• A day to celebrate the fact that we don’t all have to own cars to live a “normal” life.
• A day to get out of your car and walk, take a bus, or ride your bike.
• A day to experiment with alternative forms of transportation as a part of your everyday life.
• A day to ask your local government to do more to make your city bike and pedestrian friendly.

World Carfee Day is sponsored by the World Carfree Network and is marked by celebrations and events around the world.  There aren’t any events going on locally, but I will be celebrating by riding my bike to work and encouraging others to do the same.

Richmond is a surprisingly bikeable city, and with the addition of some bike racks downtown it will be even more so.  There is definitely a lot of room to grow, but I am inspired by the small but growing bike community that is already a part of the city and the work that is being done to improve our local transportation plan to include bikes and pedestrians. We have a long way to go before we are a Portland, Or or Boulder, Co, but there is hope.

If you are local and would like to participate in making Richmond a more bike and pedestrian friendly community, attend the transportation meeting tonight at 7pm at the City Building.  The Planning department will be presenting the proposed long-term transportation plan to the Planning Commission.

What are ways you have found that your local community is friendly for getting around without a car?

What are ways you have found that your local community is NOT friendly for getting around without a car?

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Group before the ride

We Did It! Matt and I biked to Oxford, Ohio and back this weekend, and we reached the metric century mark on the way.  For those you who don’t know, and I didn’t until Matt told me, a metric century is 62 miles.  We actually did 67 miles total, and it was quite an experience.  Five of us set off from Mark’s house at 7:30 Saturday morning, and we reached the Oxford Farmer’s Market at 10:30am.  After a tour of the farmer’s market, a nice lunch, and a visit to the Oxford bike shop, we got back on the bikes around 12:30pm and rode back to Richmond.  Matt and I got home around 4:00pm.

Our overall stats for the trip were 67 miles (including riding to and from Mark’s house),  5.5 hours riding time, and an average speed of 12mph. Coming home we were up against a steady 10mph headwind, so that brought our average speed down.

View from the Stoker's seat

We took a different route for each leg of the trip, and each had its merits and short comings.  On the trip down, we took a windy route that took us along some narrow and rarely traveled country roads that included some “enhanced fitness benefits” (hills).  On the trip back, we took a more direct and flat route that took us past row after row of corn and soybeans. We weren’t really able to compare which route was faster, because on the way to Oxford we had a tailwind and on the way back we had a strong headwind, which slowed us down a lot.

It was a good experience, but the ride home was definitely one of the tougher things I have done physically and at times mentally. 67 miles was about 27 miles more than Matt and I had ever ridden in one day, and we definitely felt it on the way home.  Both of us were saddle-sore, worn out, and sun burned when we got home. Luckily, Mark and Kent, who biked with us, were gracious enough go at our slow pace on the way home and were great company.  There most certainly would have been a lot more arguing and complaining on the McKimmy bicycle had we been on our own.

Bikes at the farmer's market

Overall, I am really glad we took the trip and plan to continue looking for more opportunities for rides like this.  Yes we were tired and sore, but we also got to experience the amazing sense of accomplishment that comes from reaching a big goal.  Not to mention the covered bridge, Clydesdales, butterflies, free yellow peppers, country churches, hawks, and great company that we got to enjoy along the way.

You can see all the photos I took from the back of the tandem on Flickr

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Photo from Reid Ride 2010

I am quite excited about this coming Saturday!

Matt and I are biking to Oxford, Ohio, with a group of friends, on our borrowed tandem.  It is approximately 60 miles round trip, and we will be visiting the Oxford Farmer’s Market and having a yummy lunch at one of the Indian restaurants.  We have been planning for this trip since the beginning of the summer, and we have been going out on long rides to get ourselves ready.  So far our longest ride is just over 30 miles, but I am told by local cyclist that if I can go 30, I can go 60.  Let’s hope they are right!

I am sure to those of you who don’t bike, biking 60 miles for a farmer’s market and Indian food probably sounds a little crazy.  And, if I am being honest, it sounds a little crazy to me as well.  However,  I think it will also be a lot of fun and will give us an amazing sense of accomplishment.  We really enjoy riding the tandem and pushing ourselves to ride just a little further or just a little faster.  I am also especially looking forward to making the trip with a group of friends.  I am sure Matt and I COULD have done it alone, but it will be so much more fun to share the experience with other local cyclists. Plus all the other riders have been on long rides like this, so they know the best routes and are great for moral and mechanical support if needed.

Matt are participating in a Bicycle Indiana commuter challenge and this trip has the added incentive of giving our team a big boost in the standings.  There are 5 of us making the trip and all 5 of us have been participating in the challenge.  That means 300 miles and 10 trips added to our teams total.  AWESOME!

All in all, I think it will be an awesome and hard experience all at once.  I will be sure to take lots of photos from my seat on the back of the tandem.

