesson learned. My punishment is that I cannot ride for at least a week and will not be able to participate in the Pedal Art Parade this weekend, but I consider myself very luck to walk away from this.

2009-10-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Stolen Bike

2009-10-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dear borrower of my bike,

You left in such a hurry that I was unable to introduce myself last week! I am sure you had could reason to kick down my garden door in the process of trying to steal, oops, I meant “borrow” my mountain bike. I guess you had trouble finding the spare key I leave out for friends that need to use any of my things…I guess I shouldn’t hide it so well! It was very thoughtful of you to leave one bike behind for me, but I guess riding away with both bikes would have been a challenge.

Since you did not leave a note, I was forced to assume that my beloved blue vehicle was stolen and had to file a police report. But alas! I did not have my bike registered, so you are probably safe from the long arm of the law. You may want to peel off the stickers that denote my interest in activism and local non-profits, because that may be a red flag to others that it does in fact belong to me. If someone I know should happen to see you, I would brace yourself for a solid body check off the bike, because they may not realize that you are in fact just taking it out for a joy-ride.

While you are out on the town riding my 2006 Diamondback Outlook, light blue with a ladies sloping top tube, please make sure to ring my prized clear jelly-bell with enthusiasm! If you should find yourself getting bored of using my trusty steed, please feel free to give me a call at work and I will be happy to pick it up from you: (843) 768-0998. If you are the shy type and want to be more discrete, you can always drop it back by my house, since you already know where I live!

If you decide that you want to borrow it on a long term basis, then I might start harboring some negative feelings about this transaction and be forced to hunt you down. Although the police officer handling the file said that you were probably going to be hard to find, I ride all over town and know plenty of fellow bikers that would be more than happy tackle you off the two-wheels you so abrasively stole. But again, I don’t want to assume the worst, my friend!

Your gracious neighborhood bike lender,

Nikki

Intermodal

2009-10-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

After having caught a lot of negative feedback from local residents, CARTA has been making headlines lately in a good way. Their newest adventure is the proposed North Charleston Regional Intermodal Center which will expand existing services and could potentially serve as a one stop shop for Amtrak, Greyhound, local buses, and even light rail! If you have thoughts on this project, CARTA will be hosting a public information meeting regarding the proposed Center at the North Charleston City Hall, 3rd Floor Buist Room, 2500 City Hall Lane, N. Charleston, SC on Thursday, 10/08/09 from 6PM to 8PM. My first suggestion... pick a sexier name.

For a full article click HERE.

In other bus news...those of you that have not heard, CARTA, Charlestons Bus company, has started a trial line from Downtown to Folly Beach. Click HERE for the map. For now, the route is only runs on weekends and will be ending in two weeks on the 18th.

And last but definitely not least- one bus service that I have left out of my blog is the Tri-County Link. This bus runs to all of the places that are beyond the reach of the CARTA system in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties. I have never used this system, but I think it might be time to try and ride it to work!

http://www.ridetricountylink.com/index.html

Red Light PSA

2009-09-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

World Car-free Day

2009-09-22T06:23:00.001-07:00

Bike + Beer

2009-09-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

What could be better than bikes? Bikes and Beers? Only if they are gluten free beers for me :-) This picture above is from Amsterdam... if you want something on our continent, just check out this one in Portland by clicking HERE.

the new kids.

2009-09-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

This one is for all of the College Freshmen out there…

Welcome to Charleston. I am glad that you have chosen to join my alma mater in your pursuit for higher education. Since you are new here, I figured I would share a few things to help make your four years easier on us both.

My first piece of advice: Get a bike. Yes, there is a good chance that you grew up in the suburbs where you had to have that gas guzzling four wheeled vehicle to get you from your isolated neighborhoods and to the closest amenities, but now that you are here, you can get almost everywhere with a bike. You can contact the Holy City Bike Co-op and get yourself a good used one: http://holycitybikecoop.org/. (While you are at it, check out there events and meetings as well...because biking it fun!!)

This pic is from our last Midnight Mystery Ride...

Now that you have a bike, you should probably know the SC Bike laws: http://www.mybikelaw.com/ Please do me a favor and follow the traffic laws, which include NOT riding the wrong way up St. Phillip, staying off the sidewalks, and having head/tail lights on your bike at night. If you are breaking these rules, you will lose your rights as a biker and you will also lose some of my respect. And I will use this on you:

Yes, that is an air-horn for your bike that holds 30 blasts which can be recharged with a bike pump AND you can hear it from inside a car. For those of you out there that want one...

http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=1

So let’s say you need to venture off the peninsula to run errands that are not bike-worthy? Well that brings me to my second little gem….Luckily for you, we have a bus system here called CARTA. First you need to go to card services and pick up a bus pass and then you should check out the RideCarta.com website to find out the routes, times, and other info. If the front rack scares you, just watch this sweet bike rack rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoFFg0W9UME

But Nikki, you say, what about visiting my parents? Not to worry. There are so many options at your disposal. First, there is the old fashion ride share. The best way to go is with someone that you know, but otherwise check out Craiglist or Ridester Or even better, start a ride share program at the college!!

Next up, the train and finally, the good old fashion bus: http://www.greyhound.com/home/

Now that I have gotten you from A to B, check out this website for just about everything else green in Charleston: http://www.gogreencharleston.org/

I hope this helps you all make the most of Charleston with the least amount of impact :-)

And after all of that... I just found this blog post: http://carfreeamerica.org/2009/02/28/steves-car-free-journey-february-2009/

Life is....

2009-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

"Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."
~Albert Einstein

With my traveling adventures behind me and epic amounts of debt ahead of me, I have officially come back to reality and it is not as peachy as I had hoped. With the decrease in jobs offers and an increase in student loans, I had to make some decisions quick. Do I stay in Charleston and fight for a job or do I move somewhere else and do the same? Should I return to food and beverage to make some extra money or continue to be over worked and underpaid? In the end I did not have choose because my tendency to chat up strangers resulted in a job offer.

When I received the position requirements, it said that I must have "reliable transportation." I considered the fact that the organization most likely assumed that this meant a car, but I figured that I could just blow them away at my interview and then casually mention that my idea of transportation was a bike. This little detail has managed to become a big one for so many people. One of the first questions people ask me when I mention that I am car-free is "Well... how do you get to work?"

So when the time came for my interview, I hopped on my trusty Specialized steed, dressed in business bike-friendly casual (thankfully leggings are in style right now) and made my way down King Street for my meeting. Had I been in a car I probably would have missed the building and been late but instead I was early enough to have a little cool down period pre-interview. The meeting was going fantastic, so I decided to drop my little transportation bomb and see what happened when the smoke cleared. Here is how it went:

Me: "I saw on the requirements that I would need reliable transportation. I just want to let you know that I do not own a car, but instead I bike everywhere."
Her: "Well, is it reliable?"
Me: "Yes, I have never missed a meeting, even when I lived in West Ashley."
Her: "Then I don't see any problem."

And without hesitation she moved to the next question. And yes, I got the job.

For all those people that told me not owning a vehicle would stop me from being able to get a job, well, I just burst your bubble.

To celebrate my new job (yes, now I have two jobs) here are two fun bike things:

Really, this whole website is fantastic: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bikes/

Here is a video sent to me by Mr. Kelley:

Going the distance

2009-08-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I am working my way across the US with my friend Geoff and we are now in Yellowstone National Park. There really are not words to describe how unbelievable every inch of the park is, so I will not even begin to try. Even pictures cannot capture the captivating and often bizarre formations within the borders of this place. Unfortunately we have only had two days to see it all which means we did almost all of it by car (which does not do it justice). Along the way, I caught myself passing cyclists with a longing in my eye, wishing I could join them as they took in the scenery on two wheels. I had originally hoped to bike across the country this summer but the amount of planning, training, and money required were just too much to mix into my thesis, graduation, conference agenda. Since then I have met a number of people that have managed to get themselves together and make the journey. I happen to meet three such people biking through Yellowstone.

When I stopped these guys, I had a feeling that they would have a story because of all of their gear... little did I know they were on a serious cross country journey for the environment. After passing out tangerines and cookies, Dave, Steve, and Nick (if I remember correctly) told me about their trip. Their goal is to bike from Florida to Washington while sharing their knowledge about the environment and inspiring people to get involved. Over the last two months and 9 days, they have traveled almost 3,000 miles.

When I asked for advice on biking they said "Get a good pair of sunglasses" and "You don't have to pay to camp". As far as gear, they had all the basics of traveling like extra tires, tubes, water and tents but also some extras like a hatchet, machete, and superhero... all obvious necessities when on the open road. Just talking to them makes me want to start training to do some road trips- maybe not across the United States quite yet :-) Check out their blog for the details: http://bikingforbalance.org/

On the road...

2009-07-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize because my blog seems to have fallen by the wayside while I am exploring the US. Not to fear! But pictures have been taken all along and I have found that no matter where you go, bikes are there :-) Since there is little time for me to write out all of my thoughts about transportation, traveling, and biking I will just tell a story with pictures. The take away message is that biking is back now more than ever so it time for planners to make room for these two wheel travelers in every city, state, and country...

A dedicated bike lane that even gets some sign love in Hawaii!

Hawaii Bike Lanes

Backpacking Biker in Kona, Hawaii

Safety First for the Presidents while biking!

Scenic Highways like this would be ideal for a cross country bike trip!

Minneapolis Greenway

Greenway Map, Minneapolis

(I asked them to look bikery, yes that's a word.)

My trip is not even half way through... so look forward to more in the next two weeks :-)

"Holy Spokes"

2009-07-06T12:37:00.001-07:00

It appears as though biking culture is becoming a hot topic in Charleston... so much so that the Post and Courier can't get enough of the two wheeled action. The recent stories include: the Suicide King Alleycat race, the Charleston Chic Ride, and sizable spread about the Holy City Bike Co-op in the Preview.

It seems that where ever you go, there are people on bikes these days. I was recently heading riding the bus up to the airport when I spotted these two bikers, trailers in tow, making their way through North Charleston. (yes, these are low quality phone pics).

As far as biking outside of Charleston, I just got back from a trip up to Blowing Rock, NC for the fourth of July and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of bikers on the road. Here are the three that I caught on my phone:

Then after a full weekend of watching bikers, I ended up back at the airport, waiting for the bus. It struck me as ridiculous that the bus stop at the airport is marked by a tiny sign all the way at the end of the terminal exit with no bench, no cover, and a solid 50 feet from all other ground transportation. The only reason I knew it was there and what time the bus came was because I looked it up ahead of time. When I got on the bus (after being soaked in the rain waiting), I made a comment to the bus driver who proceeded to explained to me that the airport gets a cut of the profit from all of the vans and taxis that do pick ups there, so they are not exactly hanging banners about the $1.50 bus rides into town. From that point on, the driver and I discussed the politics of public transportation and how Charleston is just not planned and developed like a city. When I started talking about programs and ideas from other cities, she just laughed and told me I needed to get over the idea that Charleston will ever run like "a city". All of the same ideas and changes that I have hoped to see in the bus routes are the same ones suggested by drivers, riders, and citizens that have been ignored for years. That being said, I am still going to push the airport to move one of the dozens of benches from the front over to the bus stop because that is one battle I stand a chance of winning.

AND one last thing. For those of you that are interested in supporting bikers that are riding to make a difference, check out my friends website who is riding 165 miles to raise funds to help educate about HIV/AIDS (she is number 113) : https://www.thesmartride.org/3/pledge/

2009-06-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

Click HERE for more pics of the Midnight Mystery Ride!

Bikes=Fun

2009-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

You there... the one with the bike. You currently have in your possession a vehicle that will gain you access to adventures, new friends, exercise, and a healthier planet. If you don't believe me, then check out the pictures below that prove it.

Suicide King Alleycat

Trick Competition (longest skid, above).

Cycle Chic Ride

For those of you that did not make it out to these events... no worries! There are more to come. Tonight there will be a Midnight Mystery Ride starting at the Recovery Room (meet at 11pm, ride out at 12pm) and Sunday, July 5th is the Tour de Taco will leave from Hampton Park at 6:30 and make round to Santi's, Taco Boy, Juanita's and Yo Burrito in a random order.

2009-06-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

This week brings a random assortment of products and videos to entertain you:

Here are some things made from recycled bike parts:

Creative clothing to help make the commute easier:

Here is a product that I want so I can bring Sadie with me on bike safely:

Here is a new type of bike that would make my life easier:

For those of you that couldn't make it to the screening of VEER, here is a peek at the documentary:

And finally, thanks to my friend Joel, a sweet link to tall bikes rocking out on ramps:

http://freecaster.tv/bmx/1007514/sheas-big-bike-session?page=2

New Heights.

2009-06-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Car-free.

