This weekend I definitely put in some miles, for the most part around northern Bloomfield, part of Windsor and Talcott Mountain. Yesterday it was 29 degrees, and it was just painful. So cold it literally hurt. But part of that was my fault.
10mph wind constantly in my face, and I could have used another layer. I had just enough on to prevent me from dying, and I had to really haul ass to keep the wattage up. My feet were not happy.
Today however was amazing. It was 44 degrees, but dropped later, and I layered perfectly. I was so happy to sit and eat lunch in the SUN at the edge of a huge field , watching a huge flock of geese, which are finally starting to show up.
I totally want a coyote decoy. For my bed room window to freak out my neighbors.
They put them on the golf courses around here, I think it's to scare away the geese. It doesn't work. It's a pretty funny scene to watch, a huge flock surrounded by coyotes, gawking, drooling . I wonder if they're made from recycled soda bottles.
I have been researching the global warming C02 connection, and I am getting a bit skeptical. It may be that it's just a political card being played by Gore/Clintons/Obama. The latest job creation formula by Obama sounds like FDR's New Deal. Got roads and bridges?
It's been done before. And I guess this type of propaganda is better than the WMD/yellowcake bullshit.
So, I would still love to be involved in the energy industry, because it would be fun, and maybe I get to be outside more, something I definitely need. Of course, there's nothing wrong with using less, wasting less, and designing better ways to do things. I've been pretty frugal anyway.
Co2 or no Co2 connection, we need to stop killing women and children so we can haul ass in our Hummers. I still refuse to buy more gas, even though it's dropped drastically in price because of the market crash.
To me, and many others, the bicycle is still the perfect machine. (Winter is a challenge, though). Bikes also have their moods and personalities. I'm not really the type to name my bikes. I have five road bikes, and two mountain bikes, and have only named this one "Squeaky" because I love him so much, yet he annoys me sometimes with stupid creaks and pedal bearing noises, even after I have fully lubed him with expensive Park Tool grease, White Lithium grease, you name it.
I guess it's in vogue to give ships and other vessels female names, but this bike is definitely a male. I can't believe I found him next to a dumpster years ago. His top tube has a small dent and the ancient Sachs derailleur no longer shifts to the big ring. So he's a feeble 8 speed, actually. This was the bike that Raleigh marketed to the college kid, who needed a sturdy, reliable ride. He's brutally heavy (possibly 34 pounds) because he's all steel.
The Squeak-Master did great today, he was whisper quiet the whole time, but squeaked like twice at one stop light just to piss me off.
I can tell he's just so happy to be on the road again, being left alone in a dark garage for three weeks was just not cool. This winter he gets a new derailleur and new bar tape. The Peugeot is jealous right now, and that bike is definitely a female, but she will stay in the warm bedroom, all nice and clean until the roads get de-sanded in the spring. Squeaky will hammer away through the horrors of winter.
As far as other vehicles go, an electric car or electric bicycle still burns coal and has limited range. And you still pay for plugging the thing in at night. I mean, duh, folks!
After you ride a road bike for a while, you can accept the fact that it does take longer to get there, but that becomes ok, because your stress level is reduced, so you don't hurry yourself so much. The reduction in stress causes less obsession, therefore less road- rage type behavior. You just have to make sure you know how to ride coherently in traffic, because it can be damn dangerous.
Someone wrote recently : "It resets your mind". How true. When I come home, I am grounded, mellow, and centered. Free of that wintertime/wartime anxiety. And sleep is so gloriously deep, with maybe a couple aspririn before bed.
I am enjoying looking at "Sustainable Energy" websites with all kinds of wierd contraptions. A frenzy of redneck jury-rigging also on ths chat forums. I absolutely love this. I have a solar heater plan for 30.00 in materials. The guys scrounged it all from the dump. The guy heats his 50 square foot workshop with it. Things like this make me giggle.
One cool idea is a blimp-type balloon with solar panels and wind turbines on the sides. But then again, you have to get off your ass to go outside and launch the thing. I guess you need a mini windmill on your roof with a guage at your computer desk to tell you it's time to launch the thing also. But maybe you can get away with local zoning issues?
Today I saw an old windmill, rusting away on a Bloomfield barn, half way back in the woods. It was the typical barn type, with the multiple fan blades. I wanted to go ask the owner what it was used for years ago. Maybe for a light bulb or a fan to ventilate the hay in the barn. Something simple, I'm sure.
I also read that for the cost of just four months in Iraq, (43 billion dollars) we could get wind power to power 20% of the US. (Hmmm, okay). And apparently, it will work in the aggregate, despite the fact that the wind doesn't always blow,
but I guess you can always count on the fighting.
So I felt kinda Don Quixote today, riding by, looking up at that old windmill. I almost made a sword out of an old fencepost to wave at it in tribute.
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Bloomfield is an interesting area. many decent homes owned by upper middle class African Americans who did well working for Pratt and Whitney, and the other large companies. With the war on, Pratt is doing better now. So is Grumman and of course, Sikorsky, so I guess you'll see more McMansions coming soon in the hills there.
North of that area is more old-time New England farm country, rolling hills, just gorgeous, and perfect for cycling, as there is little traffic. There is some public land to hunt on, managed by the Bloomfield Flood Control project.
Closer to the town line, there are the large corporate offices and distribution centers, Home Depot, etc. , but as you ride past these areas, there is still a feel for the countryside, as right across the street there may be a huge tobacco field or cornfield. The mix is a bit strange at times.
I saw a funny name for a company that recycles tree stumps, pressure treated lumber, and some other non-typical, undesireable items.
"Corporate Industries Incorporated" (LLC) . Of course they're just an LLC.
Of course there was the 1946 Studebaker in the front, rotting away, with the windows shot out. A bunch of wild turkeys were hanging around.
I also found a really stunning park, with an old building that begs to be photographed. I forget the name, something like "Giltenberg Park" . It had a German or Swedish ring to it. It's right out of a Winslow Homer painting, the old run down house, in the middle of a rolling field of tall straw colored grass, with old pasture fences in back. You can go sit in the sun in the winter, surrounded by 3 foot high straw-grass, and watch the hawks fly around.
Up the road, you hear some big bore rifle shots. But it's Sunday, no hunting allowed. It's just the gun club. from the sound and spacing between shots, it sounded like a guy sighting in a muzzle loader. I always wanted to try one, but I'm just to lazy to clean the damn thing. You have to clean it every three shots.
There aren't many deer around here anyway, so there's less incentive. While CT has some beautiful country, the hunting can be, well, kinda boring.
It's amazing that so close to Hartford is an area that still has a lot of the 19th century, even 18th century, for that matter. Horse farms, tree farms, etc.
I keep an eye out in the old barns for old bikes. This is where you might find that legendary Peugeot PX-10 or Raleigh Superbe, covered in dust and pigeon-poo. It does happen. And maybe you'll get a free lecture on how to live more gently over a cup of coffee if they like you enough.
peace out
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