Fellow cyclist killed by car

This morning while I was riding to work a fellow rider was killed on the other side of town.

Terry Mathews, who was a 50 year old postal worker was biking down a hill near Barkely Village, a hill I've walked and biked many times, when a 17 year old girl pulled onto the road directly in front of him. He was unable to stop and hit the vehicle. He died in route to the local hospital.

According to the paper Terry biked to work every day. He was wearing a helmet, was riding in the bike lane, but even with all those precautions he still had his life taken. I'm sure his wife and kids are heart broken.

Of course this is what we get for living in a society which worships automobiles and hands out drivers licenses like they are nothing, regardless of an individuals ability or intelligence. Its just too bad that the ideal citizen, someone like Terry had to pay.

Build

Finally.

I've been wanting to build a trail for a couple years now; something I could really work and form and put my own philosophy of riding into. Well that hasn't quite happened yet, but I did find an old overgrown trail that I've began clearing. The good thing about this trail is that its all downhill, has a number of natural berms and humps built into it which I'll be able to form and mold into good flowly features. The trail is littered with small trees and foliage right now but the good thing is that most of the trees can be ripped out by hand. I will be buying a hatchet for the chopping duties; and for when I start shaping in a couple step downs and shoring up a couple berms.

The trail is basically in three parts right now. The beginning which is pretty straight, mostly flat, and will serve for building up speed. It then merges into a tighter, much rougher singletrack that crosses over some big roots and ruts. This section will require some muscle work to shape up; but I'm thinking of leaving it pretty rough, our bikes these days have suspension for a reason. Next the trail merges into a sloping downhill with natural berms and a couple great spots for some step-downs.

The trail is in a section of mountain that doesn't receive much traffic at all. This is good; I don't want it to become widely known, though inevitably people will come across it. The good thing is that it doesn't really link up with any other trails so you've got to be willing to go out of the way to ride it.

While I haven't had a chance to ride it in its entirety, I'd say it'll be about 3-4 minutes of fast riding.

Next time I'm out there I'll be taking pictures.

Old Stuff

I was playing with google today when I found an old digital stomping ground of mine. Apparently back in '05 I took a stab at this whole "blog" thing, but it only lasted a month, and had long since passed from my conscious memory.

For the sake of coherence, and longevity I'm going to move those posts here and date them properly and in so doing, make crazybicycle.com appear to be older than it really is.

As an after thought, its weird to read stuff you wrote in the past. I think I ranted less back then... maybe thats worth thinking about. I've even got daily paper journals that date back to mid 2001 and continue all the way up to 2006. Lots of ink!

Earth Day

Its Earth day. And you all know what that means; the google news feeder will be chocked full of nuggets on celebrities and politicians telling the rest of us we are 'doing it wrong'. But for me, Earth Day has strong personal significance, importance even... I am slightly less likely to be hit by a dumb auto driver and slightly more likely to be run into by a dumb cyclist. Powerful stuff there folks.

On this day of green-ness I've been thinking about environmental impact; and how one can lessen theirs when suddenly I came upon it, the answer to the riddle!

The best way to be green is to be ---- poor.

When one is poor one doesn't have much money. When one doesn't have much money, one cannot buy many things. Things cause an impact.

Of course philosophically there are good reasons to abate the strong desire for material wealth and gain, but we don't live in a particularly philosophical society. Hell, even getting Americans to be reflective is a tall order.

I guess a good question for Earth Day would not be, "Where can I recycle my Starbucks cup", but how do we convince a populace hell-bent on consumption to mellow the 'F'-out.

getting them to ride bikes would be nice too

But Seriously...

Sarcasm is not within my very small bag of tricks.  That much is pretty obvious.  

Climate change, and the way our society is dealing with it is something I care deeply about.  Unfortunately the 'green' movement is by nearly all accounts an utter disgrace and embarrassment when viewed as a response to the biggest danger our species has ever posed to itself.  The science behind the climate change, ie: the greenhouse effect, is completely sound and as non-controversial as any other established branch of science.  Anybody can point their internet browser to wikipedia, look up 'green house effect' and within minutes understand the basic principals of the issue and yet the green movement does not base itself on this very science, it's approach is different:

