Don't Wait: Start Biking Now

Okay, maybe not you folks in the snowbelt (I live in Florida), but if you can, getting used to biking and using the bike for transportation now will help when gas prices make their inevitable climb above $4, then $5 a gallon. Better to learn a new way of doing things before you HAVE TO.

I took this little detour away from strictly practical cycling material today because James Howard Kunstler spoke in our town (Orlando) this morning. I've been a reader of his work for quite a few years, but his most recent book, The Long Emergency, is his most important. For those of you not familiar with the concept of Peak Oil, The Long Emergency is an excellent primer. It will explain why gas is at over $3.00 per gallon, why it will continue to climb, and why "alternative fuels" will not permit us to keep driving cars the way we currently do.

A great source of up-to-date information on this matter is The Oil Drum.

What's That Funny-Lookin' Bike On Your Banner?

It goes by various names; a longtail or a Sport Utility Bicycle (SUB). More specifically it's a Marin Novato with an Xtracycle Freeradical conversion kit. And even more specifically, mine is named Lakshmi, after the Hindu goddess of good fortune.

The Xtracycle combination means you'll rarely have the excuse of saying, "But I can't carry..."

Here's an example of a typical load: 80" bi-fold door and other miscellaneous stuff from Lowes, plus four bags of groceries from the produce stand and the supermarket; all in one 10-mile round trip.

For more examples of what people carry on SUBs, go here.