Riding A Bicycle As A Revolutionary Act

Something I have been thinking about lately, frankly something I think about all the time, is the future of the earths climate.

I am not currently “old”, whatever that means. Luck willing I could look forward to 40- 50 more years of life on this planet.

Which means my silver years could be spent in the 2060’s.  Right when I start to really slow down, climate change is expected to really speed up.  By 2050 sea levels in the Boston area will be 2 feet higher (which means a good storm floods most of the city).

If we continue to emit at the level we do, the earths average temp could be 7 degrees higher by 2050…which would make going outside for most of the year unbearable, and staying inside unbearable without AC.

There will be more storms, more droughts, more food disruption, more climate migrants, forest fires, ocean acidification, asthma alerts, wars for water, more floods, tropical illness moving north…the list of horrible outcomes grows daily as we discover just how disruptive our actions have been on the world.

I keep thinking about myself when I reach my grandparents age.  I see how they move, how they breath, how they get around, the challenges they face, and I imagine myself trying to navigate those challenges in a world ravaged by global warming.

I also think about kids I see running around who might live 70 or 80 more years.  How their silver years will be even more grim than mine, how they might deal with an ecosystem that may not be fit for human life.

There is not a nice way to say this, but if you are driving a car around, especially when you don’t absolutely need to, you are part of this problem.  When I turn on my heat at home and the oil in the tank in the basement lights up I am part of the problem.  When we buy airplane tickets to fly half way around the world, when we vote for candidates who deny the reality of climate change, when we buy things we don’t need, when we use single use spoons, when we leave the lights on…the list is very long.  It would seem our entire lifestyle is a part of the problem.

It can be overwhelming to look at the list of things Americans are doing to ruin our future.  It can be hard to know what to do, where to start, and how to do anything about it.

There is a simple thing you can do that will make the future better, and have positive effects for you right now.  Ride your bicycle.  Ride it for fun, ride it to work, ride it to the store.  Leave your car at home and take your bike to the show, to the movies, to the park.

Not only will you be avoiding carbon emissions, which is critical to slowing and eventually reversing global climate change, but you will be changing the culture.  We live in a toxic culture, that is polluting our future and stealing our silver years from us.  Riding a bike helps to repair that toxic culture.  It also shows others that its possible to break free of the toxic cycles that keep us damaging our future.

Years ago when I started riding a bike in this town there were hardly any cyclists.  But slowly over time more and more folks started riding, defying the poor infrastructure, and aggressive road culture.  Soon hundreds, and now thousands of people ride their bikes every day in this city.  The government is building more infrastructure for cyclists, people are healthier, and things are changing.

Once you make the change to cycling, your friends and family see that its possible, and they start.  Their friends see them doing it and so they give it a try.  The positive change spreads through example, and through solidarity.  The toxic culture retreats and a new one is born.

Think about your future, think about your silver years.  Then go out and go for a bike ride.  Its a revolutionary act, and its one you can do right now.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Help Bring “Half The Road” To Boston

From the email, looks pretty awesome

————

Join us at the Fenway Landmark Theater on Wednesday, November 19th at 6:30 pm for a one-time screening of “Half the Road.”  To ensure that the event is a success, tickets should be purchased by November 11th.

Boston’s film scene is about to get velorutionized. On November 19th, Boston Bikes will host a one-time screening of “Half the Road” at the Fenway Landmark Theater. This is an incredible opportunity that we can make happen with your help. The screening last spring at the Kendall Theater sold out in advance, so get your tickets now.

The groundbreaking documentary by pro-cyclist and director Kathryn Bertine explores the passion, pitfalls & power of women’s professional cycling. The film focuses on both the joy of sport and the challenges of inequality that female riders face today in a male-dominated world of cycling. As the filmmakers describe, “We thought we were making a movie about women’s professional cycling. Then it turned into a film about equality, told through the medium of kick a$$ female athletes.”

We’ll follow the screening with some of Boston’s own super star women on wheels — like Sara Bresnick, who has been a professional cyclist since 2002, competing nationally and internationally at mountain, road, and cyclocross events. Join us for this discussion and Q&A about the realities for female cyclists.

Boston bike friends, this is our chance to see this film on the big screen at the Fenway Landmark Theater. But tickets have to be sold in advance! Grasp life by the handlebars and get your ticket NOW. (Then get another for your best buddy cause no one’s going to want to miss this film).

Here’s what the Village Voice had to say about “Half the Road.” Powerful stuff, let’s make sure Boston gets to see it.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

One Man’s Account Of Cycling During The Week Of The Marathon Bombings

An interesting read:

The policeman stood in the middle of Arsenal Street, the main road through Watertown,Massachusetts, and screamed at any vehicle that didn’t belong to some arm of law enforcement or the emergency services: “Turn round! You need to get turned round!” Either side of him in the 1am dark sped, flashed and wailed a procession of emergency vehicles of a variety and quantity that, even in a career where I’ve covered a reasonable amount of terrorism and other trouble, I had never before seen.

