>Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#177)…and something a little scary

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A plastic crate containing 14 vegetable plants.
Six cement paving stones weighing 22lbs each.

It’s amazing that when you have 132lbs (60kg) of cement blocks on your bike you tend to notice even the slightest grade in the road.

Now on to the scary part, and no it has nothing to do with what I was carrying on my bike…it has more to do with where I went:

Yesterday I rode my bike into to the deep commercial suburbs.

It’s interesting that when I ride in the city–where passing cars are close–I tend to ride in the road without fear. But in the suburbs I found myself riding on the sidewalk (pavements, for my friends in the U.K.)…and even then it was like a death game. At every entrance to a mall or other big box store I had to thoroughly check for traffic in all directions (and not in the normal intersection-type check, because these cars were flying), but mostly I yielded to cars that should have given me the right-of-way. On no fewer than 3 occasions did someone cut me off at an entrance to a parking lot…one was so close, in fact, that it prompted a passing truck driver to honk their horn at the violating driver. I truly believe if I would have riden in the road (pictured below) instead of on the sidewalk I wouldn’t be here typing these words today. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt such a blatant disregard for me as a bicyclist as I did yesterday…it was as if I were invisible. While I was only about 15 miles from my house I may as well have pedaled to Mars.

It felt good, to say the least, when I returned to my familiar turf and had young hep-cat fixies zipping past me on their sparsely adorned but brightly colored bikes.

Urban Simplicity.

Front Yard Vegetable Garden

The front yard victory garden is planted…ah the anticipation.

For resources (and inspiration mostly) on turning your front yard into a vegetable garden click here and here.

To see pictures of my front yard vegetable gardens from previous years click here, here, here, here, and here.

Urban Simplicity.

Oh The Irony (continued)…

Well, first off there is nothing really ironic about this post…I know that much (unless posting about gas mileage on a blog about simplicity counts). This is actually a continuation of a previous post. It was prompted by a comment left by a reader from the E.U. Thus, it’s more of a response (to myself, mostly) than a continuation.

In the previous post I had mentioned a dream I had where I said I drove my truck 10,000 miles a year, which is a large amount of driving by any standards. Where I got this arbitrary number your guess is as good as mine. But this did prompt a comment from a reader to ask how I consider myself car lite at that mileage. Initially I answered that in reality I only drove 3600-4800 miles a year (another guess). In truth, I have (or at least had) no idea how many miles I drove my truck last year. What I did know is that those numbers–even 3600–is too high for me. Why would I own 5 bikes and still drive that much, I thought (much less write about it all the time)? My first reaction to the comment annoyed me (built in ego self-defense mechanism), but then it made me think (and think)…and I like to think about things. Thank you for prompting this blighty rider.

Anyhow, this is what I came up with. I’ve owned the truck for about 13 months, and according to the vehicle’s title there were 115,456 miles on it when I purchase it. As of today there are 118,117 miles registered, which means in the last 13 months I’ve driven it 2661 miles. This, to me, is good news and bad.

It’s good news because according to the U.S. Department of Transportation the “average American” drives 16,550 miles a year (click here to see statistics). This is nearly seven times the amount I drove last year, but I’m not bragging because in my view it is still too much (I’ve always been hardest on myself). If, though, I take into consideration a road trip last summer down state (700 miles round trip) and two trips to Toronto (totaling 400 miles) this drops my day-to-day driving down to about 1400 miles for the year (12 months, not 13). Not bad…but I’ve still got work to do (road trips are still driving). We all do, I suppose.

Urban Simplicity.

>Oh The Irony (continued)…

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Well, first off there is nothing really ironic about this post…I know that much (unless posting about gas mileage on a blog about simplicity counts). This is actually a continuation of a previous post. It was prompted by a comment left by a reader from the E.U. Thus, it’s more of a response (to myself, mostly) than a continuation.

In the previous post I had mentioned a dream I had where I said I drove my truck 10,000 miles a year, which is a large amount of driving by any standards. Where I got this arbitrary number your guess is as good as mine. But this did prompt a comment from a reader to ask how I consider myself car lite at that mileage. Initially I answered that in reality I only drove 3600-4800 miles a year (another guess). In truth, I have (or at least had) no idea how many miles I drove my truck last year. What I did know is that those numbers–even 3600–is too high for me. Why would I own 5 bikes and still drive that much, I thought (much less write about it all the time)? My first reaction to the comment annoyed me (built in ego self-defense mechanism), but then it made me think (and think)…and I like to think about things. Thank you for prompting this blighty rider.

