interview # 1

Alright. The holiday season has caught up with me and I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. My bad. But I'm back! :) Here's the jazz I promised you last time: An interview with a real, human TraVeloer! 

Without any futher ado, here it is...

Name: Lex

This is Lex.

Occupation: Student

Major: Art & German

Year: Junior

Bike: Schwinn

How often do you commute by bike?

Well, I have class four days per week, so at least 4 days week. And sometimes if I'm feeling up to it, on the weekends, too. So maybe 5-6 times a week.

How long have you been commuting by bike?

I'd say since at least over the summer; Since maybe July or August. Whenever I got the new bike to replace my last one that got stolen.

How far is your average commute?

Primarily for getting to campus (I live approx. .5 miles from campus), and the from place to place on campus, ya know, between classes and whatnot. So maybe up to a couple miles a day...

Do you bike during the winter or fair weather only?

For fear of crashes, not in the snow; I'm not a graceful person to begin with. Rain is fine, not gonna stop me, but snow is testing fate. :)

How do you commute when you're not on your bike?

Unless I'm walking, I use my car. But I don't drive to campus.

Where are your most common commute destinations?

Campus. I use to bike to the bank when it was close, but I moved farther away so I don't do that anymore.

Why do you choose to commute by bike?

Gas - not just the money, but the exhaust in the air. It's healthier. And it's actually nice to be in the wind and not closed up in a box. Bike versus car, you can notice things better - you can stop and pick things up. 

What benefits do you see to biking?

Is there anything other than what I just said? haha, I think that's about it. 

What is the extent of your mechanical knowledge?

Not very extensive at all. I have a tire air pump. I'm pretty sure that if worse came to worse, I could get it (the wheel) off of my bike. I can lift [my bike] and carry it up the stairs to my apartment!

Thanks Lex!

More to come later, folks. Stay tuned and happy holidays! :)

Oh, hello Winter. Welcome to Michigan! (It's about time!)

No, it's cool - you can bring Snow with you! 
Ya know, as it's not only the first day of snow, but also the first day of DECEMBER, I started to worry weather or not the snow would ever come. I mean, hell, it was 60 degrees just two days ago. And 50 yesterday! I can remember bundling up under Halloween costumes to battle the near-freezing air as a kid, but I've witnessed the relatively warm fall weather carry later and later into the winter season over the years, and this year I almost saw the first day of December in Michigan while wearing a t-shirt. 
Coincidence? I think if one considers the expansive and currently undisputed science produced by the world's top scientists, it becomes clear that the late-coming winter isn't as much a fluke as it is a result of some serious climatic changes at large. And almost all of the science strongly indicates the changes in our climate are anthropogenic (caused by humans). Let me be more clear: climate change is happening as we speak and there is no uncertainty among any credible climate scientist about it. 


So what's the big deal? Read any amount of Bill McKibben's Eaarth and you'll find plenty of reasons it's a big deal. McKibben composes the strong scientific evidence of climate change into a compelling book with a strong message. He points out that because of earth's higher average temperature (up about 1 degree celsius) the tropical zone around the equator is expanding north and south, pushing all other climate zones further toward the poles. The consequences of this include increased tropical storm severity, decreased crop yields, rising sea levels, vast species extinctions, widespread drought in some places and catastrophic floods in others, and less snow in Michigan. 
A lot of these are reactions to the increased amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels, like oil and coal. 


That's why I ride a bike. Driving a car uses an immense amount of energy from oil and spews all the carbon byproduct directly into the atmosphere. Climate scientists say we can't continue to do that if we wish to pass on an inhabitable environment to our children. So I don't do it. I've decided there's no excuse. Not even today's snow. 


Some Pictures from today:

Snow covered bike lane on the way to school.

Snow covered bike after the ride home.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about riding my smooth, skinny tires in the snow (this was my first snow ride). I fell only once each way on my commute. Luckily I was going slow and they were easy, harmless crashes. :) 

I discovered today that standing up on the pedals to climb a hill is no longer an option on slick roads; standing up takes the weight off the back wheel - the power wheel - and thus a loss of traction. Commence fall number one. 

I also learned that braking on a shiny surface is a bad idea. Shiny surface = ice. Braking on ice stops the wheel from spinning and again, loss of traction. Now the bike is no longer below me. Commence fall number two.

My housemate is biking his third winter this year and says it's not usually this bad. Understandable, since yesterday's warm weather meant the precipitation was rain, and the sudden over-night temperature drop froze the water, which was underneath the snow this morning. Snow on top of ice always results poorly for things trying to move on top of the snow. In this case, me.  But I have no injuries, bruises, or broken anything. So I'd say today was, overall, a successful commute! :-)

Now if I could only get my butt down to the bike shop to buy myself some fenders....