2 Wheels Maybe

I've been busy, too busy for reading lately, so I've been curating, raking in places to read later, to glean the good stuff. And I keep wanting to distill that good stuff. I've been finding some good bicycle stuff on Outside (Magazine) Online lately. Today I saw a snippet and in that saw one of those pared-down Japanese poems. 11 Cycle Shoulds do not    be a jerk always wave    fellow cyclists do not dare      litter  Here's the snippet and the link May you see, art, beauty, whimsy, or (at least) silliness in each glance. May we both be well and manage not to be jerks.

(Another lunch-time lesson in dirt and humility.) I raced BMX as a kid. It was only four decades ago. I should still be good at it. Right? The local weatherman told me a cold front was passing through -  it wouldn't reach 90 degrees until lunch. My brain instantly dreamed up the next micro-adventure: BMX, baby! Flora and Fauna Report Local Flora Local Fauna: I'm gonna need a longer lens, a longer lunch, and more patience to post fauna pics, but I did see two great blue herons, one great egret, two burrowing owls, a few dozen prairie dogs, a black-tailed jack rabbit, and a half-dozen kids on Razor scooters (at the skate park). How about the ride? Four laps on the BMX track Did I get air? No. Did I need oxygen? Absolutely. It's been a dry summer, so all of the low ground is sand trappy and killed any speed I built up from berms and backsides of jumps. I spent the whole time in second gear pedaling hard. Bring your fat tires. Bring your vi...

It's that day again - the last day of bike commuter nirvana. Yep, the Lubbock Independent School District is flinging its doors open to welcome in the chaos kids tomorrow. The sun, it rose. The best part of summer for me is the relaxed traffic. The college students all go home to the metroplex. The locals get to sleep in a bit. And the bicyclists can relax a bit more and not adjust their routes away from schools. Morning commutes in summer are the stuff dreams are made of! (We won't discuss the triple-digit afternoon rides home, but even those are more relaxed.) At coffee - I had the place to myself. Tomorrow - it'll be noisy and crowded. Unlimited Routing This is the last day I'll cruise carelessly past Jayne Ann Miller Elementary. This morning I pedaled past three public schools and cut through the parking lot of one private school. My commute was 4/10 of a mile shorter than it'll be tomorrow. Commuting is for the Birds At ...

after the storm there must be a calming                                        Desmond Dekker and Leslie Kong I've never really understood why people listen to the blues to get over their blues, but this week I've come closer. Yes, I know that upbeat music can be annoying when you're down, but depressing lyrics and minor chords, they don't lift me. So I decided to compromise a bit - how about depressing lyrics combined with some upbeat reggae music. (Yes, I am weird - reggae does not make me want to fire up a doob, but it sure makes me want to dance.) So, here's your soundtrack for 2WM Bicycle Distraction Day - Toots & the Maytals with "Time Tough": Time Tough Now that you have the tunes rolling, let's jump into this.  Distraction #1: Jeepers, it's a Junto! Cargo Bikes - you know how I love them big bikes. Today I learned about another cargo bike, but this on...

So, there I was taking the Chuck (the lab mix) for an early morning walk in Fort Worth. We rounded the corner, and there it was - a real, live electric bike store ( Pedego Fort Worth ). If you live in my part of the world, seeing an e-bike store is only slightly less rare than seeing sasquatch riding a unicorn.  But there it was! Of course, it was closed, but we saw an e-bike store. (For some reason, I was more impressed than Chuck was, but he was glad to see the hydrant out front.) Cool building with built-in cargo container! Pedego is not a brand I write about a great deal. I've run across very few in person, and, to be honest, their prices are (usually) out of my budget and many of their designs have seemed a little dated for my taste. On the other hand, they are known for high quality bikes and excellent customer service. For several years they have been an industry leader here in the states. They even have around 120 bike stores in the US. They are definitely doing ...

I am excited! I looked on Electrek today and found a Radwagon article by one of my favorite e-bike journalists, Micah Toll. (You may also know Micah from e-Bike School , Vruzend Battery Kits, DIY Solar Power , and a plethora of other greenie projects.) In the Mesquite Hugger/2Wheel universe, no singular vehicle has appeared in print more than the Radwagon. Not even the Citicar comes close. And it makes sense - I have not run across another vehicle that embodies the quest for an enjoyable, inexpensive, low-carbon personal hauler more than the big orange bike from Seattle(ish). Micah Toll on the Radwagon (on Electrek.co) Indeed, the Radwagon has been my yardstick for green vehicles since it hit the market. $1500 (shipped) gets you a machine that'll haul close to 400 pounds and let you enjoy the world immensely while not making you feel like you're on display in your own little people aquarium. That guy looks familiar... Every time I look at a green vehicle...

Pedaled Every Day this Week! It's been a great week! Lots of things fell into place, and I pulled a 100% bike commute week. Yep, Monday-Friday I have been free to ride to work. (And I ran errands on the bike on Saturday and Sunday.) I've noticed that I've been in a steadily better mood over the last seven days. Yes, the car is  quicker and offers better weather protection, but it dulls the senses. When you spend your days in a windowless office, you don't have many senses left for dulling. I look forward to the ride when it's cold. I look forward to the ride when it's sweltering. I never look forward to the drive. From this morning's ride Okay, I know a 100% bike commute may not sound like much, but 60% is often a struggle. I've reached that point in life where the generation before and the generation after both need a fair amount of help. That means errands and doctor's appointments and stores and pharmacies and...well, the bike is of...