Anyhow, this is what I came up with. I’ve owned the truck for about 13 months, and according to the vehicle’s title there were 115,456 miles on it when I purchase it. As of today there are 118,117 miles registered, which means in the last 13 months I’ve driven it 2661 miles. This, to me, is good news and bad.

It’s good news because according to the U.S. Department of Transportation the “average American” drives 16,550 miles a year (click here to see statistics). This is nearly seven times the amount I drove last year, but I’m not bragging because in my view it is still too much (I’ve always been hardest on myself). If, though, I take into consideration a road trip last summer down state (700 miles round trip) and two trips to Toronto (totaling 400 miles) this drops my day-to-day driving down to about 1400 miles for the year (12 months, not 13). Not bad…but I’ve still got work to do (road trips are still driving). We all do, I suppose.

Urban Simplicity.

Oh The Irony…

As I’ve stated many times in previous posts I am not even close to being car-free (OK, maybe I am close, but I still own a truck) but I would call myself–what Katie Alvord refers to in her excellent book, Divorce Your Car–as “Car-Lite.” I own a motorized vehicle but I don’t use it that often…this time of year I often only start it to “drive” it from one side of the street to the other when the parking dates change. And sometimes I wonder why I do (but then a -5F day in Jauary reminds me). At any rate, whether I drive it or not this thing costs money, a lot of money.

I beleive car ownership is like a lesser version of a house (indeed, many car payments today are as much as a monthly mortgage payment)…if you buy it new it costs a lot on a monthly basis, and if you buy an older model (or a fixer-upper house) you’re constantly putting money into it. And as I refuse (yes refuse) to have a monthly car payment. I tend to purchase older cars/trucks (and use them until they are virtually un-drivable). The drawback is inspection time…today was no different: to have my truck pass inspection it cost me $434.

Click here and here to see a couple examples of the true cost of owning a car.

Now here’s the irony.

I drove my truck to the shop before work, which is only about a mile away. To facilitate my transport to-and-from work I carried “the mule” in the back. This is a bike (an old Trek) that cost me $40 at a flea market, plus about another $100 in upgrades. I was feeling stressed about my workday ahead and about taking my truck in for inspection. But when I hopped on the bike I felt good…and that truly embodies the real reason that I ride.

Sure I ride bikes because it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling that I’m “doing my part,” and I’m able to feel all rightous at the yuppie coffee shop or food co-op. But the real reason that I often choose to ride bikes (or walk) instead of driving my vehicle is because I enjoy it…it truly makes me feel free. Everything else is simply a byproduct.

Lastly, here’s a quick dream I had last night (honestly):

First I have to preface it by saying that prior to the eleven-year-old truck I currently own (for the past year) I owned another of the same model that was nearly seventeen-years-old. My auto mechanics, to say the least, know me by name.

Anyhow, as I slept last night I had a dream where the head mechanic said to me (lectured me?), “you know, Joe, the last truck you had you only drove it about 3500 miles a year (I drove more than that), but this newer model you drive about 10,000 miles a year (more accurate)…don’t you think you should slow down a little?”

…Hmmm.

I truly believe that dreams are a powerful window into the subconscious (totally uninhibited thought) and I often try to analyze them. In this case I believe I am chagrined over spending money on a vehicle that I don’t use that frequently, and also thinking I should phase it out even more.

I’m not sure if irony is exactly to correct word to use (I never really know if I’m using this word correctly, but I know there’s another metaphor in there somewhere that I’m not ready to address…

Urban Simplicity.

>Oh The Irony…

>

As I’ve stated many times in previous posts I am not even close to being car-free (OK, maybe I am close, but I still own a truck) but I would call myself–what Katie Alvord refers to in her excellent book, Divorce Your Car–as “Car-Lite.” I own a motorized vehicle but I don’t use it that often…this time of year I often only start it to “drive” it from one side of the street to the other when the parking dates change. And sometimes I wonder why I do (but then a -5F day in Jauary reminds me). At any rate, whether I drive it or not this thing costs money, a lot of money.

I beleive car ownership is like a lesser version of a house (indeed, many car payments today are as much as a monthly mortgage payment)…if you buy it new it costs a lot on a monthly basis, and if you buy an older model (or a fixer-upper house) you’re constantly putting money into it. And as I refuse (yes refuse) to have a monthly car payment. I tend to purchase older cars/trucks (and use them until they are virtually un-drivable). The drawback is inspection time…today was no different: to have my truck pass inspection it cost me $434.

Click here and here to see a couple examples of the true cost of owning a car.

Now here’s the irony.

I drove my truck to the shop before work, which is only about a mile away. To facilitate my transport to-and-from work I carried “the mule” in the back. This is a bike (an old Trek) that cost me $40 at a flea market, plus about another $100 in upgrades. I was feeling stressed about my workday ahead and about taking my truck in for inspection. But when I hopped on the bike I felt good…and that truly embodies the real reason that I ride.