• Hollywood-ize the issue: Make green living trendy, hip, and cutting edge.  This approach will almost certainly gain a substantial amount of early adopters eager to be at the apex of what is new and fresh, but of course trends fade.  Once a trend reaches a critical saturation point is ceases to be cool, and experiences an immediate drop-off in membership.  Anybody who doubts this only needs look at the music, fashion, or entertainment industries to see the point.  Turning the climate crisis into a trendy issue is so insidiously wrong that its almost as if the choice to pursue the issue this way was consciously done as a way to dethrone the whole field; if I wanted to destroy an idea, no matter how rooted in reality the idea was, this would be a very efficient way to do ot; turn the idea into a trend, observe a temporary spike in the idea's membership followed shortly by a massive dismissal and categorical rejection.
• Religious Language: Al Gore's 300 million dollar ad campaign to hollywood-ize global warming is not only using the trend setting principals of the entertainment industry, but is also relying on a pseudo-religious approach to the issue.  When watching, or listening to the increasingly ubiquitous ads on the climate their sentimental appeal is becoming overwhelming; they tell us we must save the planet, stop our evil ways and repent of our miss-doings .  These ads are beginning to feature all types of religious leaders vocalizing our need to change our ways.  Religion?!  Religion has opposed every single advancement our species has ever made; be it murdering scientists for millennia, condoning slavery, opposing civil rights, or attempting to weasel its way into public policy.  Religion has nothing important to contribute to this issue; nor does it's emotional language.  The planet does not need to be saved; it will exist in perpetuity regardless of what our species does to it, the issue is our continued existence on it. 

The green movement would have us believe that if we would only recycle our cans and bottles, shop at our local co-ops, and make 'small sacrifices' that everything will be ok.  This is utter bullshit; if you have cancer you don't pop a daily multi-vitamin and call it good, you get chemotherapy.  This climate crisis is a cancer; and the green movement is our societal multi-vitamin; its like we are driving ourselves to hell and arguing over who gets the front seat.  I want to see us forget about the multi-vitamin and opt for the chemo, knowing full well that it will be uncomfortable, but is simply the only option.  Yet the green movement does not demand sacrifice; it tells us its ok to drive our autos as long as we consider their effect on the environment, as if feeling guilty actually accomplishes anything.  

The philosopher Daniel Dennet once said, "There is nothing I like less than bad arguments for an idea I hold dear." I wish to echo this statement by my hated of the green movement.  My only regret is that I'm not better at sarcasm.

Go Green

Blowhard: "A boaster or braggart. - a conceited and self-centered person" n. Informal



Green: "Favoring or supporting environmentalism. - Lacking sophistication or worldly experience; naive" n.



Geen Blowhard: "One who favors environmental legislation by forcing their views onto other people, so long as it requires no effort from them. - Prius Driver, resident of Bellingham, WA. n. Formal




"Green" is the new vogue. Everywhere you look you see people with square-rimmed glasses and fashionable clothes spouting off salient talking points from the Live Earth website. 'Hey, did you know that even after you turn your electronics off they still draw electricity?' Or, "Rule #49 for reducing global warming: Buy less stuff."








The more I read about the movement, the more I become unsure of things. Nearly every green site I read, flyer I see, or commercial I watch is adnorned with fashionable white people (with an occasional black sprinkled in) with hip haircuts, nice looking shoes and perfect skin. They are always smiling while they drive their fuel efficient vehicles and listen to unique indie music by bands with names that start with "The". This visual assault has led me to the conclusion that I can never be green. I'm just not cool enough.







First of all, I can't afford a hybrid, or even a fuel efficient small car. Whats more, I don't even like driving, I actually dislike it. Apparently to be green you must not only love driving, but you must drive the right type of vehicle. However there is a loophole; you can still drive a SUV and be green as long as you complain at least 5 times a day about your oil usage, and how you'd like to reduce it, and you possess a collection of indie music and square-rimmed glasses no less than 30% larger than a hybrid driver.



When I have free time I usually spend it doing three different things: mountain biking, playing video games, or messing around on my computer. Again, not cool enough. Mountain biking involves copious sweating and the wanton destruction of fragile ecosystems with said sweat and knobby tires. Any good greenie knows the forests are to be seen, but not entered. Then theres the video games; time that should be spent talking about Obama's campaign in a coffee shop or shopping for vintage clothes at a thrift store.



Most importantly though, to be green you must worship the divine prophet through whom all knowledge and wisdom flows:

Folk Music

I've probably listened to about a hundred different variations of "Fields of Athenrye" over the past few years but Gary Og's rendition stands out.  Maybe its his cadence, or passion, but I find his take on the classic ballad quite agreeable.  

It sure would be hell to be a Paisley-esque Unionist in that crowd; that would be one royal (pardon the pun) ass-whooping!

Hey man, are you a ... ?