This is a goal that I have been striving for over the last year and I have to admit, I have not being doing as well I could, especially recently. While I still do not own a car and I definitely ride my bike everyday, I am still heavily dependent on cars and other internal combustion engine powered transportation on a pretty regular basis. There is a good chance you will judge me, but I am going to admit my last month of travel so I can take an honest and critical look at my own choices.

Car Rides: 23 (All of these were carpooling situations and most of them were to work on John's Island)
Flights: 8 (I only flew two places, MS & FL, but I had connecting flights for each)
Boat: 1
Bus: 2

Keep in mind that this month is really an exception and is by no means the rule but it still makes me wonder how much of a difference I am making by not owning a car. There are definitely steps I could take to reduce the insane numbers above.

* Bike to work: I have considered trying to make the ride to Johns Island for work but I would definitely want someone to come with me and I am just really nervous about getting squished because there are no bike lanes and cars are going around 60 mph on rural roads. It is also 13 miles away with an estimated 30 minute driving time, meaning that it would take me at least an hour and half and most likely longer because I am not a distance rider. Also, there is no shower at the office, so it would make for one juicy day at the work.
This would be my route:

* Ride Shares: I could try and do ride shares for traveling instead of renting cars or taking flights but there is always that "am I going to end up in a trash bag in small bits on the edge of the highway?" fear lingering in the back of your mind.
* No more flying: Considering my mom lives in Florida and I love traveling abroad, this could be an issue. Also, there cost and time associated with driving instead and in the end I am still burning fuel. The key here I think is to just limit this types of trips.

It seems I am not the only one struggling with this issue. Below is a excerpt from my friend Cedric's traveling update:

"Increasingly, this question of flying is not so much about can as it is about should. I have realized that the year I spent commuting to work by bicycle (2,300 car-free miles) probably about equals the carbon emissions I became personally responsible for when I stepped onto the trusty Boeing that brought us from New York to Ireland in February. I can no longer accept that the challenge of mitigating the effects of global change (because there is no fix at this point, only contingency plans) is about fighting for someone or something to change. The fight is now with myself and my current lifestyle. So we will be attempting a return to the US via a lower-carbon mode of transportation."

The following images are from a 60x96" display created by Chris Jordan: www.chrisjordan.com. I strongly suggest visiting his site, his work is amazing he just posted new stuff. The images below depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours. The first image is how the painting would appear at a distance and then second is what you would see when got close to it.

But before you find yourself slumped in your chair defeated by the challenges of travel and the imagines from above, consider the fact our declining economy and increase in fuel costs has resulted in the the increase in public transportation, bicycle ridership, and the reduction of unfilled planes in the air (I can attest to this, good-lord were the planes packed!). Yet what we really need is a shift in mindset, planning, and governance that creates a drastic and permanent change in our society. If not, I have a feeling we will be forced to reap what we have been sowing.

For now I am putting my faith in all of the people out there like myself, Cedric, and so many others that are hanging up there keys and hopping on their bikes because they know that the one thing we all have control over is our own lives and how we chose to live them. Perhaps if we clear the path, others will soon follow. At the end of the day I have to remind myself that I am not alone in this struggle...

City Dweller

2009-05-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

I've entered this new world
known to some as "downtown";
It is a place that never sleeps and
where opportunity is found.

This foreign land exists in distances
measured in city blocks,
Where ferns grow in between bricks
and roots twist the sidewalks.

At night the crushed glass on blacktop
mimics the night sky,
the rough beauty abound often
missed by the untrained eye.

In this place, porches are made
for sitting and neighbors talk;
Gardens overflow with flowers,
tomatoes and beanstalks.

The buildings form a patchwork quilt
sewn by decades of history,
Its residents recalling the changes
through stories told from memory.

Streets were planned at angles that
catch the ocean breeze;
The paths shaded by the graceful
limbs of ancient live oak trees.

Church bells and car radios
provide the soundtrack,
while horse carriage tours
dispense disputable facts.

Gullah men make palm roses
while the women weave baskets,
the tourists struggling to
understand their thick geechee accents.

Yet the best part of this place
is that everything is close;
Making it easier to live with
the car-free life I've chosen.

It is safe to say that I am
very happy living here.
Now that I am in this place
I hope to stay for years.

Bike Month

2009-05-10T08:13:00.001-07:00

http://thedigitel.com/news/national-bike-month-here-3941-0505

Living Downtown

2009-05-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have now been living in downtown for almost two months and loving every minute. Being able to bike to class in under 5 minutes without breaking a sweat is amazing and now I have the farmers market, grocery store, central bus station, bank, post office, doctor, restaurants, bars and hardware store all with-in a mile radius of my place. I have even started hoarding bikes so that when friends come to visit we don't have to drive anywhere! (You can see them all hanging out on my porch in the picture to the left.)

Now that I am out of West Ashley, living car-free is a lot easier, but sticking to my strict helmet and closed toed shoe policy is getting harder. When most of my rides are less than a mile down side-streets, it hard not to just hop straight on my bike with my flip-flops and let my hair blow in the wind. Since this month is National Bike Month It is a good time to remember the importance of bike safety and setting a good example for other bikers. Here is a short video to reinforce my point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ibDFCncmDM

I will posting an article in the next day or two about how to get involved in bicycling here in Charleston on the digitel.com, so keep a look out!

He was named Mac-A-skill for a reason...

2009-04-29T09:27:00.001-07:00

This video starts a little slow to demonstrate that this guy is human because after the rest of the footage starts, you will start to doubt it...he does some of the most creative and unbelievable tricks... so take the time to watch it.

For more info on this guy, check out: www.dannymacaskill.com

Cirque de Awesomeness

2009-04-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

This week I was lucky enough to get free tickets to Cirque de Soleil's Saltimbanco... I knew I was going to enjoy it, but when Do-Duc, the french trick cyclist came on, I was blown away. I got some video of him killing it, but the security guard busted me and made me erase my card, so here is a video of him in action.

neat.

2009-04-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

http://gelardi.com/portfolio/contrail/

inspiration

2009-04-10T11:35:00.001-07:00

The biggest limiting factor in person's life is themselves... if you can get over your own fears and doubts then let go of the excuses, so many things are possible. Just ask Mikail Davenport the "legless lizard" who was diagnosed with polio at age two, beat lung cancer at age 50, and still managed to hand-cycle over 950 miles, towing a trailer with his wheel chair on it. What a bad-ass. Check out more info here and here . This makes me want to start training for distance rides.

2009-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

"It says here that he was the inventor of the internal combustion engine"

The genius Stan Eales strikes again :-)

holy hundred miles batman.

2009-04-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday I ended up working one of the rest stops at the After the Bridge Run Ride, which is, as the name implies, always the day after the Cooper River Bridge Run. There are three levels in this ride including the 30 mile, the 73 mile, and the 100 mile. (I learned that when they are 100 miles, they are appropriately named "century" rides.) This ride was put on by the Coastal Cyclists and was sponsored by the always generous Charleston Bicycle Company and benefited local bicycle advocacy groups like the Holy City Bike Co-op and Charleston Moves that helped to man the rest stops. There were around 500 riders this year from all over the Southeast and I think I made about half of them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The combination of perfect weather, friendly people, and cool bikes (tandems, recumbents, and trikes) made for a fun and interesting day. Click HERE for more pics. I really want to try and ride a tandem but I am honestly afraid I couldn't stop giggling long enough to pedal... I saw one pair that even had their names on the tubes below their seat... so cute. The recumbent bikes kind of scare me but I am still interested in taking one for a spin. Although I can never see myself signing up to do 100 miles in one day, I do like the idea of spending the day taking a long ride in the country, the sound of my breathing and the wheels cutting through the air hypnotizing me into a comfortable groove. I am actually reading Lance Armstrong's autobiography and it is teaching me so much about competitive cycling and the dynamics of the biking world...plus I find his extremely honest writing style appealing. The title "Its not about the bike" pretty much sums it up. Like Lance, biking has changed my life in more ways that just how I get from place to place and it makes me so thankful that I decided to go car-free.

Car [free] toons

2009-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

I am in over my head right now so I am just gonna throw some good biking cartoons your way until I get a little more caught up....

Bob Lafay and Wire Donkey Bike Zine (above and below).

Cycling trips.

2009-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here are two service oriented cycling trips that I would go on if I could!!

http://bikeandbuild.org/cms/
Ride across the entire US while building houses with Habitat for Humanity.

http://www.tourdestrees.org/
Ride bikes AND plant trees for a week in New England.

Check out the sites, sponsor a rider, or sign up to ride yourself!

Down to the town.

2009-03-20T15:59:00.001-07:00

I am now officially a resident of downtown Charleston and it rocks. It as though I am rediscovering the town and falling even further in love with it. The people, the buildings, the possibilities... all so inviting and interesting. One of the reasons that living downtown is so great is that the city is actually designed in a way that you can get almost everything you need without having a car. For example, today, I managed to get prescriptions, develop pictures, check out a book, and rent a cat trap (long story) all within a few city blocks from my house. Long before suburbs, highways, and wal-marts, most people lived in densely packed cities, close to where they worked, and shopped at the local businesses in their neighborhoods. These days, this kind of development has been re popularized under the theories of smart growth and new urbanism, although nothing compares to the original. (Its hard to implement these new concepts in a time and space where people are used to their cars and being able to buy everything they need in one box store for really cheap). Yet I have hope that development will continue on its journey to becoming more community oriented, walk-able, bike-able, and ecologically sound. As for cities like Charleston that have a well established downtown, I encourage people to get out of their cars, meet their neighbors, head to the farmers market, and support the local economy. Otherwise, our cities will continue to become alienated by the large monoculture that is corporate America, where you can step off a plane, drive a rental car past the locals, get dinner at a chain restaurant inside a chain hotel, and forget what city you are in.

Moving forward, looking backward.

2009-03-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I am getting ready to move downtown this weekend. I will no longer have to bike over the bridge or catch the bus (that's my stop above) which will make my life so much easier. While I cannot wait to live closer to the action, I am sad about leaving West Ashley behind. I have gotten used to biking to South Windermere, Avondale, and even across the bridge. Although my commute into town can be frustrating, exhausting, or time consuming, it has become part of my daily routine and something I often look forward to. Most days I pass the same groups of people, some of which have become my friends, whether its the bus driver or riders, bike commuters, dog walkers, post woman, or neighbors. The Byrnes Down community has its own little social circle and events that create a sense of community that is nice to be a part of. My two lovely neighbors will be the hardest to leave behind, their genuine and easy going conversations are something to look forward to whether out in the yard or walking the dog.

Yet the only thing I am truly worried about leaving is the greenway. Every morning my dog and I "suit up" and head out for our hour long walk (sometimes a little longer). This is Sadie's time to live it up and be her doggie doodle self. She gets to run free, follow trails, eat things, chase squirrels, and splash around in puddles. We often bump into her greenway doggle friends and she gets to have a little playtime action. Meanwhile I get to talk to neighbors, bird watch, search for four leaf clovers, drink my tea, and take pictures. While I know that I will find new adventures downtown and finally get to partake in "pup-park" playtime, I know that I will miss the relaxing trail feel of the greenway. So to commemorate my adventures, I took some pictures one of our last few outings this morning (because I finally got a new camera!!).

March-ing on...

2009-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

The next few weeks are going to be scarce on the posts because I am trying to write an entire thesis in a month and while I am good under pressure, I think this might be pushing my limits. For now, I will give you three pics from my camera phone with some commentary...

When I was freezing my arse off at the bus stop one morning, this awesome bike commuter passed me. I commend him for his bravery for riding on Savannah Hwy as well as his use of the gutter as a bike lane. And yes, he probably thought I was totally sketchy for taking a picture of him with my phone... sorry dude... I've got blog readers to entertain. This picture also captures a pet peeve of mine- the sidewalks that randomly end and begin, leaving you in people's yards and push you into the road. When I am walking to my bus stop I go from a nice safe sidewalk that ends by dumping me into an intersection with no crosswalk, and once I scramble in front of cars like a sketchball I end up on the other side of the street where there is...oh wait. Nothing. Where the sidewalk should be there is only a little path worn into the weeds that leads to my bus stop (which you can see on the left side of the picture). To further illustrate this, check out the picture below.I mean.... really? Did the developers of this neighborhood/shopping center look and this and think "Ahhh.. our work here is done." This brings a whole new meaning to Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. I will tell you where it ends Shel... all over Charleston. I just want to take ALL of the planners, developers, and policy makers in Charleston and put them in the shoes of the pedestrians, bus users, and bike riders. This idea was re-inforced when I was talking to a man that is involved in transportation issues and he was stunned to find out that 90 percent of the bus stops are not on the route maps and are marked by only a sign with no bench, shelter, or trash can. It kills me when I am in a car with someone and they complain about bikers in their lane, the bus stopping in front of them, and people running across the road. But, unfortunately, in the road democracy, cars have the majority vote. Luckily, organizations like Architecture for Humanity are helping Charleston address issues like the Crosstown debacle. And to be fair, there are places where planners have gotten it right like on Lockwood (except for the lack of bike lane).
I am able to follow the sidewalk all the way from the 61 bridge onto this fun boardwalk-ish place with a great view of the marina. I can then jump into traffic and head into the city with no problem. So there is hope....there is always hope :-)

Biking is like....life?

