2 Wheels Maybe

Black Tea -  they didn't hook me with the name, but the price, the stats, and the simplicity - goodness... The BlackTea website I'm blaming this one on Greg and Micah. Greg's been talking to me about converting an old Allstate Puch Saber to electric and Micah Toll already ordered a BlackTea citing non-buyers-regret from the Onyx launch. Just like Greg and I had been discussing - 72 volts and 3000 watts seem to be the sweet spot for small electric motorcycles. It should be able to cruise easily at 45mph and have a 35-mile range on just one battery. (BlackTea gives the option for a second battery to double the range.) It's been an ongoing discussion around here - a smallish electric electric scrambler. It was a growing flame in my project list that really heated up with the Fly Free Smart campaign . Back in the early 1970s, little gas-powered scramblers were everywhere and they were great fun and very economical transportation. From Honda to Hodaka , dozens of co...

Be still my heart! (a Benno Carry On Spotted this week at DFC Cycles ) Longtail cargo bikes - for years I've been watching but have never seen one in the Hub City. But this month I've run across two, real, honest-to-goodness, longtail cargo bikes here in Lubbock. For cargo bike dorks this is exciting stuff! Even more exciting to me is that the two cargo bikes I've seen have been two at the top of my most-wanted-bikes list - the Benno Carry On and the Radwagon. Rad Power Bikes Radwagon (Version 3) The Radwagon has appealed to me since its release and has consistently represented the best cargo bike deal out there. While there are nicer bikes out there with higher quality components, the $1500-$1600 Radwagon continues to be the most impressive bang for the buck - and Rad Power has done a great job of being consistent in their deliveries, service, and customer satisfaction.  For dorks (like me) who are always questing for ways to get out of the car and get...

May 1 is downright magical here at the Mesquite Hugger desk. It's an anniversary. Joining the National Bike Challenge on May 1, 2014 was my start to bicycle commuting. You can read the post here . So here I am seven years later in a very different life and still thrilled to have the month and the challenge roll around again. Honestly, I was scared to start. I had a sedentary lifestyle and a body shape to match. And I viewed Lubbock traffic as a suicide run for anyone not in a car. But I was overweight, high blood-pressured, and wanting to save the world. And the bicycle seemed like a great tool for tackling all those issues. So I got up the nerve to try it. And I'm truly thankful I did. I've learned that life is better on a bike. I'm in much better shape than I was seven years ago. I like the town I live in better and I've discovered a lot of beauty I had not noticed. I have more stamina. I look forward to going places for the ride as much as the desti...

A downside of working from home (please don't throw things at the screen) is that I miss my work commute. Yes, I know it sounds a bit loony, but I actually enjoy my commute to work on the electric (and sometimes non-electric) bike. I don't miss the driving days, but those 3-4 days per week endcapped by five miles of riding, mmm, good stuff! Life is better on a bike! Intimidation - this little broken bridge - my nemesis! A handful of blocks away from home is a park with a natural wildlife habitat, so I've been taking quick nature breaks. In under ten minutes I can be sitting in a quiet place with no walls or windows and the most obnoxious neighbors are the red-winged blackbirds. After more than three decades here, there are days I get tired of Lubbock, but little breaks like this, bike rides and bird watching and all the little details - I come to realize that it's not the place so much as the approach to the place.  A little bigger tha...

[Warning for bird/bike enthusiasts - this is a post where I endeavor not to post pictures of birds or bikes.] M and I were having coffee this week in our usual spot. About once a week we try to get together to get caught up on all the important stuff. We generally talk about education, literature, family, being Christians, and things with wheels. When the weather's tolerably nice, we sit outside and try not to be too distracted by traffic. Nope - it's not a Leaf or even a car, but (snagit!) that's a beautiful sight in the LBK! One of Lubbock Citibus' two electric buses kept going by. So, yes, we were distracted by traffic. [Another warning: we are both Christians who believe that climate change is real and man-made. Yes, we are a rarity in this part of the world.] The conversation naturally turned to electric vehicles. Another thing that we have in common is that we are both very cheap frugal. So even though we have a deep appreciation for ele...

I rode the perimeter of what will be the new walking trails The stark beauty of Lubbock in January (Stop laughing, you jerk!) Ditto in the other direction  Great Egret Greatly Annoyed Egret My first falcon pic Great Blue Heron watches a tumbleweed drown The local skater punks aka black-tailed prairie dogs The end May you enjoy the natural world around you this year. Be well, friends!