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The first incident involved  Lierre Keith’s author of “The Vegetarian Myth”.  So-called militant vegans attacked her at a recent speaking engagement and threw pies filled with cayenne pepper in her face.  A video of the pieing can be seen here on YouTube.  The second incident took place right here in Indiana, when a knife wielding vegetarian destroyed and contaminated packages of meat in a grocery store.  Police had to be called because the man threatened employees at the store with the knife when they attempted to stop him.  According to the article, his reasoning for the attack was “to save little girls from food he believes would make them chubby.”

Now I understand wholeheartedly that people have different view points on food in our country and all over the world.  What I don’t understand is how anyone can justify physical violence against another person simply because they have different opinions on food OR what they hope to accomplish with this violence.

In my opinion, trying to convince other people to join a cause or change their habits through violence, coercion, or scare tactics isn’t likely to garner many converts.  Instead, it is likely to create resentment and fear. Fear of a particular type of  individuals instead of an informed concern that causes people to evaluate their lives and make a change. Not to mention the fact that it is plain wrong to be violent towards another individual just because you don’t like what they are doing or saying!

There are plenty of other much more effective ways to get a point across and inform people!  I personally have a large number of friends who are either vegetarian or only eat locally grown or produced food, and at first I disagreed with their life choice. However, through open dialog, education, and living in community, while I still don’t chose to be a vegetarian, I respect and appreciate their choice.  Because we did not attack each other based on different life choices either verbally or physically, there was an opportunity for communication and education that has lead to new understandings, big changes in eating habits on my part, and a greater concern for food issues as a whole.  This could have never been accomplished through violence.

Food, specifically the consumption of meat, is a very hot button issue right now in our society.  There are very impassioned people on both sides of the discussion who believe strongly that the solution to our world’s ecological and health care woes could be solved by changing our relationship to meat, either by consuming less, consuming none, or in some cases making no changes at all.  These differences in opinions lead to strong feelings, resentment, and unfortunate violence.

But I ask, what are we accomplishing through the violence?  What could we accomplish if we worked together and engaged in honest and open conversations instead of name calling and pie throwing?

Images of food provided by Matt McKimmy

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So here is where I need your help…  I will post photos of both options below ,and it would be very helpful if you could give me your honest opinion on which frame is the best.

Option 1:
These are rimless glasses with a very striking arm and are quite stylish.  I like them but am unsure if I am “hip” enough to pull them off. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Option 2:
These are similar to my current frames but have some really great details (rhinestones, tortoise shell, and purple insides) that make them fun. Click on the image to see a larger version

So comment here, on facebook, or on twitter and let me know which set you like the best. Once I get the new frames, I will post a photo to let everyone know which set I picked.

Remember to be honest!!

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The events begin Friday afternoon and run through Sunday, and free parking will be provided downtown and at Earlham College with shuttle service.  Activities include but are not limited to:

• Karaoke
• Free showing of Gene Autry’s film “South of the Border”
• Free pony rides
• Art & Music Festival downtown, including book sellers row, great food, arts & crafts, and booths from local artisans including Unwind Yarn Shop
• Free Rock concert downtown featuring Soul Marrow Transplant
• Heritage festival at the Wayne County Historical Museum
• Tours of the Gennett Mansion
• Walk of Fame induction ceremony
• Community Orchestra concert
• Cope Environmental Center Fall Gala
• and much much more.

For a full schedule of events visit the Waynet website or download the pdf from Richmond Fall Festival.com

It promises to be a great weekend and Matt and I will definitely attend.

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So, this morning we set out for the post office and received a small nondescript package postmarked Shanghai, China.  Still stumped!  So we ripped it open as we were walking to the car, and it turned out to be a Saxo Bank bicycling jersey and padded shorts in sizes medium and small respectively, with no note or invoice. Even more stumped.

Neither of us ordered these items and quite honestly both of us are bicycle commuters who have little to no use for such clothing.  We immediately called any of our family and friends who could have possibly sent the items to us, and no one has any idea where they might have come from.

Seeing that we had the mystery clothes, we of course each tried them on hoping that it might at least clear up who they were meant for.  The small shorts were far too small on me but seemed to fit Matt fine, while the medium top fit both of us. Further stumped!

To make matters even more confusing, these are NOT cheap bicycling clothes.  Matt did a quick google search, and they were $80 a piece.  He did, however, find sets on ebay (sold in China) for much less that are most likely knock offs.

So, we are left wondering, where did these clothes come from, who were they intended for, are they the real deal or knock offs, and what on earth should we do with them.

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To my surprise, there was actually a great variety of food. Everything from the obligatory salad and berries to roasted pork and corn muffins.  It was all very tasty and reasonably easy to find if you know where to look.  Because Richmond is home to numerous farmers markets, the Clear Creek Food Co-Op, an Amish store, a community farm, and multiple orchards, there were lots of options for people looking for local food within a reasonable driving distance.

There are similar potlucks planned for the near future, and I would definitely like to attend again. Matt and I made squash & zucchini patties with squash & zucchini we bought at the local farmers market, but it would be fun to bring something we grew ourselves once our garden starts producing.

Chris Hardie created a video of the event.  Check it out and look for my cameo

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