2009-02-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

Today one of my awesome blog followers sent me a link to the following:

In this week’s edition of the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers asked poet Nikki Giovanni why she chose to title her new collection BICYCLES. Giovanni said:

“I just thought 'I've got to rethink it, and then I've got to find an object'... Well, tragedy and trauma are wheels. And they're always with us, aren't they? They're always spinning around. That’s the parameters of life, these tragedies. They just spin around and spin around. And so what you're trying to do is bring them together. And when you bring them together you've got the bar, so you have a vehicle, right? When I grew up you learned to ride a bicycle by getting on a bicycle, which means you're gonna fall off. And love and life and bicycles are about trust and balance. It's about riding it and believing that this thing, that doesn't make sense for you to be on, can move... We do that in our relationships. It's the same bike. We are continuing relationships through trust and balance.”

If you get the chance, check out the link because the site is pretty great: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/02/metaphors_for_life.html

So, yeah, this got me thinking about how biking is a metaphor for my own life... the first thing I thought about was the fact that when you are biking, like in life, you have to just keep going, pushing through the bad weather, rude people, and long days to get to your destination. And just like life, it is up to you how you perceive the challenges that come up and it is what you do with them that determines whether or not you enjoy the journey. For me, I try to always try and see things as an adventure, part of a good story, or the punchline to a funny joke. Plus, if life was all butterflies and rainbows it wouldn't be half as interesting, funny, or intense and we would take it all for granted. The metaphor of biking AS life is all too appropriate for me, because right now, biking IS life.

On a random note... my friends Cedric and Andrea that started the Holy City Bike Co-op are leaving town and heading to Spain, which is exciting for them and a little bittersweet for us...

Here are two pics from the going away potluck brunch (snagged from Natalie Moore's facebook album). They will be missed!!

Cedric and Andrea

Myself, Art, and JJ

Missed Connection

2009-02-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

So for those of you that did not see this, a biker recently posted the following story on the Charleston Craigslist "Missed Connections":

Dear elderly gentleman in the burgundy car who nearly killed me this morning at the intersection of King and Queen Streets,

I wish we had a missed connection, but the front of your car and my leg and bike had a quite strong connection this morning. I'm still feeling that connection.

Judging by your age (mid-60s?) and the large glasses you wore, I'm guessing you don't see as well as you did in your younger years. That's fine. It happens to all of us. Hell, I'm 23, and I have pretty poor vision already. But, maybe you should considered heeding with a little more caution while driving? Here are my observations on where you could improve:

1) King Street is one way. You probably should go the right way.

2) Just because you don't see a traffic light at an intersection, this doesn't mean you can roll right thru over the speed limit. There was no light for people coming from your direction, because the city felt no need to include a light for those of you who choose to go do the wrong way down a one-way street. If you had gone the right way, you might have noticed the light was red for you on King and green for those of us going down Queen Street.

3) Since a keen sense of vision does appear to allude you, I'm not sure if you noticed the traffic cones, heavy traffic barrier, the multiple brightly-colored signs with the words "Road Closed" on them, 15+ construction workers, and 5 or so multi-ton construction equipment, but you somehow also managed to drive (in the wrong direction no less!) through a construction zone with half of the street missing in your quest to make this the worst Thursday of my life. Maybe I am selling your vision short, as this is quite a feat. I was too busy trying to brake and not fall under your car to notice the construction workers' faces, but I bet they were equally impressed with your brazen confidence in your driving ability.

4) When you hit a person on a bike after you go the wrong direction down a one-way street, speed through a red light, and violate all the laws of common sense by driving on a street closed for construction, you probably should stop and at least ask if the biker is ok. Throwing your arms up and like it was my fault you nearly make me road kill was not your best moment. Neither was immediately driving away and leaving me in a sobbing, shaking heap in the road. If you had stopped, I might have considered you a kind-hearted, older gentleman who just got confused. Now I think you're a jackass.

I was in too much shock to look at your plates or ask anyone if they had gotten them. I'm afraid I won't be able to follow up on our connection. If you happen to read this, you owe me a serious apology, a new bike, and a promise you will never drive near the mile stretch between my house or work again.

Hugs, The girl you left crying and limping at Queen and King Streets

Here is the digitel story covering the post:
http://www.thedigitel.com/top-stories/cyclist-wishes-missed-connection-elderly-driver-2989-0211

LOVE-HATE

2009-02-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

Somedays I LOVE biking.... and well... somedays I HATE it. So here is my list of the things that make me feel this way.

I LOVE feeling so close to nature and capturing moments like the one above and below.

I HATE when it starts to rain and I don't have my gear with me.

I LOVE days when the air is warm and the breeze is to my back.

I HATE when I get out of class at night and have to bike home in the cold.

I LOVE how biking makes me feel so alive, unlike being stuck in a car.

I HATE the bruises that I always have up and down my legs.

I LOVE warm nights when I have the road to myself.

I HATE coming to meetings covered in sweat.

I LOVE when I pass other bikers and we have brief, friendly exchanges.

I HATE when cars run me off the road.

I LOVE riding on the handle bars of other peoples bikes.

I HATE having to justify riding on the sidewalk on Savannah Hwy...No bikelane+60mph=death.

I LOVE that I am starting to actually get into shape.

I HATE asking for rides places that I can't bike to.

I LOVE the biking community.

I HATE when something on my bike breaks that I don't know how to fix.

I LOVE when something on my bike breaks and a stranger helps me fix it.

I HATE not being able to take my doggle to the pup park.

I LOVE how not having a car often reveals people's generosity towards you.

I HATE having to bike when sick.

I LOVE not having to buy gas.

I HATE when my shoes get wet and my back gets mud splatters from the tires.

I LOVE ringing my bell.

I HATE missing out on stuff because I can't get there without a car.

I LOVE the peacefulness of biking at night, especially when I bike past the marsh.

I HATE breathing in all the fumes from the cars driving by.

I LOVE the knowing that I am one-less-car.

You can see where I have circled/arrowed a small egret that was spearing fish as they got pushed out of the overflow pipe during low tide. I have also caught a hawk taking a bath in a puddle about two feet away, saved a turtle from crossing the street, and had a blue heron casually walk in front of me.

At the end of the day, I LOVE biking and all of the friends and adventures it has brought my way :-)

BUSted.

2009-02-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

So I know I have not been posting a lot lately... but that is because A.) My life is insanely busy B.)I have been sick and C.) It is too fricking cold to bike. I know, I know. I need to suck it up and bike anyway, but I've been trying to get over bronchitis and a sinus infection for weeks now and my doctor told me that it would continue to get worse unless I took a break from biking.

So, that being said, I have been catching the bus lately. I have to say, the bus is growing on me. Im slowly getting to know the bus drivers and some of the passengers and it is really a community all on its own. There are a few seedy characters that I try to avoid, mainly because they just stare at me and its awkward but they are few and far between. Overall, I think the 30 route has a good vibe to it. I've got four main drivers on my route- an older black man, a middle aged white dude and women, and a younger black woman. The white lady LOVES to small talk, the white guy will always ask to see my college ID in addition to my bus pass (annoying), the younger black lady is obviously not thrilled about her job, and the older black man is my favorite because he always responds when I ask him how he is doing. As for the passengers... well there is a very unique blend... The base of this group are hourly workers getting from one job to the next with a few college students sprinkled in. Women with children are the next most predominant group... but my favorite is the DUI rider... I can't really explain why, but they just stick out and it makes me laugh. Its usually pretty obvious why people are riding because they are in uniform, wearing a backpack, or carrying something like groceries.

When people get on and off there are usually some "Whats up man" or "How ya'll doing" comments, unless its a college kid or DUI rider. As for me, well its hit or miss. Some days I talk to my neighbors but others I keep to myself, with my i-pod on and my head in a book. Last week I had a one-of-a-kind ride that resulted in me having three new friends and my karma bank full. It all started because the woman across from me had a huge birthday cake, party favors and balloons. I was talking to the guy next to me about how I missed old school birthday parties, when the birthday girl started to get off the bus. She had so much going on that she didn't realize her balloons were loose and tangled... so as she was getting off they started to escape and I leapt across the front of the bus and wrangled them in before they went sky high. This of course earned me a small round of applause from the people waiting to get on. Then, the next guy that gets on is short a dime and only has a five, so I toss one in for him...and when he is getting off, the five falls out of his pocket and I had to yell for him to stop and get it. Just when I think I can go back to staring into space, the older woman next to me gets off at the Mary St. stop in a hurry and leaves her purse. I made the bus driver stop and I ran back and gave it to her while he waited. When I got back on the bus the driver said "What are you, some kind of angel?", to which, of course, I had to laugh really hard about... and I just joked that it was "All in a days work". I got off at the next stop with a huge smile across my face and an extra bounce in my step... all from just riding the bus.

On a slightly related note, I have mastered the art of the front bike rack on the bus, but for those of you that haven't or just want to watch an ridiculously awesome video, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoFFg0W9UME

Danger Zone

2009-01-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

As if I could forget how dangerous biking is, I constantly have people telling me to "be careful". I love that expression because it implies that the person would otherwise be reckless-but I appreciate the good intentions behind the saying. For all of you out there that are worried about me being careful... fear not. I have seen, heard, and experienced enough bad things on a bike to not take it for granted how easy it is to get seriously hurt. There is a huge misconception that if you are an experienced biker that it becomes less dangerous... but in some cases it is actually the opposite. Many experienced bikers are more comfortable on the road, take more risks, and will ride in less safe places. For any people out there that do not know anyone that has been hit while biking or gotten into a biking accident... here is a glimpse of two people in my life that have been injured in the last few months.

These first two pictures are from my cousin Mitch who recked on his fixed gear. He broke the hell out of his collar bone, busted open his chin, scraped up his back, and had bruises everywhere.

The bruises on his head are from his helmet, which saved his life. (Yes, he is a little drugged up on pain killers in these pictures). Now the next two pictures are from my friend Niall that lives up in D.C. He was run off the road by a car that cut him off and almost ran over him. He said that he was pretty cut up but the worst was that he broke his collarbone in THREE places.
Check out the sweet plate and screws that he earned... and don't worry... that isn't a loose screw in there- its actually holding some bone together.
I don't want to scare anyone away from biking- only give people a healthy respect for what can happen. I have yet to have a serious fall and I hope to keep it that way, but I will continue to wear my helmet and stay ready for anything.

ccccccold.

2009-01-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

There are many people that look forward to the time of the year when they get to break out their fluffy coats, put on their wool hats, and get all bundled up for winter. If this describes you, then by all means, rock on. But I am not one of them. When the temperature is below 60 I start to get uncomfortable and anything below 40 is just damn unnatural for my skinny little body. Its not to say that I don't like a good snowball fight or getting to warm up next to a camp fire, but those are things I can do on vacation. When it comes to day to day life, I prefer the warm ocean breeze. So all of that being said, one of my biggest fears of being car-free was winter.

Since Charleston generally has a mild winter, I had really been able to put off dealing with this fear... until now. Last week it got down to 17 degrees. I mean seriously? Is that necessary? 17 in Charleston? I am the first to admit that you will not catch me out in those temperatures biking for good times- but I do have to leave the house at some point. So, I figured it was time for me to just get it over with, break out all of my new winter gear, and brave the cold. The Holy City Bike Co-op winter fundraiser seemed like an appropriate night to get my face numbing party started since they were doing a mystery night ride. So with my long underwear, tall socks, turtle fur (neck warmer), reflective biking jacket, ear warmers, and gloves on (see picture above) - I took to the streets a long with a handful of other brave individuals and faced the 20-something degree weather. The ride was cold but fun and it was a nice warm-up for my trek home.

As I was making my way back to West Ashley I thought about how I was actually feeling pretty toasty. The worst part about being out on my bike in the cold night air was my ridiculous runny nose...which I couldn't do anything about. I've never mastered the art of the snot rocket and I try to avoid being a sleeve wiper, so I just suffered the journey having to be a mouth breather with the sniffles. I made it home safe with all of my fingers and toes intact and hurried into my house so my face could thaw. In the end, it wasn't even half as bad as I thought, but I will admit that since then I have taken the bus twice to avoid the cold winter air and I still can't wait for summer.

Valet... Nice.

2009-01-14T10:05:00.001-08:00

http://www.waba.org/events/inauguralbikevalet.php

If you are planning on going to the inauguration... make sure to take your bike!

Sharing the Road

2009-01-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

This video is so timely because earlier today I had a police officer pull over and tell me to get on the sidewalk... which is the second time this has happened.

