Saturday, June 21, 2008

It's Not Easy Being Green


I would like to write about something besides :

A.) The heat
B.) Near death encounters with cars
C.) My own whining

It isn’t going to be easy let’s get the ABC’s out of the way and get one with business.

A.) If you live some place nicer than South Texas, then you may be shocked that the real temperature for the last Thursday evening ride was 102°. That was not the heat index. Mercifully the heat index was about the same. There was a nice breeze, 25 mph or so, which gives me bona fides to lecture on just exactly what it feels like to cycle in a blow dryer.

B.) The usual, Big Black Caddy pickups using the whole lane, oblivious to our existence. A local on duty police cruiser nearly taking out two of us head on by pulling out, spinning gravel, into the wrong lane.

C.) I’m old and cranky and I have to wear bifocals.


Now we can peruse something more interesting. Here is an interesting topic. How “Green” is your bike? There are no absolute answers to this question but there is a lot to consider. Is your bike made out of oil? Did they have to move 12 tons of ore to get enough metal to make your frame and parts? Can your bike frame be repaired or recycled? Those are tricky questions, let’s try some easier ones.

Do you put your bike on the back of an SUV and drive to local rides?
Does your bike get used for anything besides recreation? How many bikes are floating around your garage/barn/etc., not getting used?

Here we enter into rant territory. Do you patch your tubes or toss them? To you get new tires because you want them or you wore out the old ones? Do you toss spent CO2 cartridges on the side of the road? old tubes? Gu packets?

I have a couple of friends who recycle bikes. Most of the bikes are steel but not all. Mr. Souza in CA turns discarded bikes into cheap townie bikes or, if they are not salvageable, he turns them into art. Kristopher is local and he has a knack for finding bikes for cheap when people need transportation. He is also making art from old CO2 cylinders. Patches are cheap and I personally will ride a tube with up to three patches. More than three and I get a little nervous. Two or three bikes on the back of a car is carpooling.

There is a lot to be said about reusing resources. Sponge Bob and The Big Guy rebuilt and upgraded their Titanium bikes. They still swear by the comfort. I personally ride steel frames for two of my three bikes. The odd bike is aluminum but I got it used off of Ebay and it is for the most part recycled. I like to take parts left over from upgrades and pass them on to people who are on a budget or are keeping an old friend going a few more years.

I do not consider myself a “Green” person. I am too short to avoid ”Little green man” references. I do not like waste, I abhor complacency, and if you toss a GU packet on the side of the road just because you don’t want your jersey to get a sticky pocket, then I don’t like you very much either.

My apologies to Van Morrison and Jesse Winchester for stealing titles.
<-- End #footer -->