Freeride
Downhill
Cross Country
All Mountain
Dirt Jump
Roadie
Commuter

Numerous variations in between. When you ride on a mountain with trails of varying technicality the distinctions inevitably work their way into your brain. Its tribalism really, we humans are so good at separating ourselves into ideological groups, even within our hobbies like cycling. It becomes easy, from within a group, to demonize others.

Cross country riders: Seat-jacked, Spandex wearing weirdos who are afraid to go downhill and ride around even the smallest stunts. Why don't they just stick to road bikes and highways, thats all they are trying to do anyway.

Freeriders: Fat oafs. Watch as they push their bikes on any surface that isn't a downhill. Whats the fun in sessioning a single drop over and over again? To freeriders the word 'epic' only enters their lexicon as a description of last nights cheap beer binge. Gnar-gnar bro, go big or go home.

All Mountain: Cross Country riders who don't want the stigma of being a 'cross country rider' so they buy a bike with slightly more travel. Semantics shemantics.

Dirt Jump: Confused groms. Really, just buy a BMX.

Roadies: Really, do we need to go there?

Commuter: Granola eating hippies pedaling towards a better tomorrow.

The point I'm vaguely pushing towards is that the riders who identify themselves with one group often criticize those of another group. Needlessly. I wasn't really aware of this fact until I moved somewhere that had a more diverse cycling culture, but it is unfortunately true.

I kind of miss the time when I only knew two types of riding: mountain biking and road biking. When I lived in Hawaii there were also only two types of biking; mountain and road. Now that I'm in Washington, where biking is much more common, I've come to see a great many types of riders. The diversity is both good, and not good. Simplicity gets traded for tribalism.

Ultimately we are all riding bikes, and thats a good thing. Hopefully bike culture can move past some of the more ... ape-ish aspects of its darker nature. It is possible to love many types of riding, and once stereotypes are broken I think more people will agree.

We all love two wheels, the only difference is where we ride them, and what we ride them on.

Just a thought

When did organic become synonymous with hippies and pseudoscience? That was the question that I frustratingly pondered on today's morning walk. I want to eat fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats (yes meats) still rich in nutrients, and not packed with preservatives and other lovely chemicals to give them a longer shelf life. I want foods that are fresh, not picked weeks ago from across the country or the globe. One of the only places these foods are sold now are in the Natural food stores, and this is where my problem lies.
I have yet to meet a natural food store without a naturopathic section, or where 90% of the customers and employees smell strongly of BO. Sure I might want organic food, but this doesn't mean I want it covered in the germs and other lovely bugs of unwashed employees! Then there is the unavoidable aisle of herbs, aromatherapies, and books on alternative medicine. Now I may want my food as it came from the source, but that doesn't mean I want to defy the truths of science and medicine. And then there is the problem with meat. Why is it that if one wants to eat locally and organically they must also give up being the omnivore we were meant to be? And if you are lucky enough to find a natural food store that carries meat products, how is it that they can cost so much more then the meat in the grocery store that is packed with antibiotics and preservatives? I am pretty sure that the local farmers aren't seeing that extra cash!
There was a time, be it long ago, when the majority of people ate locally. You went to the farm or the orchard to get fruits, vegetables, and meats, and to the bakery to pick of breads and grains. In many areas of other countries, including Europe (not just third world nations), this is still where most people buy there food. I spent a summer working at a summer camp with a staff member from Germany. He was appalled by our lack of fresh foods, especially meats, fruits and vegetables! He was always saying, it's no wonder we are an obese nation. And I think he may have had a point.
Sure it is a wonderful luxury to be able to have all the fruits and vegetables from around the globe, available every season and within a few miles from your house. But this luxury does have its downside. For one, those fruits and vegetables lack many of the nutrients they would had when they were picked, or if they were given the chance to fully ripen on the plant. Also we are limited to only a small sample of the numerous varieties of each type of produce, those which are the hardiest and which have been bred to withstand a long shelf life.
I had the luxury of growing up in a small New England town, where we could pick fresh apples from the orchard, buy corn, squashes, and vegetables from local farmers, and pick fresh berries and peaches from their source. Not once have I found a store bought produce that compares with the rich, satisfying, flavorful taste of these foods. I have never tried fresh game meat, but I have a feeling I am missing out. I am hoping my husband and I will be able to fish, hunt and grow or buy fresh vegetables when we establish in one location. Until then I guess I will have to continue holding my nose and my breath as I rush through the natural food stores, and make due with the pesticides for now.