Back in the Saddle

2009-01-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year :-) I know it has been awhile since I had a real post..today was acutally my first day back on my bike since the 17th of December. I have been away from the blog for about two weeks... due to an injury, sickness, and vacation. Needless to say, after a brutal semester I decided to go for a celebratory ride. Next thing my sister is getting this call from me:

Me: "Hey Jules, I am in the emergency room because I hit my head really hard, do you have a credit card number I can use, I don't have my wallet with me."
Julie: "Oh my god, did you get hit by a car on your bike??"
Me: "Actually, no, I got bucked off a horse and dragged a few feet."
Julie: "Where you wearing a helmet?"
Me: "Yes, thank god... its the only reason why I am still conscious and talking to you."
Julie: " Well I guess that's what you get for horsing around. Okay. Sorry.. That was bad."

After they scanned my cat and took an look at my neck bones, it was determined that I had a mild concussion and whip-lash. I was told to stay off the horse and my bike for at least a week... which I thought was going to be hard. BUT as "luck" would have it, I must have scored some rowdy flu germs when I was at the doctors and with-in two days I couldn't get out of bed. This is all of course just in time for my vacation to Florida...which actually worked out well since I didn't have to bike anywhere or really do anything for that matter. Although I did managed to take one bike ride on a beach cruiser (in my bikini... to catch the sunset over the keys... awesome).

I felt better after a few days and managed to squeeze in some snorkeling and kayaking. The picture on the right is me and my sis taking the yak out for a spin... and just so you know I am wearing a strapless bathing suit so don't get any ideas. We tried to go wake boarding but my neck wanted no part in that. We also tried to go scuba diving but it ended with my dad thinking he had lost me on the reef, my sister getting in and directly out of the water, and me throwing up (four foot seas, jellyfish, six inches of visibility, and one small boston whaler...we knew it was a bad idea before we ever even got in, but what the hell, right?)

Overall I really enjoyed the trip, seeing my family, and soaking up the sun. I also scored some awesome gear for x-mas. If I had a working camera, I would post myself, all decked out, but since I don't you will just have to use your imagination. I now have a cute little blue translucent jelly bell, all different kinds of good biking socks, turtle fur in black and green (its a neck warmer), gloves, a jacket/hoodie, and two new aluminum water bottles. PLUS I got a bunch of new music for my commute. I added a little music player on the right hand side of my blog to give you a taste of my biking mix- although its kinda cut off... but it does the job. I will try and keep it updated :-)

commercial break

2009-01-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

...you asked.

2008-12-13T15:00:00.001-08:00

If you ride you know those moments when you have fed yourself into the traffic, felt the hashed-up asphalt rattle in the handlebars, held a lungful of air in a cloud of exhaust. Up ahead there are two parallel buses. With cat's whiskers, you measure the clearance down a doubtful alley. You swing wide, outflank that flower truck. The cross-street yellow light is turning red. You burst off the green like a surfer on a wave of metal. You have a hundred empty yards of Broadway to yourself. ~Chip Brown, "A Bike and a Prayer"

People are always curious about my bike-life and I am constantly getting all kinds of questions ranging from: Aren't you scared of getting hit? to When are you going to buy a car, anyway?... but the question that I get most often is most definitely: So, how is biking going? The thing I love about this question is that my answer varies from day to day and definitely from person to person. I mean, that's a big reason I have a blog. So, if I am totally honest with you...I would say that the majority of the time it is going good, but there are definitely days when I get frustrated, tired, or just plain sick of biking. The good days are when the weather is nice, I have plenty of time to get where I need to be, and the traffic is cooperative. The not so good days are the ones that often end up being the most entertaining, where I actually wonder if someone, somewhere, is looking down at me and laughing. Two of my most recent "moments" are described below.

Ahhh. Winter. It is definitely not my favorite time of year. If it didn't involve good food, family, egg-nog and ugly sweater parties I probably would hate it all together. The cold makes me bitter, unmotivated, and physically sick... which is why I live in Charleston, home of the 1oo degree 100 percent humidity summer (BRING IT ON). I'd rather roof a house in the dead heat of August than walk to my bathroom in December (did I mention that we don't use central heat in my house?). So... now that I have established my dislike of cold weather... consider the fact that I am hopping on a bike and riding 5-10 miles a day, completely exposed to the elements. I have struggled with how to deal with this "situation" and the best I can come up with is wearing boatloads of layers, jeans and ear warmers. Yet somehow, this still doesn't make my bike trip home at 8pm after class anymore appealing... especially when my throat is raw from the ride in (I am still waiting for my face warmer thing to come in). Ironically, the worst part about it is the sweating. When you are wearing every shirt you own and happen to be running late, I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that you warm up reeeaaaalllly fast. There is nothing like coming into a meeting with important people and having to distractingly peel off layers like an onion and fan yourself with the agenda while your neighbor leans away to avoid your "I just worked out" perfume. I know my face is bright red and that I have an amazingly awkward helmet dent in my forehead, thank-you-very-much. My favorite is having to make a serious argument for something while a bead of sweat drips slowly down your back and heads straight for your crack.... oh...if they only knew. And after all of that, you cool off just in time to get back on your bike, your sweat-soaked clothes clinging icily to your body while you long to be as overheated as you were twenty minutes ago.

My second most recent interesting experience involved a mistake that you just have to make for yourself to truly appreciate. I have to start off by telling you that I am partially blind. I have to wear contacts or glasses because otherwise everything is a blur (I mean this is the fuzziest way possible). Because I can't afford to break my glasses and I need to be able to wear my sweet shades, I always sport my contacts when biking. Now I have always been the girl scout type that is always prepared, but for some reason (i.e. two many jobs and not enough time) I have been flaking out lately on the details of life. One of these seemingly unimportant details was always carrying my contact case, extra fluid, and glasses with me when wearing contacts. So I was making my way over the bridge, with the ice cold wind blowing in my face when a kamikaze bug ended his life directly into my eyeball. I tried to stay cool and fish him out without stopping but it soon became apparent that he was not going down without a fight. Next thing I know, I am huddling behind the middle of the bridge trying to get this little dude from inside my eyelid. Somewhere in this process, my contact decides to go bridge jumping and flies off my face, plunging into the current below. My exact thought: "Shit. That's not good." Since I am coming straight from work and heading to class, there is no time for me to turn around and I have to keep going, contact or not. Is there anything more sad that a one eyed biker? Okay, well, clearly there is, but at that point, I was feeling pretty pathetic. For the second time in my life I desperately wanted an eye patch (remind me to tell you about the other one later). But instead I had to bike to class with one eye shut like an idiot. By the time I got there I had kind of gotten used to the nausea and just dealt with it but the bike ride home was brutal. I had no depth perception (I was curb checking like no-ones business) and I actually had to pull over to dry heave because my body could not understand what the hell was going on. I am pretty sure people thought I was biking home while ridiculously drunk. Thinking back, it probably would have make the ride home a little more enjoyable...but lets just say I have never been so happy to put on my old scratched pair of glasses.

Well, like I said, most of the time I make it there and back with no problems and really enjoy myself... but every few trips all hell breaks loose and I have to laugh at myself. So, now you know "how it is going" at this point :-)

Its all downhill from here...literally.

2008-12-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

So when I was flying back from Boston and trying to distract myself from hurling (yes, I am the reason they still put barf bags in the seat pockets), I was halfway watching these lame US airway travel commercials when I heard the word "bike". This of course triggered by bike-dar and I instantly started paying attention. In this moment, I discovered the holy grail of bike tours. Before this, I had never really wanted to go to Hawaii, but my jaw dropped (it was literally hanging open) when I saw that they offer a bike tour that is all downhill. On a volcano. FOR 38 MILES. In my shock and denial I said "shut-up" out loud, which made my neighbor with the window seat give me the hairy eye-ball, but I could have cared less (especially since I was the meat in our little airplane sandwich). So yeah...how glorious would it be to rock out for 38 flippin miles on your bike with the warm wind in your hair and the tropical volcano scenery flying past? I am pretty sure it would be LEGEN-DARY. Say "aloha" to this short clip and brace yourself for a preview of lazy biker heaven.

Yes, it is pretty spectacular....but considering my aforementioned motion sickness problem, the idea of spending multiple hours trapped inside of a plane feeling like I just watched 10 hours of home video footage just isn't worth it, down-hill or not. So after all of that excitement, I realized that there are plenty of mountains to bike down, right here on the east coast... now I just need to find someone to drive me to the top and pick me up at the bottom- like a ski-lift for bikers (lazy, out of shape bikers like me). Any takers?

In-famous

2008-12-02T15:52:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know... I am quite the busy little tree hugger. Right now I work two jobs, go to school full time, and participate in a few local committees and organizations... and, oh yeah, I ride my bike everywhere. For me, this is just my life and while I would like to say that its not always like this, well it kind of is. I haven't always been quite this busy and hopefully after I graduate I will have a little more time to devote to: a.) sleep b.) my dog c.) a social life.

Because I have so much going on, I will often accomplish great things, but have no time to relish in them since I have already started something else. Well... apparently good deeds really don't go unnoticed and people have begun to let me know that they appreciate my efforts. Over the past year there has been an increasing amount of attention give to the affiliate I work for, including the Green Building Project of the Year, the American Institute of Architects Sustainability Award and more recently a lot of media attention surrounding the Coastal Conservation League/Habitat Greenbuilding Blitz. See a video HERE. or HERE. Yet it wasn't until the past two months that people have started paying attention to me personally. I was contacted by a friend at the City Paper for their Giving Issue which features individuals that work for non-profits. Next thing I know there is a full page spread about me! Click the picture below (taken by http://www.kaitlyni.com/) to read the story.

Before the story ran I found out that I had been nominated and selected for the Sustainability Institute's Leadership Award which is a HUGE honor. The people that I was up against included the owner of Lulan and the creator of Charleston Greendrinks so I definitely feel lucky to have been chosen. The Award that I received was named in honor of Nathanial Jones who was there to present the award to me. He is next to me in the picture below- he rocks. The following pic is me with my awesome supportive friends! (I am still waiting to get photos back from my dad and the professional photographer... these will just have to do.)

So when I was at the Aquarium to accept this award, I was approached by the Post and Courier to be in their paper and next thing I know my 80 year old neighbor is excitedly knocking on my door because my picture is taking up half of the page in the Saturday paper (she is soooo sweet.) You can check it out HERE. At this point, I have stopped forwarding my friends and family the stories because I am just starting to get a little embarrassed by all of the attention.

In the end, I truly appreciate that the community is not only noticing all of my hard work but giving me positive feedback. The best part about it all is that people have been contacting me with their own stories, questions, and support. It is amazing how much of a grassroots green movement is out there just waiting for someone to lead the revolution. I really feel like change is coming to this southern city I call home...and I am hoping that maybe my efforts will make people realize that the power to change the world lies within each of us... it is simply waiting for us to stand up and take action.

Seriously- what are you waiting for? Every journey starts with a single step. Buy a re-usable water bottle. Bring your own shopping bags. Support local stores, buy local food. Start a "Green Team" at your office, school, or neighborhood. Next thing you know you will be selling your car and buying a bike...hahaha... okay, maybe not, but just know that your actions matter, especially to the next generation of small citizens that we influence everyday (that's right- I played the "kid" card). If you don't know where to start- email me- I am full of ideas :-)

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead.

