Results of no-car experiment
Posted: July 29, 2010 Filed under: 5. Alt Transportation | Tags: sell your car, UPS on bicycles Comments Off on Results of no-car experiment
One year ago I challenged myself to not drive a car by myself (with the family is still OK) for one year, using a cargo bicycle as a car replacement instead. This is not such a far-fetched idea, as even UPS is doing tests on it.
Here’s what I learned from the times I failed to stay true to my goals:
- When injuries from MMA training at the dojo (shoulder, lower back) prevented me from getting anywhere close to a normal riding position without pain. Clearly when my hobbies overlap, it does not always lead to productive results.
- Late at night I found myself taking the car, as I simple don’t trust the drivers that are out at that hour (drunk, buzzed, sleepy, etc).
Despite those failures, I discovered the benefits of bicycling most of the time for me personally. When asked why I bicycle, I can now say:
- To better myself physically: strong legs, good cardio.
- To make the community I want to live in a reality; I want to see alot more bicycles in my small town. One of the best ways to do that is to *be* one more bicycle on the road every day.
- To find post peak oil business opportunities by living through the pain points.
- To lessen my impact on the environment.
I’m declaring this one year experiment a success and continuing down this path. Next stop: sell the car.
“In Transition 1.0” the film
Posted: July 15, 2010 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 2. Water Security, 3. Food Security, 4. Energy Security, 5. Alt Transportation, 6. Personal Training, 8. Wealth Management | Tags: In Transition 1.0, Transition Towns Comments Off on “In Transition 1.0” the film
Wow.
I think this short collection of vignettes may have just set the direction for my personal and professional time for the next 5+ years.
Highly recommended.
Fighting funky boxing gloves
Posted: June 22, 2010 Filed under: 7. Physical Security Comments Off on Fighting funky boxing gloves
Not the good 70’s funk, but the funk that comes from lots of sweat + no airflow.
I found a new use for the ski boot dryer I’ve been using to keep my bike riding gear funky-free. It also makes a great way to dry your boxing gloves, which would never see good airflow otherwise. Recommended.
A career of ironies
Posted: June 11, 2010 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on A career of ironiesA journalist recently drove this point home to me – in not a terribly kind way – that my chosen career is one of irony. He asked me how I could justify some of these incongruencies:
I run an international “Fair Trade” company, but my personal life is uber-focused on the “Go Local” movement.- I write for a major business publication, but am purposely unplugged from all media inputs to my life (try going a month without reading/watching the news, then ask yourself if your life is better/worse).
- My company sells products, but I believe we all need to stop buying more stuff.
- I teach marketing professionally, but take great pains to identify and cut off all access to my life (and my kids) from other marketers’ efforts. And I hate shopping.
- I run a sports company, but don’t follow any sports (college, pro, local). It makes me hyper to just watch sports; I want to play the sport, not be a spectator.
Hypocrite? Not sure. Maybe.
OK, enough navel-gazing. Time to get outside to grow more food.
Hello Goodbye Kona Ute
Posted: June 7, 2010 Filed under: 5. Alt Transportation | Tags: car replacement bicycle, electric cargo bike, electric longtail, electric ute, kona electric ute Comments Off on Hello Goodbye Kona Ute
Said goodbye to last year’s newly non-electrified Ute; felt good about it as it clearly went to a good home. Nearby photo is the new owner on his inaugural grocery run with kiddo in tow. Awesome!
And said hello to my new Electric Ute, the official new electric cargo bike from Kona. First impressions:
- I like the pedal assist system (PAS). No more throttle, just a semi-smart computer that sense when you need assistance. It guesses correctly 80% of the time, which is a good enough trade off for me. I like the simplified setup of no throttle.
- The PAS takes a bit to get used to if you are coming off a throttle experience, as you feel a definite lack of exact control for the timing of the power output. If you are coming from a normal bike experience, you’ll be thrilled the first time the PAS kicks in.
- Great battery life (boy, I hope this continues). Made two trips back/forth to town on a single charge, with ample charge left.
- Recharging is simple. With the lousy eZee kit, you really had to remove the entire battery to take to the recharger. On the Electric Ute, the battery stay in place and you simply plug in a cord from the wall.
- The architecture is almost identical to the original Ute, just ~ 2CM taller. I’ll have to make slight tweaks to my stoker bars for my seven year old, but that’s it.
The only downside I can think of to the new Electric Ute is the lack of a front disc brake. I love everything else on this bike.
Highly recommended as a car replacement vehicle.
Living with an EPI dog
Posted: June 6, 2010 Filed under: 3. Food Security, 7. Physical Security | Tags: Canine Enteric Support, EPI, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, german shepherd dog, GSD, raw food diet Comments Off on Living with an EPI dog
Our new security system, er, I mean, German Shepherd dog, has a condition fairly common to GSDs known as Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. The dog’s pancreas does not work properly and requires supplements to help them absorb their food properly. The EPI is partly why our dog is on the thin side and definitely why her coat is brittle; she’s just not getting the nutrition she needs from her food.
