>Multiple Seats (and pedals) Make Sense

>It seems like I’ve been seeing a lot of tandems around town lately. Here’s a photo of a beautiful Raleigh that was parked just down the street from my house.

I own a tandem but unfortunately it has been in my basement for a couple of years. I used to use it to transport my son before he was a teenager…now, of course, he won’t be seen on it. Everyone in a while when I’m in my basement and I see it I think about selling it but I can’t bring myself to it. Before I owned the Yuba I had the notion to turn it into a cargo bike. Anyhow, here’s a photo of him with our tandem when we rode a few miles along the Erie Canal about 4 years ago.

Here’s a few other photos I found interesting.

Curried Fish Chowder

This is so easy to make…healthy and delicious, too. Variations are up to the cook. Here’s how to make it.

Dice the ingredients.

Saute the the vegetables.

Add curry powder and curry paste. Saute a little longer.

Add diced fish (I used tilapia) and clam juice or fish broth.

Peel and dice potatoes, then add them to the pot.

Bring the liquid to a boil, season it with salt and pepper, and skim any scum that rise to the surface. Simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender.

Using a wire whisk, mash the potatoes and fish (or puree the soup smooth if you’d like), then bring back to a simmer.

Serve while hot or refrigerate until the next day.

>Curried Fish Chowder

>This is so easy to make…healthy and delicious, too. Variations are up to the cook. Here’s how to make it.

Dice the ingredients.

Saute the the vegetables.

Add curry powder and curry paste. Saute a little longer.

Add diced fish (I used tilapia) and clam juice or fish broth.

Peel and dice potatoes, then add them to the pot.

Bring the liquid to a boil, season it with salt and pepper, and skim any scum that rise to the surface. Simmer the soup until the potatoes are tender.

Using a wire whisk, mash the potatoes and fish (or puree the soup smooth if you’d like), then bring back to a simmer.

Serve while hot or refrigerate until the next day.

The Helmet Question (and my decision)

This post is making reference to one I posed about a week ago (or so) regarding the question (my own personal dilemma really) as to whether I should start wearing a helmet again, and what others thought about it. To read the original post click here, and follow ups were posted here and here.

First of all I would like to thank all who commented and/or voted on the poll…the comments were insightful and really made me think and question the subject). The poll actually surprised me…I expected most people to say that they never wore a helmet (seems like I see more helmet-less riders than those who wear them) but the results were actually to the contrary. 16 voted that they always wore a helmet, 10 said they never did, and 7 said they sometimes did.

Anyhow, after much deliberation I’ve decided once again to be a hard head of sorts and wear a helmet…not sometimes but always…just as I did for years prior to this past summer. I totally respect the people’s opinions that are opposed to wearing helmets. I also agree that there is not much evidence supporting the fact that helmets saves a person from serious injury. I doubt, for example, that a helmet will save me if I am ever broadsided by a car, and in the 30-some years I’ve been a cyclist I’ve only had one fall that could qualify as a “close call” (more on that in a bit). But the bottom line is that wearing a helmet makes me feel safer…and I don’t think this is an unrealistic approach. My problem is, as much as I trash the car drivers who do stupid things I do as many stupid things on a bike that put me in harms way. And I am almost 100% an urban cyclist…there are cars, potholes, and other obstacles in front of me every time I take that first push on the pedal. And the biggest reason is that I have a teenage son who I love very much…the bottom line is that I want to be there for him (in my full capacity) as he grows into a man.

I guess one of the main things that shook me, and the thing that made me post the original question was something I witnessed about a month ago. I was on the Yuba on my way the the health club and was approaching a busy intersection when I saw traffic was at a standstill and that there were flashing lights ahead. Thinking it was a fender-bender I was feeling pretty cool as I coasted through traffic while people were at a standstill in there cars. When I got to the intersection I could see that the chaos was because a young woman had been hit by a car…she was not wearing a helmet. She was on a gurney with a neck brace and braces on her legs. She had her hands on her head and was (literally) screaming in pain. Again, I don’t know if a helmet would have helped this young women (and I pray that she is ok) but the scene really shook me.