Beantown

2008-11-26T05:34:00.001-08:00

So I have been in Boston the past week for the USGBC Greenbuild Conference and Expo...Let me just say right now- if I complain later on in my blog about being cold, just remind me about the arctic weather in beantown. I am definitely a cold weather wimp, so just keep that in mind, but when I first got to Boston it was at night, temps in the 20s and windy. But even with the air numbing my face, I instantly loved the city. Getting from the Airport to my Hostel was no problem because they have a great public transportation system. For $15 I bought a 7 day pass that gave me full access to trains, subways, and buses. So in about 30 minutes I was at my stop (it took less time to get across Boston that it took for me to change terminals in Charlotte-go figure). As I walked from my T-stop to the Hostel, I passed five bikers braving the weather all geared out and with a whole bike lane to themselves. They were all wearing face masks and gloves, both of which I have now ordered as the temperature starts to drop here in Charleston. During my trip I lost count of how many people I saw on bikes and it was great. The first day of the conference, I paid a little extra to go on a biking tour of green buildings in the city (picture above and below). Now this sounded like such an awesome idea when I was sitting at my computer all warm and toasty, but when the moment arrived and it was under 30 degrees and windy I got cold feet... literally. But I was too excited not to go and braved the cold weather in the southern version of winter clothes (five layers of cotton clothing with a cutesy scarf, no hat, of course) and tried to stay warm. I have to admit it felt weird getting on a bike other than mine- I kinda felt like I was cheating on my little blue bike back home. I definitely missed having shocks- especially since the seat had NO padding...frozen bum meets cold hard seat... yeah. Anyway..our group had about 20 people in it and our guides tried to keep us from getting squished by taxis (they are totally ruthless). When we were all talking about where we were from I said "Charleston" and someone said "oh, well then you must be used to this weather". I was totally confused for the entire ride until someone mentioned that there is a Charlestowne outside of Boston...BIG difference. I chatted up the guides about biking in Boston and surviving the weather. They said that the right gear makes a huge difference but that you just have to be prepared to be cold. He has led bike tours in the snow but said it gets a little dangerous- ya think?. After talking to other people during my trip, it seems that while the city has bike lanes there are still plenty of people that have no respect for bikers- which I guess is going to happen where ever you are. When I was riding in my friends car, it did seem like some serious cutthroat driving and more than once I had to tell them to watch out for bikers. One guy I rode with said he had actually hit a biker that passed him on the right in his blind spot when in a turn lane... luckily they were both going slow and it wasn't bad. Needless to say, I'm not ready to bike commute in a city like Boston yet... and since the T-system is so great, you really wouldn't have to. Charleston is a long way from this point, that's for sure. One guy I was talking to said that he wished he didn't have his car because the only time he drives it is to move it for street cleaning and snow plowing. What ever public transport you are using there, you never wait longer that 10 minutes, unlike here where you can wait up to an hour. And they have maps, schedules, and info kiosks everywhere, so you never have to worry about getting lost. But even with all of its convenience, beauty, and people- I still rather live in Charleston :-)

Waiting

2008-11-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have had a lot of exciting things happening lately and when I get my pictures back I will let you in on all of the fun. But for now I will share another day of trials and tribulations of my car-less life. The past week the skies have threatened rain at least once a day everyday- which for me is like russian roulette. Without fail, if I ride my bike on a cloudy day, I will get wet and if I ride the bus then the sun will come out. I honestly don't mind getting wet when its warm out but when the temperature drops below 65 (yes, I am southerner), then I become very cold and bitter. Needless to say, I decided to take the bus on Thursday because there was a 60% chance of thunderstorms. Since I decided this last minute, I had to run around like a banchee trying to get ready and had to forgo breakfast... but I made it to class just in time. After class I had an interview with some undergraduates doing a project on social entrepreneurs and then I was free to go.

After a short interview, I decided to catch the 3:30 bus so I could head home and eat. I hustled to my stop and got there with 15 minutes to spare. While 15 minutes may sound like a long time, the buses don't exactly run on-time, so you want to make sure that you don't miss it. There is nothing worse than sitting at the stop wondering if the bus hasn't come yet because you are too early or too late. If you are too late, then it will be a solid 45 minutes until the next shot at getting a ride. So, as you can see, it is worth it to show up a little early to dispel any doubts.

The nice thing about riding the bus on a regular basis is that you know how to judge the arrival of your bus based on other routes passing by. So as the 20 came and went, I knew that my ride was just around the corner. In the beginning I had pleasant conversation with fellow bus riders to keep me entertained, including a discussion on how silly it is for tourist to pay $5 for a 99 cent hot dog. But when the second 20 went by, I started to get worried. I check the time and realized that I had been sitting there for 45 minutes. I started getting a little suspicious and decided to call CARTA. After getting past the automated system and through to an actual human, I was put on hold for 5 minutes. When she came back on she informed me that my bus had broken down, so I asked: "Do you have any idea how long it will be... an hour? a day?" to which she replied with attitude: "No. I'm not a mechanic." I then I started to asked her: "Well could you at least tell the 20 to stop and let people know there bus isn't coming?" but she hung up before I could finish. So after waiting for an hour and desperately hungry- I realized that I had no way of getting home.

Lucky for me, I have enough friends that have flexible schedules, that one of them could come get me. But what about all of the people trying to get to work, home, and school? The clouds were threatening rain as parents struggled to keep their kids entertained and those heading to their second job were trying to flag down cabs. Why is there no system in place for situations like this? No back-up bus? Why weren't the bus drivers stopping to let people know? How is CARTA expecting people to use their bus system if it is unreliable with horrible customer service?

Needless to say, I wrote them a letter with my thoughts as well as suggestions hoping that maybe the next time this happens, they can handle it a little better.

In the end, I am glad that I got stranded because on the way home, my friend and I rescued a stray puppy that was running across a busy road that may have otherwise not have made it. But from now on I think I will bring my bike with me just in case.

getting a bike education

2008-11-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

Okay. I know that bikes are pretty simple machines...BUT they are not something that I grew up working on. I understand how bikes work (for the most part) but there are some basic maintenance things that I definitely did not know about. This was made clear to me when I flipped my bike over and reddish orange rust water poured out of my handlebars (yeah, I felt like a horrible parent at this point). My first problem is that I expose my bike to all kinds of good stuff like sand, mud, salt water, dirty street water, and rough streets. The second problem is that after a ride I was just leaning my poor bike against the house and calling it a night. This is no way to be treating an object that I have to depend of for transportation, recreation, and exercise. So, to make it up to my faithful companion, I treated her to a shopping spree, day at the spa, apologized profusely, and begged for forgiveness.

Instead of just totally winging it, I decided to go into the Bike shop and ask for some advice. Let me just go ahead and tell you right now. If you ever want to get a bike mechanic fired up, just mention that you have used WD-40 on your chain. I mean WD-40 can do anything, right? Umm. Wrong. It is actually a degreaser which will strip the much needed lubrication off of your chain and create unwanted friction and wear to your chain. (If you are trying to clean the gunk off the chain, go for it, but then apply lube). If you don't believe me, check out this dude: http://bicycletutor.com/no-wd40-bike-chain/ Now if you are like me and want to use something that is environmentally friendly and biodegradable to clean your bike, there are products like Pedro's Bio Cleaner and Simple Green Bike Cleaner. As for lubrication... I just bought some White Lightening Clean Ride self cleaning wax lube and it is working nicely on my chain.

So what about the rest of the bike? Well... Some parts use medium-weight grease for lubrication and others use oil. I still haven't really gotten all that down yet, but I will sure to keep you informed as I figure it all out. For now: http://bicycletutor.com/lubricants/. The one part of my bike that has really needed help is my break cables, and I have had friends use both oil and grease. Sometime in the near future I need to just make the commitment and buy some of both.

So after a nice bath, a relaxing chain oiling, a deep metal cable massage, and a new indoor parking spot, my girl was feeling like a brand new mountain bike... except for the half broken hiking headlamp that was rigged to the front of the handlebars. Needless to say, I now have the new cateye headlight which makes night biking SO much safer. I also bought a "rescue tool" that looks like something McGyver would have killed for... it is basically a pocket knife on steroids. Granted I have no clue what any of the 20+ parts do, but I am sure I will find out and knowing me, it will be on the side of the road, in the middle of the night, while it pours down rain... and I will tell you all about it.

Until then I will be exploring ways to stay warm as the temperature drops.

Halloween

2008-11-03T05:15:00.000-08:00

I can't take credit for any pictures from this month's critical mass but my friend Katie took the two above and my friend Geoff took the rest at the link below. Yes, that is me next to the twinkie (my friend Brett) looking a little too much like my character, Corey Bohan (male BMX biker).

http://thedigitel.com/entertainment/costumed-riders-had-blast-halloween-2052-1102

show and tell.

2008-10-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

So last week I was again not riding my bike (feel free to judge me) because the Green Building Blitz.... I had to be on Wadamalaw Island at 7am everyday with a whole car full of supplies and somehow the 3 hours it would take me to get there on a bike just didn't seem rational, so a co-worker lent me her car. If you want to see pics from that, check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/SeibertN/Greenbuild08#

It was a great event and if you are going to drive a car for something, it might as well be something like this. So anyway... I spent a lot of time talking to a variety of people, many of which had seen my blog and wanted to exchange biking stories. I always love hearing about the adventures, seeing the scars, and bonding over similar experiences with a fellow biker. This week, I heard one of the best stories yet. I was talking to one of the guys from charleston green ideaz (http://greenideaz.org/) about the evil drivers that harass bikers since I was recently nailed by a half full bottle of coke... which of course I thought was a car hitting me, so I practically jumped off the bridge trying to get off my bike (don't worry, I was fine, just a little pissed off at the redneck in the ginormous truck). So anyway, the greenideaz guys said that one day while bike commuting through a less than nice part of town when he heard a loud noise and then BAM something hit the back of his head so hard it almost knocked him off his bike. When he reached back to feel his head, it was all gooey and he panicked because he was sure he had been shot and that his brains were leaking out the back of his head. Then he looked down and saw eggshell and realized that, no, he was not dying, and yes, he had been the victim of a drive-by-egging. I am pretty sure that he is the first person to be relieved that he had been egged. Awesome.

So when I told this story to a friend, he mentioned that now there is a law against harassing bikers- which is HUGE considering beforehand, you basically had no rights. Check out more info at:http://www.scbikelaw.com/news.html?id=13 If you are wondering if it actually works, have no fear. My friend said that he was sideswiped while biking recently and he memorized the license plate (I have to give him props for remembering to do this), then called it in to the police. They ran the plates, looked up the person, called them and gave them a warning about harassing bikers! Can you imagine how awful/embarrassed/stupid you would feel if a cop called you and chewed you out for clipping a biker! I am going to have to try and stay cool next time someone harasses me and get their plates- haHA, that will teach them. I am still considering keeping tennis ball in my water bottle holder to hurl at cars that get too close or almost squish me when backing out of their driveways.

Either way, I will delight in my once a month outing with Critical Mass when we get to take back the streets for an hour. Check out a pic from last month below:

Tomorrow, we will be biking in full costume- come and join!!

a day in the life

2008-10-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

When people ask me "How is the bike riding going?" I always have this video montage flash in my head of random situations, events, and ridiculous moments and in the end, my answer is usually: "interesting". So this week, if you were to ask me that question... here are the thoughts that come to mind...

1. I am biking across the bridge when I catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye... and it is a pod of dolphins. I watch them for about five minutes as cars rush by, completely unaware, as one by one, each sleek gray animal rhythmically breaks the surface for a breath of air.

2. On my way home one afternoon, with one headphone in and one out, I swear I hear someone talking to me...lo and behold there is a dude biking past me saying: "Is it just me or are there so many more bikers on the road recently?"

3. Crossing the bridge at night when I come up on a homeless man with kind eyes and a long gray beard, his bike covered with all of his possessions. We both have to stop and wait for the cars because there is not enough room for us to pass and so we chat about weather and traffic. When we part ways he tells me to be careful and protect my "young bright light."

4. I am running late to be a guest speaker for 50 college seniors and have to catch the bus because there is no time to bike- but I will be getting back to campus past 9pm, so I need my bike for the ride home. The bus is 10 minutes early, so I am literally chasing it down the highway in a dress on my bike, knocking on the side until it stops (just like in the movies). Ive never used the bike rack, so I fumble awkwardly pulling all the places labeled "pull/push here" while trying to hold my helmet, bag, make-up and wallet- in the end three men get off and we all debate how it works while a bus full of people watch. (Just so you know... you have to squeeze the handle in the middle and then set your bike in the slots. Then pull the bar next to the tires up and over the front tire. Both handles will be hard as hell to get loose- so give it hell.) Of course I forgot my bus-pass, but at that point, no one cared and the bus-driver accepted a high-five instead. I get a small round of applause from some younger guys in the back. So then I sit down, sweaty and wet-haired and have to start putting on my make-up while everyone stares at me. In the end, I arrive on time, with no speech prepared and rock it.

5. I am biking home- the same night as above- and I overhear two men, one white, one black, arguing over racial terms (really one is just yelling at the other). By the time I am close to them, they have finally agree that no one, regardless of color should use words that could be seen as derogatory, but the one man is still really mad. I pull off the road and offer the angry guy a hug. At first he gives me a look that makes me regret stopping, then his face melts into a smile, he starts laughing and accepts my offer. Both men agreed on the fact that you should always accept a hug from a young lady and then conversation quickly changes into talking about women, so I continue my ride home.

That is a week in the life of this biker.

Tires, wheels, and rims, oh my!

2008-10-15T06:54:00.001-07:00

So a friend of mine pointed out that I have started slacking on my bloggage- which is due in part to the fact that my life is totally bananas right now. I also broke my camera- so I've kinda been waiting to write until I get a new one. All of that being said... I will try and stay on top of things so that all 4 people that read my blog will not be left wanting. :-)

My latest exciting bike news is that I finally got hybrid tires! What the hell does that mean, you say? Well, since I have a mountain bike, I've just been riding on standard trail tires. This means that they have good traction with lots of nobby things that help grip the dirt when you are off road. Tires like these are great for when I am on the greenway or biking on un-even surfaces. For me they have kinda been like training wheels because I am not used to biking on a variety of surfaces and they help keep you stable. The downside to this type of tire is that you go really SLOW on the road. Since I am commuting about 10-15 miles a day, this can get pretty annoying, so I went to the Bicycle Shoppe and asked what my options were. They suggested a hybrid tire that is designed for mixed use- which means it is smooth in the middle, but has ridges on the outer edge. Since they were $20 a piece I decided to wait on it and look around online.

