Ludicrous, Giving Away Cars!

Rapper Ludacris gave away twenty cars earlier this week.

Wow.
How empowering.

For the same amount of money, he could've given away 300 decent bicycles, which would've been a far better bargain for the working poor:

I'm gonna hazard a guess that the average recipient of a Luda-car doesn't have health insurance, and they're already strapped for cash.

Ludacris gave them each a car, but didn't cover the insurance, registration or taxes. And now, instead of improving their cardiovascular health, and thereby decreasing their risk of diabetes and heart disease, they now have a new key to a sedantary drive, thereby decreasing their life expectancies.

(No, really: cyclists have a longer life span than automobile drivers.)

If they'd been given bikes, they not only would've saved money on automobile taxes, title, registration & insurance, they would've also saved thousands of dollars per year on gasoline & maintenance costs, not to mention the above-mentioned healthcare savings.

Yep, chalk up another one for the American Dream: style trumps substance.

My Morning Road Rash

It was a cool, clear morning: blue skies & puffy white clouds.
I grabbed my touring bike with fenders, expecting to find a few puddles left over from yesterday's rain.
I was cutting a turn through a parking lot in City Park, when
bam!
my rear wheel slid out on a scrap of cardboard.
Down I went, tearing up my favorite Portland-style bike knickers.

It just goes to prove,

Litter Hurts.

Full Fenders & Goretex

Our rain barrels are overflowing under the gutters, and for the first time since spring I had to suit up in full Goretex, head to toe, in order to be able to ride into work.  I rode my trusty touring bike, with full.fenders and mud flaps.  Yup, it's a workhorse: my winter bike.  A couple of coworkers laughed when they saw me emerge from the elevator, dripping wet.

But hey, I had a good ride in!