Yowza!
Make sure to visit Cyclelicious for more of Richard's view of life.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Into The Wild Blue Yonder
The other day I opined about how sad I was that my camera died just before I got to the jump competition at the SF Bike Expo. Well, I should have known that my friend Richard would have me covered.
Yowza!
Make sure to visit Cyclelicious for more of Richard's view of life.
Yowza!
Make sure to visit Cyclelicious for more of Richard's view of life.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
It's All Greek To Me, Part 2
Onward and upward! What shall we talk about this time? Shall we tackle the "kid" myth? Let's jump in!
#2- You Can Not Ride In The City With Children
If you are a regular reader of this blog you already know this to be untrue. As I have posted about my own kid's adventures in San Francisco, ad nauseum, if it were true that one can not ride in the urban environment with children then my whole family would disappear in a puff of fairy dust.
I wonder if this gentleman knows that he and his children are figments of the collective imagination? This would mean that the martial arts class he and his kids are riding home from probably didn't exist either.
These children will be scarred for life when they find out they don't exist. I didn't really see them and my camera took a picture of ghosts. They seemed to be enjoying their imaginary trip across the Sunset District. Their fathers seemed to be happy, too. Perhaps it takes a great deal of pressure off the soul when you don't exist. It couldn't possibly be the bicycle ride in the sun.
A lone child on a bicycle in the Mission? Not possible. Who lets their children ride their bicycle to soccer practice?
My imaginary neighbor. He has three lovely boys that ride in the bucket to and from school.
You can tell this picture is fake. What Mom would ride with their daughter on the back?
Multiple Mom's, unrelated to one another, on Valencia Street with children riding on the backs of their bicycles? Never happened.
These last two pictures are proof that I have to be making all of this up. These families just do not exist in San Francisco. I mean, really. With the hills and the cars and the time constraints....
#2- You Can Not Ride In The City With Children
If you are a regular reader of this blog you already know this to be untrue. As I have posted about my own kid's adventures in San Francisco, ad nauseum, if it were true that one can not ride in the urban environment with children then my whole family would disappear in a puff of fairy dust.
I wonder if this gentleman knows that he and his children are figments of the collective imagination? This would mean that the martial arts class he and his kids are riding home from probably didn't exist either.
These children will be scarred for life when they find out they don't exist. I didn't really see them and my camera took a picture of ghosts. They seemed to be enjoying their imaginary trip across the Sunset District. Their fathers seemed to be happy, too. Perhaps it takes a great deal of pressure off the soul when you don't exist. It couldn't possibly be the bicycle ride in the sun.
A lone child on a bicycle in the Mission? Not possible. Who lets their children ride their bicycle to soccer practice?
My imaginary neighbor. He has three lovely boys that ride in the bucket to and from school.
You can tell this picture is fake. What Mom would ride with their daughter on the back?
Multiple Mom's, unrelated to one another, on Valencia Street with children riding on the backs of their bicycles? Never happened.
These last two pictures are proof that I have to be making all of this up. These families just do not exist in San Francisco. I mean, really. With the hills and the cars and the time constraints....
Thursday, November 11, 2010
los angeles on $100 a day via nytimes
you guyyyyyys, the frugal traveler (seth kugel) went to LA and discovered that to be able to do LA on $100 a day, the best option was....(everybody now) RENT A BIKE.
a lil excerpt (emphasis mine):
so, go on and read more from the frugal traveler! so happy this article exists about el lay in the nytimes. :) i think i may just have to check out this bike in la business very soon. perhaps i can bring a partner in bici dingding crimes. ;)
a lil excerpt (emphasis mine):
WHEN I told people I was visiting Los Angeles for a week without setting foot in a car, one word came up more than any other: “impossible.”
There is the fact that the county covers more than 4,000 square miles. That it has seemingly endless, overlapping multi-lane highways versus a tiny number of bike lanes. And oh, yeah: that it is bisected by a mountain range.
Taken together — not a great place to get around on a bike.But what if you can’t afford to drive? What if, in fact, you wanted to visit the city on about $100 a day?
so, go on and read more from the frugal traveler! so happy this article exists about el lay in the nytimes. :) i think i may just have to check out this bike in la business very soon. perhaps i can bring a partner in bici dingding crimes. ;)
Giant bicycles
We have all celebrated. We have all enjoyed.
Now we can sit and do some orange bloggie invasion.
Here are some of the orange lover bicycles around town and the crazy cool madness for the San Francisco Gigantes. I'm not even sure how I captured some images because, it really was insaneeeee--- FUN. Enjoy the little set
Win the world series. Ride a bike!
ok, the games might be over, but the joy +celebration continues to linger around town - I tell you.
Sign off for now --- the trouble makers crew ♥xxo.meligrosa
Now we can sit and do some orange bloggie invasion.
Here are some of the orange lover bicycles around town and the crazy cool madness for the San Francisco Gigantes. I'm not even sure how I captured some images because, it really was insaneeeee--- FUN. Enjoy the little set
Win the world series. Ride a bike!
The night the Giants won
beyond-happy cutie
woooooooooo
ranger fans? =)
+from afar, I thought it was ade for a second with a different hair, you never know - she has so many bikes... LOL
my kinda guy --- warriors!!
numero 1!
and couldnt leave this 4-wheel awesomeness out - this guy was yelling for a whole block
The day parade for the Giants
the kind of traffic I like
baby got back
rolling
Van ness sometime before the whole speech-thing at city hall started. We were just trying to get from the south to the north. Quite impossible, and willingly happy to be 'caught' there =)
----------
oranginos
leave it to me to find the bike posse with mi dead cellphone. oh HAI.