So, yeah. This is when I realized that I know nothing about my bike. I like to think of myself as a do-it-yourself kinda gal, but good lord, I was lost when the websites staring asking me questions about hub and rim width, hub axle size, and wheel diameter. While this information is in no way super complicated, my brain is so jam packed with LEED rating systems, green entrepreneurial theories, and sustainable development concepts that I opted to leave these choices to the professionals.

I called up the bike shop again and they told me to head on in. So I biked on over, excited about how fast I was going to be biking home. They put my bike up on a stand and started teaching me what all the specs were that I had been asked online (everyone there is super helpful). But then we realize they didn't have my tire in stock, so we had to order it. My consolation prize: "Well at least its a good work-out with your mountain bike tires." Because thats what I really need right now. A work-out. Then one of the guys invited me to bike the Cooper River Bridge. This always makes me laugh because people really think I am an athlete, but they have NO idea how pathetic I am. (For those of you not familiar with the bridge... it is huge and in my eyes, akin to a small mountain... needless to say my CAR used to have trouble coming back over it from Mt. Pleasant). I would be the girl WALKING my bike over the bridge. Nothing but love for those of you that are able to bike over that bad boy AND enjoy it... just don't expect me up there anytime soon.

When my tires finally came in, they put them on for me, filled them up, fixed my crusty break-line (due to the fact that I am horrible bike owner), and sent me off for a test drive. Maybe I had built it up too much in my head, but I didn't immediately notice a difference....until I looked down at my speedometer and noticed that I was going 25 mph without really trying too hard. Sweet!! I wish I could tell you how fast I could go coming down the back side of the 61 bridge on my way home, but my speedometer was so overwhelmed with my speediness that it kicked the bucket. All I know is that the ride is a lot smoother and definitely much faster.

Take home lessons: hybrid tires rule and so does the Bicycle Shoppe!

bus stop blues

2008-10-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

Hurry, Hurry up and wait
Is that my bus coming up the road
or is that just the 20 running late?

Nice! This stop has a bench AND a cover,
but wait the shade has been taken
by four screaming kids and one tired mother.

The sun is beating down hot and bright
and the fumes from the cars
are making my head feel light.

Conversations ebb and flow
breaking up the silence
as our waiting party grows.

The city's perfume is an awful mix today;
I am overwhelmed with the acrid smell
caused by cigarettes, sardines, and decay.

Jazz quietly drifts through the air,
as I fight off angry fire ants
and an old lady fixes her fake hair.

We all lean forward at the sound of the brakes,
here comes our bus
a cloud of exhaust in its wake.

Loose change jingles in peoples tired fingers
as everyone gets antsy about the
storm cloud that lingers.

I sit next to an older woman holding bright yellow flowers,
shes a prayer warrior and tells me that in the end,
God has the power.

A drunk man with dimples sits down in urine soaked pants
and tells me he'll fix his saxophone someday,
if he ever gets the chance.

We all talk about our throwaway society and how no-one cares,
and in two stops time we all agree that people rather
buy something new that pay for the repairs.

Settling into silence, I can see my stop come into view,
Pull the cord, thank the driver, and
my journey is almost through.

I step off the cool bus and into the humid air,
and look to the sky cursing
at the light rain that soaks my hair.

Its one more day on the bus, always different than the others
I am already wondering what the next ride will be like
and what new things the journey will uncover.

why bikes are safer than cabs

2008-10-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

So, this story isn't directly related to biking- but it is just one more example of why sometimes it is safer to just bike home than rely on four-wheeled transportation. Last night I went to a wedding with a friend; it was black-tie, over 200 guests, and had the biggest bar I've ever seen at a reception. We partied until the bride and groom left and then headed to Moe's Crosstown for some much needed french fries. After walking back to my friends house I realized that I was on the totally wrong side of town and had to get home to walk my dog. So I hailed the good-ole "____" Cab for a ride home (I dont want to get anyone in any trouble) . When my ride pulled up, I actually laughed out loud. It was a complete beater 80s station wagon with one headlight and the cabbie hanging out the window rapping to me. Awesome. So I hopped in and the first thing the guy says is "Yo girl, sorry I'm late, my car keeps cutting off... damn you looking good, where you been tonite?" I replied with: "Umm. Thanks? But seriously, you are really giving me a lot of confidence in my ride home". And that was how our journey began. I started asking him questions about his alternator and battery and then programmed my awesome mechanics number into his phone. The whole time we are driving the car is revving really high RPMs, the gas gauge is doing backflips, and the radio is cutting in and out (which he had switched to a station he referred to as "white people music").

When my house came into view I felt so much relief, but it was too soon for celebration. When we pulled into the driveway he realized he had no change, so we had to go a gas station. The first two were closed and next thing I know we are on roadtrip through West Ashley. During this whole thing I realize he is from my hometown and he went to one of the my rival highschools about five years ahead of me. Ahh- small world. When we finally found a station that was open, he gets out of the car and I realize that the this whole time he has had a Miller High Life 40 oz. between his legs. haha. (nervous laugher here) I mean what are you suppose to do at this point? He had been driving really well and I felt safer in his cab that alone at the creepy gas station full of guys cat-calling me. So he put some gas in the car, gave me my change and we headed home. The car wouldn't go over 30mph at this point, so we just cruised through neighborhoods all the way back to my place. When we pulled into my driveway, he actually said: "Hey- tell all your friends to call me if they ever need a cab!" Hahahaah. Really? This was his idea of a good impression and an experience that would leave a girl raving about the service?

So next time you want to ask me: "Nikki, do you think its safe to bike in Charleston? Don't you ever get scared?" Just know that I feel much safer on my bike, than with a drunk cab driver in a POS car. The key is staying off the roads late at night when drunk cabbies are on the loose and always wearing a helmet, just in case.

Intersection of SICK and TIRED

2008-09-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for my lack of posts recently... life has been keeping me even busier than usual. Last week I went to Energy Efficiency conference at the Columbia Zoo and no, I did not ride my bike, I actually rode this turtle all the way up I-26. Okay, so I carpooled. Then when I got home, I had three friends come in town. The funny thing was, before they got here, they all asked if they should bring their bikes. I have to admit, I said no- mostly because I knew that most of the places they wanted to go are not exactly bike friendly trips. So just for the weekend, my trusty steed had two extra cars to canoodle with in the driveway. On Monday, with a friend still in town, I opted to get back on my bike for my night class instead of getting a ride :-) It was a really good weekend with great company and the weather FINALLY cooled off (my friends that came down from the mountains to go to the beach did not share my enthusiasm). Tuesday, the last guest out of the house, after a week and a half of constant activity and extreme weather change, my body finally gave out. I came home that night, took an intense nap, woke up, ate dinner, got sick and then went back to sleep. Wednesday I had to go into work on John's Island so I got up bright and early, biked the Greenway with my pup to wear her out and caught a ride with a co-worker. After draggin my tail feathers all day, I got home, let out the dog, and ran to the bus-stop. As the bus approached I realized I didn't have my pass, cussed a little too loudly (I had my i-pod in) causing everyone to stare at me...so I trudged back to my house. I threw on my biking gear and sped down Savannah Hwy. About half way there I realized that going to class was a bad idea. First of all, the tides were crazy high, so the City was flooded everywhere. I literally had to walk through 6 inches of water, going against traffic on 61, with cars honking and splashing me as they tried to squeeze past the 3 feet of non-flooded street. (Did I mention it was rush-hour?) I love moments like this where you just want to say to the person honking: "Do you think I WANT to be doing this, genius?" The most awkward part was that everyone had to drive really slow through the water and most had their windows down, so they would yell at me, but unlike a passing car, I had time to make eye contact and apologize....which kind of takes the satisfation out of road rage. Needless to say there are about a dozen commuters that feel like the biggest jackasses ever right now. So with wet tennis shoes, I continued onto to class, hitting two more flooded roads on the way. Even though it was cold and windy, I could feel my face burning with a fever, and wanted nothing more than to crawl back in bed. The ride home wasn't much better, my body aching and towards the end I was almost to the point of tears... But just when I started to feel sorry for myself, I saw this lone pedal on the bridge: I mean that is just sad. I had the urge to pick it up and take it home and find some new job for it..something that would liberate it from a life of being stepped on- like a wind chime weight perhaps? Anyway... I think the average person can grasp that the pedal is a pretty essential element to propelling the bike. Just imagine biking on a two foot wide path when you lose one half of your biking power. Heres the way I see it going down: This person was biking across the very narrow bridge side-walk when they realized another person was coming. They tried to keep biking, and get close to the concrete rail and BAM they got caught and that bad boy got ripped the hell off. Hopefully they were able to keep their bike off the road and not pull one of those panicky over-correction moves. So now they are left with one pedal and one nub. They can potentially still try and push the one pedal, however awkwardly, but they've got to figure out where to put their leg/foot so the nub doesn't rock their world. Perhaps they put one foot up on the frame or maybe they were able to use their big toe to push the nub in circles and I sure hope so... but eitherway that sucks. Despite the pity I felt for this pedal-less person...the visual made me laugh really hard. So just know, when you are literally sick and tired, it could always be worse. On a happier note...for those of you that didn't get to see the video of my that was on the Digitel.com... check it out on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq3L_MTxPpA

Weekend Warrior

2008-09-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, thanks to the Charleston Bike Co-op, my weekend was full of adventures. Friday night I went on the Midnight Mystery ride downtown... what an awesome time. We all met up at Vickery's and then headed off on our two wheeled journey in the dark. There were about 20-ish people, all young and outgoing. The ride took us through historic neighborhoods, down hidden cobblestone alleys, and ended overlooking the water by the aquarium. Bloc Party, Minus the Bear, Band of Horses, Portishead, Helio Sequence and others quietly hummed on my i-pod speakers, filling the silence between conversations. We ended the evening overlooking the bridge- sharing drinks, telling stories, and watching shooting stars. And even though I thought I couldn't top that, the next day was just as rockin! For those of you that are not familiar with alleycat races, it is kind of like a scavenger hunt on a bike, and in this case, for girls only. Here is a better description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleycat_races

If you do read that link, just keep in mind that this race was much more laid back. Our checkpoints included: Finding two cobblestone streets, getting a sweet mustache at the battery (thank you Art for my amazing twisted stache pictured here), completing a pencil rubbing, going through a bike obstacle thingy, getting info off two signs, answering a trivia question about women's history (I sucked at this), having our picture taken (see Ryun's skills below), and doing a lap in a graveyard.

Including the ride home we definitely covered well over 10 miles and I was sweating like a bug at an exterminator convention the whole time.....part of the problem was that my dress-tights combo was like a sauna... if only biking naked wasn't so awkward/illegal. So anyway- we kept motivated by our soundtrack that included Prince, The Hush Sound, Jurassic 5, Cake, Santana, The Beatles, MGMT, and The Cure. Although we definitely did not win, we were also not DFL (Julia-nothing but love here). Afterwards we hit up Santi's for some food, the nectar of life, and some giggles. I was sooooooo tired after my bike-a-palooza weekend (and my 4:30 a.m. bedtime) that I fell asleep at 8:30 Saturday night, sitting up, on the couch, with my computer in my lap and a dog on either side of me. Goodtimes had by all.

Almost Famous

2008-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

So my little blog is slowly making its way into the Charleston community...the latest was a video created by TheDigitel.com featuring yours truly. I will embed the video later, but for now, check out the site: http://thedigitel.com/outdoors/wot-no-car-1503-0908 . A special thanks to Geoff Marshall for his camera skills, great conversation, and an education on all things British (the top of a car is called the "bonnet" in the UK. hahah. i love it- American English just doesn't seem as classy.) Anyways, Geoff is a fellow blogger- to check out his site, just visit: http://www.geofftech.co.uk/iblog/index.php.

I have to say, on a non-bike related note, I am becoming aware of the this whole blog world I am a part of and its truly impressive. People from all over the world are sharing parts or all of their life with friends, family, and often complete strangers... it is amazing the amount of connection it provides and I can't tell you how incredible it is to get comments from people half way around the country. And just so ya know, there are people blogging about bikes that are really getting it right, like: http://commutebybike.com/ which is just ONE of thousands that are out there.