We’re going to approach this two ways with our new rescue dog. First, we’re switching her (slowly) from kibble to a (controversial with some) raw food diet. Second, we’re switching her from the current EPI supplement that came with her to a homeopathic, more natural version, called Canine Enteric Support. Our local vet is thankfully certified as a full vet plus trained in a number of holistic medical techniques. And he’s an enthusiastic supporter of the raw diet for dogs. I thought he might throw me out of his office when I mentioned our interest in feeding the dog raw; instead he says that’s the #1 thing to bring her health back.
Were’s starting out getting the raw dog food via mail order until I can build a reliable source among local chicken friends who process meat birds. I suspect both changes will greatly increase this dog’s health.
Newest addition to our security system
Posted: May 31, 2010 Filed under: 7. Physical Security | Tags: german shepherd dog, rescue dog Comments Off on Newest addition to our security system
…who also happens to lower our stress levels. After several months on the rescue waiting list, we finally found a good fit and got to bring home a five year old very-bright German Shepherd dog this past week. The few commands she did not already know, she’s learning quickly.
She was nervous at first when we arrived home and dropped two doggie bombs inside the house (ugh). But true to her security nature, she wisely placed them directly underneath the window. Pity the home invader who steps through *those* windows.
She’s a bit thin due to a special medical condition, so in addition to additional obedience training, we’ll focus on helping her gain muscle weight in the coming months. She’s already fitting well into the family, following the kids around the yard as they play and garden. I feel completely comfortable even when they are not in direct sight, knowing they have a tall-for-her-breed German Shepherd standing by.
And I can now finally relax when someone forgets to lock a door at night. Just the sight of her enormous water bowls at each door should cause any unwelcome guest to pause and move along to the next house.
Apologies to those readers we left behind
Posted: May 26, 2010 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on Apologies to those readers we left behind
In porting this blog from Blogger to WordPress, there was one primary gotcha…taking our readers with us.
Many apologies for those of you needing to re-subscribe to the blog or who followed a Twitter link that is no longer in service. But after spending a year with Blogger, it was simply driving me nuts. I use WordPress for two other organizations and love it, so it’s time to bite the bullet and port everything over.
Many apologies for the extra hassle!
Kona Electric Ute, version 2.0
Posted: May 21, 2010 Filed under: 5. Alt Transportation | Tags: car replacement bicycle, cargo bike, electric ute, kona ute, longtail Comments Off on Kona Electric Ute, version 2.0
OK, time for a major reset from recent lessons learned.
I just bought the new Kona Electric Ute. It’s not yet in their catalog, but the Ute product manager – very helpful fellow named Mark – reached out after finding this blog and made the offer. The bikes arrived at their warehouse end of April and in my local bike shop today. He sent me this snapshot.
Going to swap out all my customizations from the 2010 model to the 2011 model and sell off the non-electric Ute, which is a great bike in its own right.
Finally, I can see a positive end to this journey to build a car replacement bicycle capable of hauling some serious loads up serious hills.
Go Bags: do you really need them?
Posted: May 12, 2010 Filed under: 7. Physical Security | Tags: emergency preparedness, go bags Comments Off on Go Bags: do you really need them?
Frequent business travelers are familiar with the idea of keeping an always-packed bag ready to go. Thankfully, I’ve now progressed to a point in my career where I have more control over my business schedule. I no longer need a Go Bag, as we called them. Or do I?
If you think of the many emergency scenarios which might force you and your family to vacate your home at a moment’s notice, there are actually quite a few. Anything from a chemical spill on the nearby highway to a fire on your neighbor’s roof can force you to abandon your home and all the preparations it contains to help you weather an emergency and be available to help others.
But recently I learned another reason to have a set of well-equipped, well-marked Go Bags ready to throw in the trunk. I received a phone call from a friend that said, “Dude, are you watching the news? Your house is on it. I’m watching a feed from a helicopter.” Ha ha, what a jokester. Although a couple of helicopters had been hovering for over an hour, passing back and forth around the forest near our home. I thought they were just doing survey work. Hmmm, maybe my buddy is not just pulling my leg. I don’t subscribe to TV, so I had no idea what he was talking about. He relayed what was happening while I called it up on the internet.
At the end of my driveway (it’s long and you can’t see the beginning through the forest), we had 50 officers from the local and county police, ATF and FBI, plus some US Marshals in a stream of unmarked and normal patrol cars, including a full-blown battle wagon. Really, it looked like a tank. This is a photo of it sitting at the end of my driveway by our trailheads. The officers and agents fanned out in the forest that surrounds us, looking for an armed robber’s weapons cache. Because weapons were involved, these guys were wearing full body armor, camo, and carrying assault rifles. Great; just what I wanted in my back yard.
What to do when the battle wagon rolls up your driveway? Thank the officers for doing their job, grab the kids and Go Bags, and get out of there.
So, what makes a good Go Bag? Google will return lots of helpful lists for you, but in general, put into 1-2 bags everything you need to camp comfortably outdoors, without power for several days, and you have the beginnings of a good Go Bag. I’ve added a few items for minor medical emergencies and items specific to our climate/terrain. Store the bags near your vehicle so you can grab them on the way out.
Since this incident, local friends have stopped raising their eyebrows in skepticism when I mention things like emergency preparedness and self defense. They’ve started asking detailed follow-up questions about how they can also become more prepared. I suppose I have a felon to thank for that.
Opt Out En Masse 