Thought or Two

I watched a lecture a few months back by Sam Harris in which he argued against adopting the lable 'atheist'. The argument can be summarized something like this:

• 'Atheism' is not a worldview it is simply the statement that there is insufficient evidence to warrant belief in god(s). Nothing more.
• We do not generally make a habit of defining ourselves by things we don't believe in. I don't call myself an a-ghostists or a-astrologists; it would be a collosal waste of time to adopt labels for all the phenomena we don't subscribe to.

There has been some work done in this area; Richard Dawkins and Dan Dennet have promoted a re-branding campaign for atheists under the label "brights". I personally find the idea of calling myself a 'bright' a little too nauseating to handle even though I can appreciate the conotations.

Maybe its because I like the study of philosophy that my bias lies towards the term 'rationalist'. Not in the Cartesian anti-empiricist sense, but in the common-language use: one who employs reason and skepticism in their life.

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In other news, there is a new trail being built on Galbraith that is going to be super long and fun. It is tying together parts of three other trails with a bunch of new stuff in-between to link everything together, removing the need to use fire roads to commute around. It certainley lies on the 'free-ride' side of the spectrum so it will present fun challenges. I must say I was impressed with Trillium, the owners of Galbraith, they paid for and installed a 400 foot long, nice and wide bridge through a swamp on the new trail. How cool is that? I rode the bridge back and forth a couple times and it is completely stable, a proffesional quality job to be certain. Its also not skinny at all so you can carry pretty good speed.

The Renaissance

Occasionally when I’m writing something for the website my inner voice warns me against self aggrandizement, ‘it’ tells me to hold back, make the topic less about myself and more about the specific topic at hand. I think this is a good thing in almost every case, however, I personally love reading autobiographical accounts. I love reading other people’s thoughts and experiences and how they arrived at a certain place. So with that in mind and riding a wave of inspiration from Nate’s last post I’ll write a small story of my own.

It was a late summer day in 2006, Sabrina and I were spending the day in perhaps my most favorite town I’ve ever been; Homer, Alaska. This was an interesting time in life; I had no job and no destination. We knew we didn’t want to be in Alaska for the winter, but were considering Anchorage out of economic necessity. The coin-toss the eventually settled us in Bellingham (another story) was not yet a dream or a thought. For the moment we were enjoying the freedom of non-attachment to obligation; a sweet taste that must always be enjoyed while it lasts.

Homer always strikes a chord with me; it is a reflective place, a good place to walk and think. Sabrina and I were taking our time that day, entering small unique shops at our leisure. We ate dinner at a place called the ‘Cosmic Kitchen’ and I remember explaining to Sabrina why the Homer Spit shared the same name as the action of spewing saliva onto the ground - when you live with a non-native speaker you are daily educated on the nuances of the English language. After eating we continued walking and eventually found our way into a small bookstore with a coffee shop. While Sabrina ordered a coffee I browsed through the books, searching for the science section. At this point in my philosophical life I was an agnostic, and had been for about the past 3-4 years. I knew it was a somewhat honest position, but more of a safe-house than anything, it was a position that didn’t alienate or commit me to anything particular. However if someone would have asked me if I was also an agnostic about unicorns, fairies, or any other unproved supernatural phenomena they would have burst my insular bubble in a split-second. In a way I wish it would have happened like that; eureka moments are precious and rare.

As I browsed through the books I happened to pick up “The Demon Haunted World – Science as a Candle in the Dark” by Carl Sagan. I’d never heard of the book, and only vaguely knew of the man, but the back cover sounded great:

“How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don’t understand the difference between the myths of pseudo-science, New Age thinking, and fundamentalist zealotry and the testable hypothesis of science?”

I bought the book and was immediately hooked; I never knew that the scientific, skeptical way of thinking could be so informative in our every-day lives. Up to that point I’d assembled various pieces of thought, arguments, and points of reason, yet this book provided me the necessary cipher with which I could assemble the pieces of my education. No longer did I need to live in an intellectual haze; I could use reason to inform my choices and thoughts. It sounds heady, but it really isn’t; a skeptical interrogation of claims both religious and otherwise is within the ability of all people, and I can attest that once the door is open the view is just beautiful.

I’ve been busy these past couple years; doing a lot of reorganizing in my head; categorically for the better I’d say. If there is an interest I’ll write more about it, but for now I’ll put it simply: when one takes a rationalist approach to life many of the problems inherent to superstition simple disappear, the struggles I had in years past, the fights I wondered why I could never win turned out to be with a non-existent foe. Too often, religion creates a problem where none first exists.