Well anyway... Something that I have experienced for the first time over the last two weeks has been biking long distances at night (biking to Gene's isn't really that far and the biggest challenge is not drinking too much). You can see the picture above and to the right of the sun setting on my way home from downtown... on that particular night I stopped and hiked into the marsh to score these pics. I saw a bumper sticker today that sums it up: "Pluff Mudd. You will never forget your first time." It was definitely not my first time, but you wouldn't have know it. I almost lost my shoe and camera to the bog of eternal stench (Labyrinth reference here) and I yelped so loud that an entire flock of birds took flight (I'm pretty sure I heard one say "amateur"). Aside from my stealth marsh manuveuring, the ride home was seamless, with a nice breeze carrying me home. Other nights, I have to come home a little later when the sun has long since melted into the horizon. This is when I bust out my night gear- including a head-lamp turned head-light and tail-light. I like to put my lights on the flashing setting, but I am always afraid my insane strobe like head-light is going to give someone a seizure, causing them to veer off the road into me. Obviously, the odds of this are low, but you cannot be too careful. On another note, I saw Mr. Safety himself the other night...he put me to shame with his reflective vest, helmet flashy light, tail/head-light, and reflective shoes. I tried to catch up with him, but damn he was fast...here is a picture of him below:
Haha. yeah... just kidding. This is just a pic of cars going past me on the bridge. I really did try and get a picture of reflective-man, but he flew past me. Well anyway... I am not a huge fan of biking home at night unless its really late. The later it gets, the less cars there are on the road and it is so nice. I was biking home from the Tin Roof the other night and it was totally quiet except for the crickets, with a nice breeze, and the stars keeping me company. Friends of mine go on adventures at night downtown when the city cools off and everything gets quiet. There is actually a Midnight Ride this Friday with the bike co-op. Everyone is meeting at Vickery's at 11pm with helmets, lights, and goodies! I am also looking forward to the Lady of the AlleyCat, but I will tell you more about that later this week. Until then- travel safely and always check your mirrors!!

Ode to the Greenway

2008-09-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Nikki's Bike Blog Presents:

Real Men of Genius...

Cue the music for the Budweiser Commercials at this point.

(If you don't know what I am talking about, or just want to laugh at a funny commercial, check out this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBdEXeDYQ1g&feature=related )

Today I salute you, Mr. Greenway-Inventor Man

Mr. Greenway Inventor Man

Because of you, we can travel great distances without a car OR a road.

Noooo mechanized transport, yeeeah.

You saw power line clearings and abandoned train track lines and thought to yourself:

"Damn... people should be walking here. And biking... and jogging ...and running... and dog walking...and doing non-vehicle related things"

Who knew the potential?

Some said that these abandoned grassy trails were for homeless people, but no, you saw the potential to attract yuppies and excercise junkies alike.

I loooove running in $200 shorts, oooh.

So crack open a cold-one Mr. putting-the-green-in-way, thanks to you, I can bike over eight miles and never see a car.

Okay... seriously. I do love the greenway, especially because it runs through my neighborhood. I walk my dog about 2 miles on it almost everyday and if I wanted I could go for over 8 miles (tempting, but after a full day of biking, no). Things I have seen on the greenway: Woodpeckers, herons, racoons, deer, turtles, hawks, belted kingfisher (my favorite bird), wildflowers, geese, crabs, ducks, egrets, berries, robins, snakes, and the very elusive and rare, squirrel. The amazing thing to me is that I will feel totally lost in nature, but on the other side of the woods is Savannah Hwy in all of its strip-mall, traffic nightmare glory. Here is what I am talking about...

This is just a little oasis of marsh and forest in my neighborhood with some dog fennel and a morning glory in front. Not the best picture but here is what part of the path looks like- with my little doggle running ahead (don't worry, I bring doggie bags).

This marsh helps clean the water running off Savannah Hwy...I don't think people realize it is behind all of the ugly buildings and gas stations.

So on a side note- people have been making comments about me not being able to evacute for the hurricanes without a car. Don't worry- you won't see me biking down I-26 with Sadie in my front basket with a storm on my heels. I am not that stubborn... I will leave if necessary and hitch a ride with one of many of my awesome ridesharing friends. :-)

Reality Check

2008-08-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

So I started classes this week and realized that I have been living in happy-work-from-home land far too long. Biking and busing have been relatively successful to this point with a few speed bumps (literally and figuratively) a long the way. I have been going to meetings downtown, the grocery store, running errands, and meeting up with friends all without any sort of car usage... granted sometimes I end up soaking wet or late- but overall it has been a pretty laid back experience. But now there are A LOT of places I have to be, many of which are not exactly a "stones throw" away... and they are all happening in a really short time frame. I know that once I get into the swing of things, it won't be quite so crazy, but at this point I am in the middle of the learning curve. One challenge is when I have to be on campus for something in the morning, late afternoon and then again at night, but need to walk my doggle in between. I have spent the last week running to classes, missing the bus, walking miles and miles, getting run of the road by cars, trying to fix my chain, getting sun-burned, and most of all sweating.

Yet with all of the craziness, I am getting better and better everyday. I am continuing to meet interesting people...like Charleston Moves and the Holy Bike Co-op which are making my bike life a lot easier/less lonely and inviting me to fun stuff like the Lady of the Alleycat race, the Midnight Mystery Ride etc. More info at: http://holycitybikecoop.org/ I also just found this sweet online site that has an open forum and an awesome magazine that you can download for free: http://urbanvelo.org/about/ While waiting for & riding the bus I have talked to a Russian immigrant, a History Professor, four first time freshman bus-riders, three hotel maids, and a retired school teacher. I have even read an entire chapter of a book in between conversations.

One event I am looking forward to, but missed out on is Critical Mass... here is a video of what its all about in Charleston:

Two Wheels One Love - Critical Mass in Charleston, SC from ReallyFastPictures on Vimeo.

Timing is everything.

2008-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

The theme of the past week has really been timing. It is amazing how a few minutes in the car-free world can make all of the difference. This has especially been true because of the ridiculous weather that Miss Faye was kind enough to share with us. There is nothing like checking the weather and seeing those little storm clouds complete with lightening bolts with a high percentage underneath; for a whole week. Although what weather.com fails to realize is that Charleston has its own, very unique weather system. There can be tornadoes on Savannah Hwy and sunshine at the Battery... so while on one side of town you will need a rain suit- on the other you will want a swim suit. One element of the weather that I had never really considered before was the wind. Ahhh the wind. I had a meeting downtown last week, so I looked to the sky and felt confident that I would have at least an hour or two before the clouds sauntered my direction. The ride started off great, with just enough cloud cover and a nice breeze, but due to my awesome timing, it seemed the storm was actually rolling in fast. When I got to the bridge, well, wow. Holy wind gusts batman. I felt like I was biking through molasses with tires made of glue. I seriously considered getting off my bike and walking because it would have been faster. I pushed through because I figured that it couldn't be as bad downtown. Wrong.

I had forgotten that someone once told me Charleston had been designed to channel wind to keep down mosquitoes and cool down the city- or in this case, create wind tunnels. Needless to say, I hurried to get all of my paperwork done and raced home to beat the storm. I was in the final stretch when the skies literally opened up. I had a rain jacket with me, but as I was frantically pulling it out an SUV nailed the puddle I was standing next to and soaked me from head-to-toe in dirty street water. Awesome. Thanks jackass. I'm so glad you support our troops by putting a yellow ribbon on your gas guzzling two ton, high emissions vehicle. Smack yourself on the back of the head for me. (I am not bitter- just amazed at human stupidity.) What really destroyed me was that at the time, I was standing near a bus-stop where an older lady was huddled under her wind-blown umbrella trying to keep her uniform dry as cars like my SUV friend sped passed, spraying her down. It is now my mission to get every bus-stop in Charleston covered because no-one should have to go through that, much less a seventy year old woman who rides two buses so she can make beds for rich tourists that will later speed by her soaking her clothes.

Side note: My friend and I were talking about classy drivers such as this one today and he suggested that I buy some tennis balls, so I can lob them at the cars in revenge . I was thinking this would also be good for moments when cars almost back over you coming out of driveways.

So... after venting with my bus-stop friend we embraced that there was no hope for us staying dry, looked to the sky and shared a good laugh. How many times do you have a great excuse to play in the rain? I biked through the 4 inch deep high tide puddles on the sidewalk and took my time getting home, letting the rain cool me off. You can see the result of this joyride below:

By the time I got home, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I realized that you just have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I managed to make it downtown two times after this without getting rained on and even discovered another fun sidewalk path on Lockwood. As for this week- classes start tomorrow- so let the adventures begin!

"We only understand what we are taught."

2008-08-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything. 14% of people know that." Homer Simpson.
Who doesn't love a good fact of the day? I just came across some interesting statistics, facts, and random tidbits that I figured I would share with you. Don't quote me on any of this, because as Homer so eloquently points out, not everything you read is true.

1. Half an hour of bicycling daily can increase your life expectancy by up to four years.
2. Trips under 3 miles are often faster by bike and trips between 5-7 miles are take about the same amount of time as a car.
3. One-quarter of the carbon emissions produced in the US come from the tailpipes of our vehicles.
4. Two point three BILLION gallons of gas are idled away every year by Americans while stuck in traffic.
5. If one million people replaced a five-mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, CO2 emissions would drop by about 100,000 tons a year. (That is only 0.3% of the population)

So those are things that "experts" have come up with, all of which are impressive. There are hundreds more of these fun little facts and if you are lucky I will continue to sprinkle them into the mix on future posts (try to contain your excitement, please...)

Based on my own highly structured and official research, here is some data that might also be of interest.

1. When using a bike as transportation you are less likely to: take unnecessary trips, compulsively shop, and eat greasy food (ugly was the day that I horsed down fries before my ride home... needless to say, they did not make it back to the house).
2. Selling your car doesn't just give you the initial cash but also results in huge savings on gas, parking, and maintenance... based on my own finances over the last two months I have saved roughly $400 in gas alone and will save another $400 in parking this fall. (PLUS no more taxes, tags, insurance, or maintenance). Note: I am not factoring in all of the guilt meals, presents, and favors I am extending to my carpool friends.
3. Biking gives you sweet, sweet legs. (Hello, hottie biker calves...)
4. Who doesn't want to a legitimate reason to rock out in spandex?
5. Almost anything is possible with a bike... I mean, just check out this little guy below.

cheater.

2008-08-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

I did it. I drove a car...two actually. It started with helping my friend move, which I really don't think counts, since I was only doing it to help someone else. As for the second car, well, as my friend put it, just might cause me to lose my "street cred" with my fellow bikers. I am currently house sitting and the job came complete with a car... which considering the location of the house, is pretty essential. After the last few weeks, I had thought of plenty of things that I would do if I had a car (like not get caught in the rain with a ton of shit strapped to my bike). So the minute I had the keys in my hand, I was on a mission. I managed to go to Whole Foods, Target, COSTCO, the eye doctor, the movies, to work, and to my house. My cabinets are beyond full of food, toiletries, and work supplies.

But all of my gas guzzling, CO2 producing, errand running did not go unnoticed by the bicycle gods. I managed to get locked out of my friends house at 5:30a.m. wearing skimpy PJ's with the two dogs and no spare key. While this may not seem like an obvious sign to stop driving, I think the fact that the car I am driving stalled out today is a more clear warning to get back to the two-wheeled life. I saw this cartoon by Robert Ariail today, it pretty much sums it up...

Someone asked me this weekend if it was nice having a car again and while I enjoyed the convenience, I had to admit that I am sooooo over dealing with cars and definitely addicted to my new bicycle lifestyle. To further prove this point, I actually said no when someone I work with offered to let me use her old car for awhile (yes, my co-workers rock.) It has not been a smooth transition so far, but it also has not been rocky enough to knock me off course. Like anything new, the beginning is always a little awkward but everyone is being so supportive that it has been fun so far (or at least funny). There is such a huge community surrounding biking that it impossible not to make friends and enjoy the experience. A lot of cities have bike co-ops and ours in no different... thanks to a tip from a fellow blogger I have hooked up with: http://www.holycitybikecoop.org/

A majority of the population does not realize that owning a car is a choice... so much so that people have said to me "but you HAVE to have a car". Well damn. I must have really missed something in middle school biology. Air, Water, Food, Sunlight, Shelter, AND Automobile- obviously. For some this might be true, but it is not the case for me. I am lucky enough that I do have the choice. While I do not judge my friends who choose to own cars (especially those that are rad enough to pick me up and carpool), I am sad that their transportation will never help them make new friends, get in shape, or protect the environment. I am looking forward to returning the car tomorrow and getting back on my trusty steed...which I have named "the grasshopper".

I just want to say thank you to all of the people that have been cheering me on, giving me rides, and laughing with me through all of the craziness so far. Special thanks to Ash for the bike :-) I hope you all continue on with me... I have no doubt that it will stay interesting.

throwing some pics in the mix.

2008-08-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

This picture is my moment of glory where I reached 20 mph- not something that happens often, but hopefully will not be as much of a challenge in the coming months. Someone made a comment to me like "well biking shouldn't be too hard, you are already so fit". Haha.. umm... yeah, I am definitely not in shape, so most of my rides end with me red faced, soaked in sweat, and sprawled out on the nearest piece of furniture. I hope that eventually I will be able to show up to meetings and not look like I went swimming fully clothed.