Sign off for now --- the trouble makers crew ♥xxo.meligrosa
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
It's All Greek To Me, Part 1
I am getting mighty sick of the myths surrounding bicycle riding. As I am not in the mood for diplomacy tonight I am just going to go out on a limb and call "bullsh*t" on the whole lot of them. For the sake of something to do other than watch TV or scrub my sink out I will now present several instances of why these myths are simply myths and why they should all be chucked in the rubbish bin.
For the next few days, I will present, in no particular order, the counter to several of the stupid myths that many people labour under. These myths prevent all of us from having better conditions and keep people from improving their everyday lives.
#1 Some people are too weak/old/handicapped to ride.
OK. Having spent over a decade treating some of the sickest and most debilitated people you could possibly imagine, I will concede that there are people in the world who can not ride. You would be surprised to know how few of those people actually exist.
This is the back of my step-father, Richard. I took this picture just a couple of months after he had a bi-pass. The bi-pass was performed to repair a previously bi-passed vessel that had collapsed repeatedly over the 13 or 14 years since it had been placed along with three others. I stopped counting how many joint replacements he has had two years ago. He has hearing aides in both ears. He was recognized as Permanently Disabled by the state several years ago because of these and other health issues.
On this ride, his first since before the last surgery, he rode 23 miles across the San Fernando Valley.
Richard can no longer ride a standard two wheeled bicycle because his balance is compromised. To compensate for this he has switched to a recumbent trike. He isn't as fast as he used to be and taking hills requires patience. But he rides. Does he do it exclusively? Of course not. He gets tired and has to conserve his energy, but he uses his trike when he can and tries to do his local shopping and small errands by pedal power.
He is also working to get better infrastructure in his town of Chatsworth, CA. Just because he can't use it all the time doesn't mean that others can't and he wants them to have better than the currently do.
This girl looked to me as though she may have Down's Syndrome. Her mother had to walk quite quickly to keep up with her. How amazing would it be if San Francisco had a bicycle network that was developed enough that this girl could ride around her neighborhood with her Mom everyday instead of just when we close the streets to traffic. She obviously has the ability to ride, she just requires the opportunity to do so. How much would that add to her life can only be guessed at, but I am reasonably certain it would be significant, for her and her family.
Bicycles are adaptable, much like people. We can add wheels, move pedals, change gearing... many of those who can not walk can, with simple accommodations, ride a bicycle in the same way that those who are considered "able bodied" can. I know for a fact that it would be easier for this woman to ride her adapted trike along the Waterfront than it would be for her to try and get on Muni in a wheelchair to go the same distance. Don't believe me? Try it.
Can't take a walk with you wife? How about a ride?
Don't tell these people they are too old to ride.
So there you have it. People in San Francisco who have mobility challenges can, and do, ride bicycles. I am quite sure they would all like a better bicycle plan to make sure they can continue to do so.
Myth further debunked here and here and here. and here
For the next few days, I will present, in no particular order, the counter to several of the stupid myths that many people labour under. These myths prevent all of us from having better conditions and keep people from improving their everyday lives.
#1 Some people are too weak/old/handicapped to ride.
OK. Having spent over a decade treating some of the sickest and most debilitated people you could possibly imagine, I will concede that there are people in the world who can not ride. You would be surprised to know how few of those people actually exist.
This is the back of my step-father, Richard. I took this picture just a couple of months after he had a bi-pass. The bi-pass was performed to repair a previously bi-passed vessel that had collapsed repeatedly over the 13 or 14 years since it had been placed along with three others. I stopped counting how many joint replacements he has had two years ago. He has hearing aides in both ears. He was recognized as Permanently Disabled by the state several years ago because of these and other health issues.
On this ride, his first since before the last surgery, he rode 23 miles across the San Fernando Valley.
Richard can no longer ride a standard two wheeled bicycle because his balance is compromised. To compensate for this he has switched to a recumbent trike. He isn't as fast as he used to be and taking hills requires patience. But he rides. Does he do it exclusively? Of course not. He gets tired and has to conserve his energy, but he uses his trike when he can and tries to do his local shopping and small errands by pedal power.
He is also working to get better infrastructure in his town of Chatsworth, CA. Just because he can't use it all the time doesn't mean that others can't and he wants them to have better than the currently do.
This girl looked to me as though she may have Down's Syndrome. Her mother had to walk quite quickly to keep up with her. How amazing would it be if San Francisco had a bicycle network that was developed enough that this girl could ride around her neighborhood with her Mom everyday instead of just when we close the streets to traffic. She obviously has the ability to ride, she just requires the opportunity to do so. How much would that add to her life can only be guessed at, but I am reasonably certain it would be significant, for her and her family.
Bicycles are adaptable, much like people. We can add wheels, move pedals, change gearing... many of those who can not walk can, with simple accommodations, ride a bicycle in the same way that those who are considered "able bodied" can. I know for a fact that it would be easier for this woman to ride her adapted trike along the Waterfront than it would be for her to try and get on Muni in a wheelchair to go the same distance. Don't believe me? Try it.
Can't take a walk with you wife? How about a ride?
Don't tell these people they are too old to ride.
So there you have it. People in San Francisco who have mobility challenges can, and do, ride bicycles. I am quite sure they would all like a better bicycle plan to make sure they can continue to do so.
Myth further debunked here and here and here. and here
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