Sure I ride bikes because it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling that I’m “doing my part,” and I’m able to feel all rightous at the yuppie coffee shop or food co-op. But the real reason that I often choose to ride bikes (or walk) instead of driving my vehicle is because I enjoy it…it truly makes me feel free. Everything else is simply a byproduct.

Lastly, here’s a quick dream I had last night (honestly):

First I have to preface it by saying that prior to the eleven-year-old truck I currently own (for the past year) I owned another of the same model that was nearly seventeen-years-old. My auto mechanics, to say the least, know me by name.

Anyhow, as I slept last night I had a dream where the head mechanic said to me (lectured me?), “you know, Joe, the last truck you had you only drove it about 3500 miles a year (I drove more than that), but this newer model you drive about 10,000 miles a year (more accurate)…don’t you think you should slow down a little?”

…Hmmm.

I truly believe that dreams are a powerful window into the subconscious (totally uninhibited thought) and I often try to analyze them. In this case I believe I am chagrined over spending money on a vehicle that I don’t use that frequently, and also thinking I should phase it out even more.

I’m not sure if irony is exactly to correct word to use (I never really know if I’m using this word correctly, but I know there’s another metaphor in there somewhere that I’m not ready to address…

Urban Simplicity.

Jason the High Rider (and bike builder)

I’ve been meaning to post these pictures for about a week. They’re of a fellow biker that I seem to run into somewhat frequently. I posted about him previously on this blog (click here) when I was walking one winter night and saw him and a friend riding tall bikes. I also mad reference to him in a Buffalo Spree article (click here). He not only builds these crazy bikes, he rides them too. And I thought I was bike-eccentric riding a bike that’s 7 feet long…his tall bike is probably seven feet tall.

Anyhow, I was on my way home from the Bike Blessing a week or so ago and had my camera on me when I saw him and a friend pedaling this crazy side-by-side tandem down Elmwood Avenue. This thing is so loaded with gadgets it seems almost sarcastic…as if it is a parody of a car or something.  Here’s a few photos: A hand crank telephone complete with old-fashioned ringer, a fully functioning retro CB radio, a rear LED flashing sign (that said “Your Ad Here” and functioning turn signals, and best of all was the battery operated air pump (which he turned on and asked I needed air in my tires).

This is too cool. Thanks Jason…ride on (and keep building)!

To visit his blog, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

>Jason the High Rider (and bike builder)

>

I’ve been meaning to post these pictures for about a week. They’re of a fellow biker that I seem to run into somewhat frequently. I posted about him previously on this blog (click here) when I was walking one winter night and saw him and a friend riding tall bikes. I also mad reference to him in a Buffalo Spree article (click here). He not only builds these crazy bikes, he rides them too. And I thought I was bike-eccentric riding a bike that’s 7 feet long…his tall bike is probably seven feet tall.

Anyhow, I was on my way home from the Bike Blessing a week or so ago and had my camera on me when I saw him and a friend pedaling this crazy side-by-side tandem down Elmwood Avenue. This thing is so loaded with gadgets it seems almost sarcastic…as if it is a parody of a car or something.  Here’s a few photos: A hand crank telephone complete with old-fashioned ringer, a fully functioning retro CB radio, a rear LED flashing sign (that said “Your Ad Here” and functioning turn signals, and best of all was the battery operated air pump (which he turned on and asked I needed air in my tires).

This is too cool. Thanks Jason…ride on (and keep building)!

To visit his blog, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine

OK, I have a couple confessions. One is that the title of this post is borrowed from a book by the same name (click here). It was written by the late British cookery writer, Elizabeth David, who greatly influenced not only the way I cook but also the way I write about food. And while I did have for dinner what the title of this post suggests, the other confession is that I didn’t have a glass of wine, I had multiple. I like wine.

Anyhow, after spending the day in a sweltering kitchen I was in my teeny front yard garden watering newly plated vegetables and wondering what to make for dinner. After almost tripping over a giant Swiss chard plant that grew back from last year (pictured above) I thought…duh…do I need to get hit over the head with this to eat it. My son was at his mom’s house and I was home alone and wanted something simple (which I often do), but also something nourishing and good. So I opted for a Swiss chard omelette.

What’s better is that an omelette is something that I was able to cook on my new outdoor propane stove (and yes, I did carry the stove home on my bike, click here to see it). The kitchen in my 150-year-old house is very small, and in the summer months even having just one or two burners on can turn it into a sauna. And being a cook by trade the last thing I want to do is go from a big hot kitchen at work to a small hot kitchen at home (do auto mechanics come home and work on their own cars, I wonder?). This said, this new outdoor stove is the first piece of equipment in an effort to creat a sort of outdoor cooking space for the hot months.