It may be a work-out, but I'd still rather have the wind in my face and a view like these on my morning commute... you can keep your air-conditioning and bumper-to-bumper :-)

"When I go biking, I repeat a mantra of the day's sensations: bright sun, blue sky, warm breeze, blue jay's call, ice melting and so on. This helps me transcend the traffic, ignore the clamorings of work, leave all the mind theaters behind and focus on nature instead. I still must abide by the rules of the road, of biking, of gravity. But I am mentally far away from civilization. The world is breaking someone else's heart." ~Diane Ackerman

A little street graffiti to keep the ride interesting...

I am passionate about being the change I wish to see in the world.

when it rains, it pours.

2008-08-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Again, I am sorry to not have any pictures to illustrate the ridiculousness of this story. I will just try and paint a vivid picture for ya. Last week was the first session of a LEED class that I am hosting with the US Green Building Council- something I have been planning for weeks. Since life has kept me pretty busy, I definitely was not as prepared as I had planned on when the day of the class arrived. Needless to say I had to re-structure the schedule, create a sign-in sheet, read the first section and create sample homework exercise (all of which was suppose to be neatly organized in a binder). In addition to the paperwork, I had to buy all of the refreshments for this shin-dig. Luckily, my amazing friends Sandra and James offered to hook me up with some carpooling. After going for my morning 4 mile bike ride (something I have been doing to try and build some endurance) Sandra scooped me up and we did some grocery shopping. I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing all of the paperwork until I realized that I had forgotten about the binders. With two hours until the James picked me up, I figured I could bike the two miles down to K-mart, get what I needed and be back in time for a quick shower. Ha. Was I ever wrong.

On the trip to the store I realized that the greenway was a mud-fest and that I might have a little bit of a challenge ahead, but I did not give up hope. My plan was to buy this little rack for behind my bike, fill my whole foods bags with binders, strap it all to back and be on my way. As I filled my cart with 34, 1/2 inch binders and two reams of paper I realized that it was quite a lot of stuff. I made my purchase and headed out to my bike, still hoping that I could still make this work. I unscrewed some of my reflectors and slid on the rack, only to realized that no matter how much I tightened it, it was waaaaaaay too loose. I wedged some paper in around it but the grease was just too slippery. I had to get this stuff home, I didn't have my cell-phone to call anyone, and I didn't have time to make more than one trip.

I stopped myself and thought: "What would Mcagyver do?" So, of course, I went back into K-mart and bought a roll of duct tape, a basket/trashcan thing, hemp string, and a pair of scissors. At this point, it was about 100 degrees outside, humidity 200 percent and I am covered in sweat, realizing that my time is running out fast. As I am strapping the rack on the back and the basket on the front with every last inch of tape/string, this jack-ass walks up and starts telling me how I should be attaching this ridiculous contraption. Man, did I ever get lucky! What are the odds that a professional rack-basket-bike-duct tape-string installer had come to my aide?! I turned to him and said: "Did you hear me? .....Oh, you didn't? Thats because I didn't ask for your help." He started to say something but instead just opened and shut his mouth silently in shock before walking away. Needless to say, I got the whole thing on and slowly started my trip to the greenway, without anyones help. This is the part when you are going to start thinking: "Really Nikki, are you making this up?". My answer: Believe me I wish I was.

Right as I hit the entrance of the greenway, the dark skies that had been threatening all day, opened up and poured down rain. I mean, there might have actually been cats and dogs coming down- I just couldn't see anything because my glasses were so wet. I guess the rain loosened up the hemp, the tape, or something, because the basket sagged down and hit my front tire. Not enough to stop me, but enough to feel like I was biking up a mountain (a very slippery, muddy one, at that) . Of course, as I rode past a fellow biker, he alerted me to the fact that this wasn't safe. While this should have triggered anger or tears, I was so far beyond either that I started laughing... the desperate on-the-edge-of-crazy kind of laugh. Realizing that I was never going to make it in time, I got off my bike and just started running with my bike for the last mile. I got home in time for my ride to pull into the driveway. I jumped in the shower only to wash off the mud and pulled on the first clothes I could find. We rushed together trying to load the car and deconstruct the abominable duct-hemp monster I had created. In the end, I showed up to my own class 15 minutes late with empty binders to a class room full of people expectantly waiting. In all of my hurry, I had not realized that I had managed to put on a white t-shirt that was at this point completely soaking wet. Ah.... the icing on the cake.

The moral of this story...
Know your limits, always come prepared, wear dark clothing in the rain, and however long it takes you in a car, double that time when you have a bike.

P.S. Don't worry-I am still optimistic about all of this :-)

live and learn.

2008-07-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well... my first try riding the bus was, well, interesting. Needless to say I won't be posting any pictures because I am trying to forget most of the experience. The best word to describe the whole scenario: awkward. I was really excited yesterday to give the old CARTA a shot, so I woke up early, check the schedule, and trudged the quarter mile to my stop. The day was looking up, because my stop had a bench AND was in the shade. I was rockin out to my i-pod, reading my latest national geographic, and relaxing in my usual earliness. Then enters.... the creepy guy. He is a wiry, middle aged, three toothed Indian man with breath I won't even try to describe. Since I find it almost impossible NOT to talk to strangers I started asking him questions (clearly before I realized that his breath could incapacitate a 300 lb man) . At first I thought the conversation would be short because he kept answering "9:02" to everything I asked (that being the time when the bus was suppose to come). Then he started opening up. The conversation took a turn for the worst when he asked if I was married (note to self, always just say yes) and realized that I was single. When the bus finally came, I let him get on first so that I could put some distance between us, but low and behold, he turns his body completely around to stare at me.... It was so ridiculous that the lady next to me goes "ooooooh girl. you need to watch out for him." I ended up riding the bus all the way to the last stop just so he would have to get off first. Yes, I had to walk about 2 miles with all of my stuff, but at least I was safe from Hubert. Yes, his name was Hubert.

On a more practical note... I did get to ride the bus for free because I am a student- which is awesome. I also realized that the route maps are ridiculously out of date and there are actually twice as many stops as listed- also very cool. Just for you, and well me too, I went through all of this blindly so we could learn a few things. Make sure you are near the sign and the enter through the front door, flash your student/faculty ID, and exit through the back door when you get off. If you need to stop, you should pull the yellow cord hanging by the windows, which will light up the sign at the front which will say "Stop Requested". This does require that you know the general vicinity of the next stop- something that I learned the hard way. You don't want to have to walk a mile and a half, arms full, when it is 101 degrees out side... trust me. If it is a popular stop or you can already see people waiting, this is not necessary. Know which side of the street you need to be on depending on which direction the bus is going and PAY ATTENTION to what the sign says on the front of the bus. A general rule- whatever direction the bus is facing when it stops is the direction that it is headed, which sounds obvious but whatever. There are also express buses that pick up at one central location and drop off at a central location, ie, Citadel Mall to Downtown; if you get on one of these they will not make any stops in between. If you are a bike/bus rider combo, there are two racks at the front of the bus for bikes, but if they are both full, be prepared for the bus to fly past you (unless its at night and they will sometimes let you walk it on). My friend told me that sometimes they will stop and you can find out when one of the other bikers will get off, so you can try and haul ass to their stop and take their place. Since I am a sissy and totally out of shape, I'd sooner ride at my own pace all the way downtown and skip the bus all together. Also, make sure you dress for the weather; be prepared to be rained on, sun-burned, and frozen. At the end of the day, its really nice not having to park, get gas, or in my case, worry about the car breaking down.

All and all, it was a good "learning experience" and I am hoping that my next try will be a little less creepy/awkward/sweaty/frustrating. I am definitely saving tons of money and I am going to have some sweet calves after all the biking/walking. Problems I still haven't worked out: Do I have to buy one of those old lady carts for my groceries? Should I switch vets since I can't take Sadie on the bus? If I am going to a business meeting, should I bring a change of clothes? How much does a taser gun really cost?

Wish me luck.

Maiden Voyage

2008-07-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

(if you are just joining me, scroll down to the first post and catch up!)

Up until now, I have been biking on the happy safe place known as the greenway. While I am forever grateful for its existence, it does have one major flaw; it is only in West Ashley (W.A.). Since I have embraced the fact that the college is not in fact located in W.A. (hence the name College of CHARLESTON), I will have to leave the greenway and venture onto the roads if I ever want to attend classes. Luckily, I have a friend that has plenty of experience biking from W.A. to downtown and he was willing to show me the ropes today. So here is Ryan with his sweet road bike-I am definitely jealous. We took off this morning around 10a.m. to avoid commuter traffic and headed down Savannah Hwy. I immediately regretted not wearing a shirt because every third car honked at us and if we were lucky, someone would hang out of passenger seat yelling. What a turn-on! I mean, it is all I can do not to throw myself in front of their car in hopes they will sweep me off my feet. Umm. NO. I was glad, however, that I was sporting my helmet. With cars whipping by at 60mph, it is the least I can be wearing to protect myself. Anyways...It is important to understand that while you were raised with the idea that it is illegal to ride your bike on the sidewalk- it is just not always practical. In many parts of Charleston, the sidewalk=bike lane. This is especially true for out of shape people like me that can barely get up to 10 miles per hour. It is my goal to eventually do all of my riding on the road, the way it should be done, but until then I am only riding in the road downtown. For those of you that also live in West Ashley and are wondering how the hell I am crossing either one of the bridges, here is a play by play. Just get on HWY 61, get on the left side of the sidewalk, and pray to god you don't hit any rocks when you are crossing over the bridge (you will be riding against traffic!). Since the city was generous enough to make the path all of 2 feet wide, you will have to dismount if someone is coming the other direction. If you are feeling saucey and choose to ride over either of the bridges on the road, then be careful crossing the grates- it could be one of the creepiest feelings possible. Mom, if you are reading this, please don't get all freaked out. I am adding a clip of us riding over the bridge, to give you all a feel for it, and yes I was biking while doing it. After you cross over, it's up to you which way you go into downtown.

It's funny, because you would never know unless you are on a bike, but there is an unspoken kinship among bikers. We passed people of all ages and races on a variety of bikes and everyone of them nodded, said hello, or started a conversation. When is the last time you were in your car at a stop light and the person next to you asked you how your day was going? I'm thinking never. Not to mention the fact that you never hear about biker road rage... if anything you are making friends. Plus, you also end up really seeing the city you live in. Not just letting the streets fly by through your window, but being able to hear, see, and smell every block (which can be a good or bad thing depending on the part of town). As for the ride back, well I did that all by myself, just like a big kid (just look at that happy face below)! I road over 7 miles, it really didn't take long at all, and the only fuel I burned was my breakfast. I checked out some of the bus stops on my line when I was biking-so tomorrow I will be tackling that adventure!

Goodbye Car, Hello Bike

2008-07-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

So, this is where my adventure begins, with the selling of my car. After years of memories, both good and bad, I realized it was time to say goodbye to "the turtle". There are so many reasons that I decided to take the leap to car-free, some because of money, others because of the environment. The one thing that I knew for sure is that I was tired to dealing with my car. Fixing it, filling it up, and trying to find places to park it. For those of you that have had first hand experience with my little green girl know that she has serious mood swings, attracts stupid drivers, and has a knack for giving up during rush-hour. So when my mechanic gave me the ultimatum to buy a new engine, I knew enough was enough.

Yes, I could keep draining my bank account into this vehicle. But do I have to? NO. I live on the bus-line, next to the greenway, and in walking distance to stores AND bars. Granted, I am a full time graduate student working two jobs, one of which is on John's Island and on any given day, I have to be in three or four different parts of town, but I will just have to work out the details later. Few things in life are easy, this change included, but there would never be a better time than now. So, I cleaned up my car (for the first time in six months) and posted an ad on craigslist. To my complete shock, I sold it six hours later to the first person who called. Clearly I under priced it... but there was no looking back now!

Today was my first day coming outside to an empty driveway. Luckily I had planned ahead for this occasion and bought my friend's mountain bike, although it had not been used in a while. When I first brought it home and took it for a spin, I ended up getting bucked off the bike when the kick stand came loose and then had to walk it home when the back tire popped. If I was going to depend on this thing for my main transportation, it would need some work. So today, I decided to get it ready for action... I needed a lock, tire pump, blinking tail light, basket, and maybe even a bell. I hit the greenway and headed over to the local bike shop where I stocked up on gear. Things I realized at this point: thank god for the greenway, bike accessories are expensive, and guys that bike are attractive ( just another incentive!). On the ride home, I also realized that I am definitely going to be in great shape, someday.

I have never had the illusion that living in today's society without a car is easy but I also know that it is not impossible. You simply have to train yourself to think differently- something that I know will take me a while to adjust to. Until I get everything figured out, I know that I will have to depend on carpooling, the bus, taxis, and rental cars. I am excited to see a new side to this town, especially one that will force me to learn the streets, take in the breeze, and think ahead.

My hope is that my journey will blaze the trail and that you will follow behind me. At the very least, I hope that I can entertain you. :-)