Yep...

From Midnight Ridazz own, Richard...

Use Your Incentive! Buy A Bike!

You are about to get some money from Uncle Sam. I have a very easy way for this money to earn dividends beyond your wildest dreams. This small amount spent correctly, will improve your health, improve your mood, save you money on gas, and will open you up to your neighborhood.
Here's the plan:

Step #1 - Get your "Economic Stimulus" check or direct deposit. (Yay! I have $600.00 or $1200 for married couples.)
Step #2 - Look in your garage, or storage area for that bicycle that you used to ride. (If you don't have a bike, skip to Step #4)
Step #3 - Take that bike down to your local bike shop for a tune-up.
Step #4 - If you don't currently have a bike, go buy a bike at your local bike shop. You should get a bike that fits you. Have the shop recommend a simple bike for you to get around town with. Fit it with a basket, or rack so you can haul stuff that you picked up on your errands. A backpack also works, and you probably already have one. These are trips around your neighborhood you would normally take by car.
Step #5 - Buy a helmet, and some flashing lights. You want to be SEEN by drivers.
Step #6 - RIDE!! Every time you are about to get in the car, say to yourself, "Self... Can I run this errand on my bike?"

By following these steps, you WILL become healthier, save money, discover your neighborhood, and generally feel good. You will notice things about the world around you and find a long lost sense of freedom and adventure.
You've just been given free money. Put some of it away, sure. Pay down your debt, sure.
Trust in this... Health is wealth. Invest in yourself and buy a bike.

(Wear a helmet)

Roll Populi

The wheels on the bikes go round and round...
We can't avoid it. The news stream pounds into our heads the spectre of great socio-economic collapse spurned by higher and higher fuel prices, further reinforcing the Bush Plan.
However, an alternative is taking shape. A silent revolution of commuters dusting off the transportation in their garages and storage areas.
I see people on bicycles riding to work.
I see more people now on bikes as I drive, and I'm joined at stoplights by more cyclist commuters as I ride.
This is a beautiful thing. Think about it, as fuel prices go up, more people will turn to alternative transportation. We take buses and trains. We ride our bikes. We car pool.
Thus, we reduce airborne pollution and greenhouse gases. We become healthier by exercise. We discover new things and places in our own backyard, and become more social with other human beings.

My only request: Wear a helmet.

This Here's Nishiki Country...

Good Day!
Well, the sun is shining, and the rains have subsided. It's back on the bike time and I will never ever hibernate through the winter again. It doesn't do anyone any good.
So, in my contemplating the commute from Culver City to Burbank again, I built up a new (old) bike. Embracing the "steel is real" philosophy, I picked up a 1986 Nishiki Prestige from a seller on Craigslist. By all accounts, I should have stripped the frame and repainted, but just wanting to take a crack at rebuilding and overhauling a bike for the first time, I left it.
So now instead of rolling up to work on my graciously donated Cannondale, I'm now pedaling along on a proper tank of a bike. The bike came with these gold anodized Araya rims, so I trued them up and repacked the bearings over at Bikerowave in Santa Monica, and wrapped them with Continental Contact touring tires. Stripped all the parts off, replaced the headset, brake levers, cables, and chain. Swapped out for a new-to-me front deralieur. Added a Jandd lightweight rack for the back and... Wow. I've done a lot to that bike.
Either way, rode up to work for the first time this year last week and made it. The reward for an hour of climbing is flying at 30mph down Barham Blvd. to the Studio. Not bad.

So, I think that I'll be saving on fuel costs the more I ride into work. Just too bad that the fat I lose won't be made into biodiesel. That would be very gross. "Soylent Fuels"?

Rain+Malaise = FAT!

Yo. After such a triumphant accomplishment that was the MS150, I let myself go. Haven't biked to work in months, blamed it on the rain, and worst of all, I neglected my bike.
Friday night I got off my 15lb heavier ass and gave the bike a good once-over. It didn't even seem mad at me. Took the (very) light layer of grime off the bike. Lubed the chain, cables, pedals, and dérailleurs. Greased the seat tube, and pedal threads. Wiped the whole thing down. Checked the tires.
Found a couple of punctures, but the sidewalls are holding up fine. I have these Slime tubes which make the bike ride a bit heavier cause you're spinning goo within the tires, but I know it's saved me from a couple of gnarly flats. Dunno. Maybe replace the tires and put in normal tubes? Eh.

The thing I need to get back is my motivation. After last year's Acura LA bike tour, I was so jazzed about going 22 miles and getting a medal, that I formed a team and signed up for the MS150. Train, train, hate, train, love, train, train, love, hate, indifference, love.... MS150.
After it was all over, I went into my LBS and saw what would be my next bike, a Torelli Countach. Italian steel. Lighter than my aluminum Cannondale. Ahh to dream.
Then...
I sat down on the couch.

The next few months will be retraining my body to love the bike. Retraining my brain to love 6:00 am. Retraining my motivation to know that 40 miles is a nice Sunday ride.

Stay tuned...

Post Ride, Post Bike, Post Bio

Hi There.
Well, the Start to Finish MS 150 ride was a resounding success, save for the fact that the second day was stopped at mile 30 due to extraordinary winds. Those same winds ultimately caught SoCal on fire for a few weeks. Not good. Thanks to all who donated and especially thank you to Robyn, Andy, Michele, Mindy, Mike & Olivia for being our core team. Next year in Jerusalem.

Haven't done any serious riding since the MS 150. I am a bad cyclist. I blame the daylight savings. Can anyone re commend a good light?

Where has all the biodiesel in Southern California gone? WTF??? Marina Del Rey's pumps are out. There's only one working pump at Conserv Fuel, and they certainly don't want me to Conserv Money because their prices are outrageous. Even SoCal Biodiesel Co-Op's prices are high. I'm halfway to spending my saturdays degreasing the combs of Venice Beach hipsters to make fuel.

Well, looks like it's back to the bike to thwart the evils of my own fat ass, and the oil cartels.

I'm Back!

Well that was a heck of a hiatus from posting on the Bike and Bio Blog. Good to be back.
So news up to the moment...

Putting together a team to ride the "Start to Finish MS" bike tour in October. Andy and I have been training and riding a lot more than we were. It's a good thing. Keeps me motivated. The team is nearly at our fundraising goal and we've got some great supporters behind us. Thanks to all.

I rode from Culver City (home) to Burbank (work) two weeks ago Wednesday. What I thought was an insane route a few months back was pretty manageable. Just keep eating and drinking and conserve energy, and it's do-able. Also it's got a great "you're insane!" factor behind it.

The biodiesel machine is truckin along just fine. Almost to 100,000 miles. Shed a tear and look forward to it's new life as a 100k+ car.

More to come...