It turns out that we humans live on an amazing planet in a wondrous galaxy. We live in the greatest time of our species short history; at the birth of science and technology. When I think of the things we are learning every day, and what we will learn in the next 50 years (within the scope of our life spans) I just can’t help but get excited! And of course what is learning without friends to share the excitement with? I know I’ve got at least a couple whom I can and will learn a great deal from. What can be more valuable than that?

To be continued!

ATA Update and "Other" stuff

As some of you have heard, ATA airlines went under this week just after Aloha air filed for bankruptcy. After Aloha went under, we did a quick check online to make sure our tickets were safe in the hands of ATA, but just days later, it too filed for chapter 11.

It looks as if we are not going to be able to go to Boston this year, and we may also have to push back our date of arrival to Bellingham until ticket prices come back under control. Most people do not buy their tickets several months in advance, so it is likely that we will be able to get a decent deal on them once again.

I went to the bank to file a claim, hopefully to receive my money back from the now useless tickets. After filing the paperwork, they said it could be a few days or a few months, I'm guessing the latter. It did sound promising though, or perhaps this was a savvy clerk I was dealing with, well versed in the methods of putting anxious customers at ease. Again, I would put my money on the latter.


Other Stuff:
I spoke with my father this past week about fatherhood and faith, two topics which I knew would come into light at some point or another. I would just like to put a final touch to the conversation we had that night and thank him for being kind and compassionate.

A little history to catch up on my current state:
A long time ago, I had a friend. Our interests brought us to desire to see what was behind the veil of religion, to see why we believe all of the things that we do. Our endeavors brought to light a universe of ideas not constrained by fundamentalism. A community of intellectuals that relies on the evidence provided by our wonderful planet to seek out reason amid the darkness of scientific ignorance. His path, mostly a philosophical approach to the use of scientific knowledge, considers the evidence of social constructs of human nature to sift through for gems of reason and useful information. While I dabble in philosophy, my path has led me quite differently. Math, Physics, Chemistry and Anthropology were the staples of my intellectual diet (though I claim a Communication major--> Bah!). The physical makeup of the world described through such classes offer overwhelming evidence for not only how things work in the real world, but just as importantly, how things do not work. A long time ago, I was pulled in by creationist Kent Hovind's message. I enjoyed watching and listening to him make fun of Darwinism and cherry pick through to "disprove" evolution. Watching now, I can gladly say that I can point out and disprove each and every claim he makes in all seven of the same videos that I was once enthralled with. More still it is interesting to note that not a single person in the scientific community takes the man seriously, and never did. He is revered by people who don't know anything about science because he sounds like he does.

There is something that I noticed only very recently that has given me encouragement to continue in my, well, adventure. I have noticed that I look forward to learning more. When I watch a video or read an article, there comes satisfaction from the realization that there is still more out there for us to know and understand. We will never get to it all, but that is why it is fun. I remember church growing up. I enjoyed church, the people, the community, I still wish for it even now. I would sit and think about how I was a bad Christian, I was a Sunday Christian. I would promise myself that I would go home and read to learn more. But there was no real desire. Not like I have today. There was no sense of self-fulfillment that I received after studying. Only regret the following Sunday while surrounded by others who might ask me what I really believed. I have studied the Bible more since I became skeptical of it than before when I believed in its perfection.

I would most like to thank my friend Joel and my loving wife Sadie for helping me and kindly waiting for me to catch up. It has been a long time coming.

Expect further updates on the Baby!

Friday Diarrhea

Thoughts:

Cats are better pets than dogs

My cat craps in a box and then burries her newly created treasure with smell-blocking litter. My cat never stinks, she gives herself daily baths. My cat doesn't make a mess. Hell, if you didn't see her you wouldn't be able to tell she lives with us. My cat does not worship me, she is only vaguely aware of my existence, I'm not an insecure person so I like that. When kitty sleeps on my lap while I play xbox 360 she is warm and therefore keeps me warm. I like that, I don't have to turn the heater on so often.

Dogs are loud and stupid. When my neighboor's poor-ass relative comes to visit them she leaves her small poodle thing in her crappy truck right outside my window. The poodle will bark for as long as her owner is away, often more than 5 hours. I HATE DOGS THAT BARK.
Dogs are insanely loyal and will protect their owners. Stupid people love this fact and will collect as many viscious dogs as they can as. For some reason viscous dogs are a status symbol retards. Hitler had a dog, and you better believe his dog loved him. What does that say about a dogs ability to read people?
Dogs don't poop in boxes, they poop only on carpets and anywhere I might be walking later that day.
People that love dogs are weird; why do you need an animal to worship you?