Going Off the Deep End
So I took my second toe dip into the waters of a car free (or the best we'll ever do, which is a car reduced) lifestyle. We are making a dish with Tomatillos this week, and I needed some hangers for putting up Icons. The Tomatillos are available at a grocery store close to the Barrio (in downtown Carlsbad), right next door to the hardware store. Typically I would simply drive over there during the day. I wouldn't normally do my full grocery shopping at the store in question.
So, what I did instead is that on my normal ride to La Costa I went a little bit further (about a mile altogether) and stopped at the hardware store and grocery store. Not a big deal, but a little step.
(update: I forgot to get something at the store yesterday, so Catherine and I rode up today. A total of 4 miles not driven by car!)
Friday, May 23, 2008
Mother/Daughter Trikers
I mentioned in the last entry the mother/daughter team I met while out riding. They mentioned that they were in a news story that day, but I had been unable to find it. Well, courtesy of a new "car-free" blog (by a gentleman who used to run a recumbent exclusive blog), I've found it. Hope you enjoy.
Yet Another Car Free Entry
The American distributor of different recumbent bikes (including mine) is now paying its employees $4/day to ride their bike to work (or walk, or take public transportation). Sounds like a good idea to me.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
New Adventures
Its fun to slowly expand my "range". Its a combination, I think, of the sense of accomplishment as well as just the fun of exploring places that I've only ever seen from a car. My latest came yesterday as I rode a new route down to La Costa.
This was a nice 18 (17.9 to be precise) mile ride. Fortunately, we're in the midst of May gray season, so things didn't get too hot. I took the camera along to get some pix of the adventure.
Here are a couple of shots of South Carlsbad beach:
I unfortunately discovered that taking pictures while riding along fast can be challenging. Especially if the camera is a bit slow. So, with one hand I'm attempting to take a picture, while with the other I'm trying to stay in the bike lane (the better to not be flattened). Of course with the camera delay, timing is an issue. So, I get a nice picture of my knee:
Well, figuring I would have doubters, mostly named Joshua, that I had actually ridden to La Costa, I had to take a key picture:
And a few fun photos on the return trip - after the U-Turn at La Costa Avenue:
I met a few interesting folks along the way as well. First there was a guy heading up the coast highway on his handcycle. We didn't get to talk, but hopefully that will change over time. The other folks were a woman and her 86 year old mother (I think it was her mom) who have largely gone the car-free route. They were riding an Organic Engines tandem. As seems to be the case with many car free folks, they are pretty intense about it - handing out flyers and all. There's a lot to be said for moving toward a less car dependent lifestyle. At any rate, it was fun meeting some fellow trikers along the way.