The omelette itself is really simple, just a variation on a theme and really more of a fritatta. The thing is with this recipe is that I blanched the Swiss chard before chopping it and mixed it with eggs (along with garlic, sea salt, and dried chilies). I also sauteed a sliced onion, which becomes embedded in the eggs as they cook. With the high ratio of Swiss chard-to-eggs, this is not only a hearty meal but also a delicious one…the combination of eggs, cheese, garlic, onion and hot pepper combined with the slight bitterness of the chard is a memory that makes my mouth salivate as I type these words. After flipping it I sprinkled a little cheddar on it and toasted a couple slices of Ezekiel bread…then I poured another glass of wine.

Here it is in pictures.

Urban Simplicity.

>An Omelette and a Glass of Wine

>

OK, I have a couple confessions. One is that the title of this post is borrowed from a book by the same name (click here). It was written by the late British cookery writer, Elizabeth David, who greatly influenced not only the way I cook but also the way I write about food. And while I did have for dinner what the title of this post suggests, the other confession is that I didn’t have a glass of wine, I had multiple. I like wine.

Anyhow, after spending the day in a sweltering kitchen I was in my teeny front yard garden watering newly plated vegetables and wondering what to make for dinner. After almost tripping over a giant Swiss chard plant that grew back from last year (pictured above) I thought…duh…do I need to get hit over the head with this to eat it. My son was at his mom’s house and I was home alone and wanted something simple (which I often do), but also something nourishing and good. So I opted for a Swiss chard omelette.

What’s better is that an omelette is something that I was able to cook on my new outdoor propane stove (and yes, I did carry the stove home on my bike, click here to see it). The kitchen in my 150-year-old house is very small, and in the summer months even having just one or two burners on can turn it into a sauna. And being a cook by trade the last thing I want to do is go from a big hot kitchen at work to a small hot kitchen at home (do auto mechanics come home and work on their own cars, I wonder?). This said, this new outdoor stove is the first piece of equipment in an effort to creat a sort of outdoor cooking space for the hot months.

The omelette itself is really simple, just a variation on a theme and really more of a fritatta. The thing is with this recipe is that I blanched the Swiss chard before chopping it and mixed it with eggs (along with garlic, sea salt, and dried chilies). I also sauteed a sliced onion, which becomes embedded in the eggs as they cook. With the high ratio of Swiss chard-to-eggs, this is not only a hearty meal but also a delicious one…the combination of eggs, cheese, garlic, onion and hot pepper combined with the slight bitterness of the chard is a memory that makes my mouth salivate as I type these words. After flipping it I sprinkled a little cheddar on it and toasted a couple slices of Ezekiel bread…then I poured another glass of wine.

Here it is in pictures.

Urban Simplicity.

Ezekiel Bread (#3)

Ezekiel bread is by far one of my favorite breads to make and to eat…It’s also apparently one of the most common reasons people visit this blog. With the umbrella name of Urban Simplicity, I focus on three things mainly (with many random tangents)…food/cooking, spirituality, and biking, lots on biking because I enjoy it (including Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike). But on any given day 20-30% of the hits this blog receives are for Ezekiel bread.

Interesting.

All I can think is that there are so many crappy (and misunderstood) recipes and methods out there for this bread that when people find a good one they spread the word. But then again, maybe not.

Anyhow, the following is mainly pictures of a recent and delicious batch of this bread. For previous posts, complete with recipes, additional information on the bread, and more pictures, click here and here.

As with any recipe that I publish I like to tell people that these are mere suggestions not blueprints…thus my recipes often change from one time to the next (this is why the two recipes listed in previous posts vary). What’s different about this recipe (I guess I’m always seeking improvement) is that I increased the amount of beans and grains by about 10 percent, and in addition to 1/3 of the total flour content being organic whole wheat spelt flour, I also incorporated whole spelt berries.

And this is also pretty common knowledge, but I thought I’d share this as well…the Bible passage from which this recipe is derived:

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself.”
—Ezekiel 4:9 (NIV)

Because of the extreme vagueness of the above passage it’s easy to see why there are so many extreme variations on this recipe…this happens to be how I like to make it and other people seem to like it too. And I guess that’s all that really matters.

Anyhow, if you’re into baking I suggest this bread…It’s easier to make that it may appear, it’s light, and it’s super nutritious. And just to reiterate, recipes and additional info can be found here and here.

Urban Simplicity.