I do not enjoy
Not knowing where my stuff is
Fanny Pack Come Back!

Encapsulate ears
Capture the warmth of my breath
Sweet balaclavas!

(I was wearing two.)

http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/11/nyt-ethicist-ra.html – the “ethics of transportation.”

The last minute or two are the ones I like the best; I think the message is, alas, simply as foreign to most folks as oh, the Chicago winter bike snippet was last night to teh Weather Channel staff… but at least the voices are getting out there. It didn’t actively inspire me until it showed snippets of New York in a snowstorm and the way people come out and actually talk to each other and interact, etc… and proposed the idea that hey, that could be NORMAL.
Thus, not a novelty-caused camaraderie… a natural state of cohesiveness; simply a much higher daily level of solidarity and the happiness that accompanies that. Let’s face it, the Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted longer than a snowstorm. Hmmm… we do get compassion fatigue – but that’s the ‘chipping in for people who are far away and suffering.” Is the secret to combatting compassion fatigue getting more psychological (tho’ I definitely think there are hormones involved) reward by being actually involved… in a way that’s integrated into life instead of sucking away from it (and therefore, perhaps, separating compassion from our “real lives.”)

Breathing tip for balaclavas – make a small exit hole and blow out through your mouth to keep all that warmth from building up and getting nasty Ed Kieser says it’s 23; 21 at Willard; my bicycle thermometer says 17 (it says 29 when it’s above freezing, too, so I’m inclined to believe the more official measures). Went to three layers (wickers, sweats and goretex) and it was peachy. Short one cannondale glove so I didn’t layer but that was fine, too, especially since the furnace kicked in at 5:55, before the fingers got cold.
Two or three other cycles out there.

Saw my very own (BEfore I donated to the bike coop) virulent orange Cannondale back rack, with its tell-tale red Rube GOldberg made-by-Clyde “fender” (My high-mileage, high-knowledge frugal friend took scissors to an old plastic oil container (as in the quart kind… why don’t we have a term for it?) and bolted it to the back of the thing so that it sticks out a few inches which was necessary today. I didn’t see whether or not the bike had other fenders (I just gave the rack, not on a bike – it was on the red bike that went Xtra).
Had the weather channel on with the sound down, looked up adn thought “oh, one of those little side stories… what a funky lookin’ guy… oh, wait, those are *bicycle wheels* in the background… and found the remote and got it rolling… and apparently it was a Chicago bike place (shop?) extolling the virtues of cold weather cycling THose folks in Atlanta had some technical questions and said stuff like “well, that’s what they *say…*” (and Jim Cantore wanted the guy’s weird glasses).
Now to go long my 21.2 miels for the day…

the quest for 10,000

This is a purely pragmatic verbal exercise. Time permitting, I shall log my last weeks’ inchings towards a yearly total mileage of 10,000.

There is nothing magical or worthwhile about 10,000 miles. In fact, should hte pursuit conflict with something, that goal will be the first to go. The More IMportant Goals are to stay fit and promote cycling and maybe catch up to Howard, though I can always say “I didn’t want to further damage his frail male psyche” . He’s about 340 miles ahead right now

Analysis: 981 miles to go. Okay, I”ve already done 12 of those today and the commute home will be 7 more. I should have it down under 940 by the first of the month.

Psychological strategy: “stay ahead” (psychologically speaking). For a 1000 mile month, I have to average 331/3 miles a day for 30 days. So! I’m a day ahead even if I haven’t ridden at all… and with an extra sixty I’m almost three days “ahead.” And hey, it’s a five-weekend month. The fact that it’s supposed to be pouring all day Sunday doesn’t matter ’cause I’ll be at the LIB meeting. So I’ll have to make up for it Saturday (when it’ll be 18 degrees)

Seen from blocks behind
What’s That Attention Grabber ?!?
Blinking helmet light.

Got another testiimonial last night from MS. Landreth, who descrbed seeing something bright and blinking “*blocks* ahead of us!” and then getting closer and seeing it was me. I’d say “everybody go get one,” but:

Will this be just more
glaring visual assault
if novelty ends?

