More biking!

Since even before becoming a deadbeat (read: unemployed), I've been trying to make more use of my bicycle. I can use the excercise, for one thing, and it sticks in my craw to give money to the rich bastards that control most of the world's petroleum. Even though I try to always fuel up at a Citgo (the only nationalised oil company owned by a democratically elected government: Venezuela), I also hate the fact that, every time I drive my car, environmentally speaking, I'm contributing to the problem and not the solution.

Here's the trusty steed parked on the Yahara River bike path. It's a Trek 750 (made in Wisconsin!) purchased in 1992 and recently modified by the good people at Revolution Cycles to make it a more comfortable ride.




Madison has truly become a great city for biking. This tunnel alone, finished about a year ago, has made bicycle access to and from my house so much easier. There are still a few parts of the city lacking adequate bike paths, but, for the most part, you can bike to so many places without needing to fight traffic. Many times, it's actually faster than driving.




I also love the fact that, when you bicycle somewhere, you're much less isolated from the things around you. I've driven past this part of Lake Mendota countless times, but rarely really look at it when in a car. I took these photos on a rainy day about two weeks ago while coming home from downtown. I got rather wet, but that was okay. I appreciated the weather more as a result of being out in it.




Now that winter has finally arrived, I will have to figure out how to continue bicycling. All this snow we just got makes it rather difficult, but once the streets are cleared, it should be mostly a matter of dressing properly. Last Friday I rode about 7 or 8 miles in 20 degree weather. My torso was too warm and my face, fingers and legs were numb by the time I got home. Clearly, I wasn't dressed properly.