A little up the road, I now know, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the presumed bombers of the Boston Marathon, already lay dead. Somewhere else in the nearby suburban streets, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, his brother, was hiding, trying to evade the arrest that would come around 18 hours later. And my attention, for at least a few seconds, was focused on a bicycle.

It was one of the themes of the week I spent in the Boston area, starting a week ago last Monday, covering the aftermath of the bombings at the annual marathon, that I often found myself staring longingly at bicycles. I missed my wife and children very much. I was moved at some of the expressions of shock and grief I encountered. But the sight of people on bicycles provided a persistent, nagging reminder of what I was missing about my everyday life. Those people, for that moment, could experience the uncomplicated feeling of freedom that so often comes from riding on a bicycle – and I couldn’t.

Read the rest here.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

It’s Not Your Imagination, People Driving To Work Are Miserable

Every day I pass dozens if not hundreds of poor souls trapped in cars, waiting. Waiting to move forward a couple feet, waiting for the red light, waiting for all the cars ahead of them to inch through the light. And you know what, none of them look happy.

On the other hand I have passes dozens of cyclists with the biggest happiest grin’s on their faces while riding there bike. Not just on nice sunny days, but even on the most brutal, cold wet nasty days.

It’s nice to see some research to back this up.

Oliver Smith, a Ph.D. Candidate in Urban Studies at the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at PSU. Smith recently completed a research project titled, Commute Well-being Among Bicycle, Transit, and Car Users in Portland, Oregon (PDF of presentation poster) Based on surveys from 828 people taken during January through February of 2012, he found that commuting to work under your own power “increases commute well-being.” In other words, the happiest commuters are those who walk and bike. Of course I was happy to see that of all modes surveyed, biking made people the happiest (see chart). The lowest measures of commute well-being were recorded by people who drove alone

Read more about this fun research at Bike Portland.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet

Get Your Grub On Classy Eddy Merckx Style

Got this in the email, I do believe that we cyclists have officially become very important people. Seriously this is some very classy cyclists themed food. It’s not what I would call cheap, but hey all that money you save on gas has to go someplace.

————————————–

Le Tour de France—Bistro Style
Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro Offers Culinary Tour Around France

WHAT: Beginning in late February 2012, Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro (BHHB) is taking its affinity for French cuisine and bicycling further than ever, with its culinary “Le Tour de France — Bistro Style.” Every Monday through Thursday, the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro will offer dinner guests a special prix fixe menu showcasing the cuisine of particular region in France, with references to a specific Tour de France rider and highlights from the stage which occurred in that region. This year’s Tour will focus on the exploits of the legendary Eddy Merckx. The menu will change every two weeks and offer diners the choice of a two-course menu for $33.00 or a three-course menu for $39.00 (tax and gratuity not included), in addition to the regular menu. This event, Le Tour de France — Bistro Style, will run through July 2012, when the actual Tour de France takes place. As the weather turns warmer, diners will be welcome to turn out in their bicycle regalia, if they so wish. But blood doping and other performance enhancers are definitely prohibited. Vive la France!

Our Tour begins in the South. Between February 20th, 2012 and March 1st, 2012, diners will enjoy the cuisine of the Rhône Valley: house-made sausage and potatoes, monkfish with brown butter and mushrooms and lemon meringue tart. When the menu will move northeast to the Alsace from March 5th, 2012 to March 15th, 2012, diners will indulge on a torchon of foie gras with spiced bread and cranberry compote, warm sauerkraut with house-made sausage and meats and a cheese cake a la Francaise! Subsequently, the menu will change every two weeks with the destinations subject to the whims of the Bistro! Optional wine pairing for each region will of course be available. Do not miss this opportunity to try the very best in regional haute cuisine and to take your taste buds on a ride around France.

Please call 617-723-7575 for reservations

WHERE: The Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro | 25 Charles Street, Boston, MA | 617-723-7575 | www.beaconhillhotel.com.

WHEN: Monday and Thursday from 5:30PM to 11:00PM beginning Monday February 20th, 2012. The menu will be offered through spring 2012.

COST: $33 for two courses; $39 for three courses. Tax and gratuity not included. Regular menu items will also be available.

SCHEDULE:

Monday, February 20th, 2012 through Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Rhône
Salade de Saucisson Sec aux Pommes de Terre
Salad of House-made Sausage and Potatoes

Lotte au Beurre Noisette et aux Champignons
Monkfish with Brown Butter and Mushrooms

Tarte au Citron Meringuée
Lemon Meringue Tart

Monday, March 5th, 2012 through Thursday, March 15th, 2012
Alsace
Foie Gras au Torchon avec Pain d’Epices et Sauce à la Canneberge
Torchon of Foie Gras with Spiced Bread and Cranberry Compote

Choucroute Garnie
Warm Sauerkraut with House-made Sausages and Meats

Tarte aux Fromage Blanc
French Cheese Cake

Monday, March 19th, 2012 through Thursday, March 30th, 2012: Two week break
for Restaurant Week.

Monday, April 2nd, 2012: Series will resume.

Add to Reddit.

Tweet