Yesterday I waxed non-vehicular in a moment of opportunistic exploitation of empty pavem3ent. Raining and 33 degrees, the construction crews were absent from Bradley Ave. It’s almost completely paved now. Just cones separate it from the traffic bearing lanes, so rather than cross and use the sidewalk I cruised on down … and was grateful I’d doen the exploration ’cause it was *nice* to do it on the night ride back, where I was making a right at the end with no competition instead of negotiating across the cones and traffic from a sidewalk disadvantage point.
The backhoes and what have you were back today.
The kirby overpass grand opening has been delayed “due to weather.” Snork. December 6 is not to be… what a surprise – there might be days where it isn’t above 40 and dry in NOvember and December! It’s not as if we had an inclement summer.
Saw 12 or 13 bicycles on the way in today (unlike yesterday where I saw none), including a 7500FX with fenders *and* aerobars and a soul in shorts.
I prob’ly woulnd’t have been *cold* in shorts… but my skin dessicates to ash in a heartbeat. I *like* layers. The Wickers are great – like unto perhaps three layers in one! It was tights, wickers, and the flimsiest holy sweats (on the grounds that I dind’t want my outmost layer to be “underwear”) on the bottom, wickers and sweats and one jacket on top and the jacket wasn’t fastened.
Now I gotta go change that stuff into something less homeless-looking ’cause I”m at work

Shortest ride of my consecutive-days on Wednesday, because I only went to the Annex to park the bike and got a ride out to the rental place. Then I stopped at Schnuck’s for provisions and it had switched from drizzle to drench, so I was damp just from the walk in. “You’re not on a bike, are you?”
“I’ve rented a car, to ride to Maryland.”
Regarding this interchange: Yes, I was wearing my gore-tex bicycle rain gear (jacket and bib pants), with reflective yellow ankle strap, but she still needed to “speak bicycle” to recognize that… it’s progress when the lifestyle’s recognizable (Now, whether she realized that what I said meant that I *would* have been on the bike if it weren’t a special occasion…)
Time to shop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Are you saying THANKs giving or thanks GIV ing? (Or are you a person who doesn’t hear the accents?)

Tuesday I’ll be singing in our concert at the church on the corner of SPringfield and Wright (Something Disciples… no, that’s *not* the exact name… but that’s an intriguing thought ) – so go there ’cause we start at 7:00, after you’ve gone to Champaign City Hall. Can Champaign figure out that ‘paying it forward’ is a good idea for transportatin and planning? Let’s add our voices, SATB or otherwise (that’ll be me, the bisectional one, sneaking back and forth between alto and soprano…)

You are invited to attend an Open House on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Champaign City Hall, 102 North Neil Street.

The City of Champaign has concluded the process to create the City’s new Transportation Master Plan. At the Open House the public can learn and provide input on the draft plan. Immediately following, the plan will be presented to City Council at a Study Session meeting.

“Champaign Moving Forward” is the Transportation Master Plan for the City of Champaign and its projected growth area. “Champaign Moving Forward” will become an element of the Comprehensive Plan and will replace the existing Transportation Plan developed in 1992. The Plan creates a vision for a multi-modal transportation system that helps achieve the City’s goals of sustainable growth. The Plan answers questions such as,

● What transportation improvements are needed to serve the future growth of Champaign?
● What are the options for funding needed transportation improvements?

Recent growth in the City of Champaign has created a need for several improvements in the transportation system. As the City continues to grow, the City’s transportation needs grow as well. Additionally, the rising costs of energy are causing residents to question how they can more economically travel throughout the community.

“Champaign Moving Forward” calls for a balanced transportation system that offers choices for travel. The plan recommends policies and actions for the City to consider for successful implementation. The transportation choices we make today will affect not only where we live, work, and play, but our community’s health, economic vitality, quality of life and affordability.

The draft plan can be reviewed in its entirety at www.ChampaignMovingForward.com. Materials that will be presented at the open house will also be posted on the website and visitors are able to leave comments for Staff electronically as well.

For additional information on the Transportation Master Plan and the Open House on November 27, please contact Rob Kowalski, Assistant Planning Director at 403-8800 or rob.kowalski@ci.champaign.il.us.