I also feel I have been spared a few times in my life from serious lasting head injury…two of them I’ll briefly share here. The first happened when I was a child (10 years old) and fell off a swing set and landed on the pavement…breaking my arm and fracturing my skull…I could have died, but I survived. Another time, about 15 years ago I was on my way to work and had a bag of red lentils on my rear rack. I was flying down a small incline (I used to pedal fast…all of the time) when a van made a turn directly in front of me. As I slammed on the breaks I stupidly turned to see if the lentils were falling off the bike (can you believe I actually did that) and in the process my front wheel turned…and literally hurled me over the bike. I didn’t have time enough to put my hands out and landed on my side (knocking the wind out of me) and on a second bounce (I think) I hit my head (I was wearing a helmet). I landed directly in front of a bus stop, and as I lay there gasping for air a mother and young daughter came to my aid…the van kept going. Turns out my only injury (determined after x-rays) was bruised ribs.

So the question still remains, I suppose…will a helmet save me (or any of us) from serious injury if I get hit or fall hard…doubtful, but who knows. There is though, that small chance that it may help in a minor fall or head-bump that may otherwise be a serious one. And that’s not a chance I want to wager. While this past summer it did, I have to admit, feel freeing riding helmet-less, I also have to admit it does make me feel a little bit safer riding in an urban environment when I have one on…and that to me is reason enough to wear one.

The bottom line, I think, is that whether you wear a helmet or not is to ride and ride daily…to use your riding as a living example that it is possible to get around (mostly) without a car.

Thanks again to all those who voted and commented.

>The Helmet Question (and my decision)

>This post is making reference to one I posed about a week ago (or so) regarding the question (my own personal dilemma really) as to whether I should start wearing a helmet again, and what others thought about it. To read the original post click here, and follow ups were posted here and here.

First of all I would like to thank all who commented and/or voted on the poll…the comments were insightful and really made me think and question the subject). The poll actually surprised me…I expected most people to say that they never wore a helmet (seems like I see more helmet-less riders than those who wear them) but the results were actually to the contrary. 16 voted that they always wore a helmet, 10 said they never did, and 7 said they sometimes did.

Anyhow, after much deliberation I’ve decided once again to be a hard head of sorts and wear a helmet…not sometimes but always…just as I did for years prior to this past summer. I totally respect the people’s opinions that are opposed to wearing helmets. I also agree that there is not much evidence supporting the fact that helmets saves a person from serious injury. I doubt, for example, that a helmet will save me if I am ever broadsided by a car, and in the 30-some years I’ve been a cyclist I’ve only had one fall that could qualify as a “close call” (more on that in a bit). But the bottom line is that wearing a helmet makes me feel safer…and I don’t think this is an unrealistic approach. My problem is, as much as I trash the car drivers who do stupid things I do as many stupid things on a bike that put me in harms way. And I am almost 100% an urban cyclist…there are cars, potholes, and other obstacles in front of me every time I take that first push on the pedal. And the biggest reason is that I have a teenage son who I love very much…the bottom line is that I want to be there for him (in my full capacity) as he grows into a man.

I guess one of the main things that shook me, and the thing that made me post the original question was something I witnessed about a month ago. I was on the Yuba on my way the the health club and was approaching a busy intersection when I saw traffic was at a standstill and that there were flashing lights ahead. Thinking it was a fender-bender I was feeling pretty cool as I coasted through traffic while people were at a standstill in there cars. When I got to the intersection I could see that the chaos was because a young woman had been hit by a car…she was not wearing a helmet. She was on a gurney with a neck brace and braces on her legs. She had her hands on her head and was (literally) screaming in pain. Again, I don’t know if a helmet would have helped this young women (and I pray that she is ok) but the scene really shook me.

I also feel I have been spared a few times in my life from serious lasting head injury…two of them I’ll briefly share here. The first happened when I was a child (10 years old) and fell off a swing set and landed on the pavement…breaking my arm and fracturing my skull…I could have died, but I survived. Another time, about 15 years ago I was on my way to work and had a bag of red lentils on my rear rack. I was flying down a small incline (I used to pedal fast…all of the time) when a van made a turn directly in front of me. As I slammed on the breaks I stupidly turned to see if the lentils were falling off the bike (can you believe I actually did that) and in the process my front wheel turned…and literally hurled me over the bike. I didn’t have time enough to put my hands out and landed on my side (knocking the wind out of me) and on a second bounce (I think) I hit my head (I was wearing a helmet). I landed directly in front of a bus stop, and as I lay there gasping for air a mother and young daughter came to my aid…the van kept going. Turns out my only injury (determined after x-rays) was bruised ribs.

So the question still remains, I suppose…will a helmet save me (or any of us) from serious injury if I get hit or fall hard…doubtful, but who knows. There is though, that small chance that it may help in a minor fall or head-bump that may otherwise be a serious one. And that’s not a chance I want to wager. While this past summer it did, I have to admit, feel freeing riding helmet-less, I also have to admit it does make me feel a little bit safer riding in an urban environment when I have one on…and that to me is reason enough to wear one.

The bottom line, I think, is that whether you wear a helmet or not is to ride and ride daily…to use your riding as a living example that it is possible to get around (mostly) without a car.

Thanks again to all those who voted and commented.

Convergence of Seasons

I like this first photo…it really does (to me, anyway) represent two seasons colliding. The last of the tomatoes plucked from their vines…still green because of lack of warmth and just before pulling the plants from the dirt ’till next year…sitting on a sill in front of a newly delivered shipment of firewood for the coldness to come.

After my son officially became a teenager (last year) he is now required to help his dad (with a somewhat tender back) haul and stack the firewood each year…he is obviously not excited about it as I am. Here are two of the four cords stacked neatly on the front porch; the other two had to be hauled and stacked in the back yard.

While I was stacking the wood (and when I see this above photo) I can’t help but think of the line from the Johnny Cash song, Country Trash…got a pot bellied stove and a cord of wood…name of the song (and the following lyrics), for me, could easily be changed to “City Trash”…and I’m doin‘ alright for city trash. I just need to remind myself of that last statement now and again.

If you want to listen to the Johnny Cash song (and I hope that you do), click on the below video (it’s only audio).

>Convergence of Seasons

>I like this first photo…it really does (to me, anyway) represent two seasons colliding. The last of the tomatoes plucked from their vines…still green because of lack of warmth and just before pulling the plants from the dirt ’till next year…sitting on a sill in front of a newly delivered shipment of firewood for the coldness to come.

After my son officially became a teenager (last year) he is now required to help his dad (with a somewhat tender back) haul and stack the firewood each year…he is obviously not excited about it as I am. Here are two of the four cords stacked neatly on the front porch; the other two had to be hauled and stacked in the back yard.

While I was stacking the wood (and when I see this above photo) I can’t help but think of the line from the Johnny Cash song, Country Trash…got a pot bellied stove and a cord of wood…name of the song (and the following lyrics), for me, could easily be changed to “City Trash”…and I’m doin‘ alright for city trash. I just need to remind myself of that last statement now and again.

If you want to listen to the Johnny Cash song (and I hope that you do), click on the below video (it’s only audio).

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#97)

A cardboard box that fits perfectly on the rear deck.

The box originally contained frozen pork loins that I had delivered to my place of employment. When I saw it’s oblong shape I knew that it would fit perfectly on the Yuba so I brought it home to use for future shopping trips…I do this somewhat often, actually (though not with such appropriately shaped boxes)…I’ll bring a box or crate with me on the Yuba and actually bring it into the store…If what I’m buying doesn’t fit in the box I don’t purchase it. A simple solution to keep purchases down.