Bike Me

Flick: Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That’s dumb! Schwartz: That’s ’cause you know it’ll stick! Flick: You’re full of it! Schwartz: Oh yeah? Flick: Yeah! Schwartz: Well I double-DOG-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare ya”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare. Schwartz: I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!
A Christmas Story (1983)

So it’s gonna get wicked cold! Cold as in, it hasn’t been this cold for years cold!
Some might suggest that you should stay off your bike..to which you reply… Are you crazy? I have to ride… it’s in my blood. I love winter here in New England, I’m, I’m…OK so it’s my only way around I have to ride and it really sucks! But I’m gonna do it anyway! As they say down south, get ‘er done…

Alrighty then…well dress warm…really warm! But remember this, everything moves slower in the cold. I think I remember something about Absolute Zero from long ago school days. Winter in Boston, on a bicycle, it takes hardy souls to ride in such conditions. Hey, but you are one of them…you refuse to let sub zero temperatures and or wind chills, snow or slush to slow your cycling down. Kinda like winter surfing on the New Hampshire coast! Only not as wet, for the most part.

Please remember a couple of things among which are…You are going to be a even bigger surprise than usual to drivers that will “see” you even less. And your having extra everythings on, will have a hard time seeing and hearing, not to mention with the snow conditions in the streets it will be dicey 24/7.

It is in weather like this that the grease in your head set and bottom crank can get stiff plus even the cables can be sticky. Tires get low, hydraulic brake lines can become very brittle. Storing you bike outside might become necessary because a warm surface allows for melting/condensation etc. to get into places that, when you return to outdoors, will freeze fast and solid. Needing to check your brakes often, before you need them and because it clears any snow off the rims. Oh for joy! Sounds like real fun!

But despite all this, it is your McMurdo Station attitude that make it the ultimate BIKE ME statement!

Ride safe and stay warm!

Flick: Are you kidding? Stick my tongue to that stupid pole? That’s dumb! Schwartz: That’s ’cause you know it’ll stick! Flick: You’re full of it! Schwartz: Oh yeah? Flick: Yeah! Schwartz: Well I double-DOG-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare. What else was there but a “triple dare ya”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare. Schwartz: I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya! Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!
A Christmas Story (1983)

So it’s gonna get wicked cold! Cold as in, it hasn’t been this cold for years cold!
Some might suggest that you should stay off your bike..to which you reply… Are you crazy? I have to ride… it’s in my blood. I love winter here in New England, I’m, I’m…OK so it’s my only way around I have to ride and it really sucks! But I’m gonna do it anyway! As they say down south, get ‘er done…

Alrighty then…well dress warm…really warm! But remember this, everything moves slower in the cold. I think I remember something about Absolute Zero from long ago school days. Winter in Boston, on a bicycle, it takes hardy souls to ride in such conditions. Hey, but you are one of them…you refuse to let sub zero temperatures and or wind chills, snow or slush to slow your cycling down. Kinda like winter surfing on the New Hampshire coast! Only not as wet, for the most part.

Please remember a couple of things among which are…You are going to be a even bigger surprise than usual to drivers that will “see” you even less. And your having extra everythings on, will have a hard time seeing and hearing, not to mention with the snow conditions in the streets it will be dicey 24/7.

It is in weather like this that the grease in your head set and bottom crank can get stiff plus even the cables can be sticky. Tires get low, hydraulic brake lines can become very brittle. Storing you bike outside might become necessary because a warm surface allows for melting/condensation etc. to get into places that, when you return to outdoors, will freeze fast and solid. Needing to check your brakes often, before you need them and because it clears any snow off the rims. Oh for joy! Sounds like real fun!

But despite all this, it is your McMurdo Station attitude that make it the ultimate BIKE ME statement!

Ride safe and stay warm!

Although this piture is dated 12/25/2005, it has a point, even 3 years later. Santa is a member of the US Army on duty near Tikrit, Iraq (note the huge blast walls behind him). The picture was taken by my brother, a US Army Veteren from a generation ago.

Both are serving, although in different capacities, in a very far away place. Santa is on active duty and my brother is in a civilian logistical and support position. Both have been away for a very long time even since 2005. Both could, at the end of their respective enlistments and or contracts, return to civilian lives. Both choose to stay and serve.

Regardless of anyone’s position on this war, it’s still a war and very dedicated and brave people are willing to go into harms way. The bottom line is that they are all volunteers who willing stand between you and pain no one wants to feel. And they do it with a clear understanding that it has huge costs to them, including possibly takng their limbs and or lives. It really is about service and sacrifice which, in the end, is actually for all of us.

So as we go about our business with our families and friends this Christmas please remember that there are people; sons and daughters, farthers and husbands, wives and mothers, brothers and sisters, in far away places standing on the line for you and me.

If you see someone in uniform please be sure to thank them, show your gratitude for what they are doing.

Peace On Earth, Good Will To All.

Although this piture is dated 12/25/2005, it has a point, even 3 years later. Santa is a member of the US Army on duty near Tikrit, Iraq (note the huge blast walls behind him). The picture was taken by my brother, a US Army Veteren from a generation ago.

Both are serving, although in different capacities, in a very far away place. Santa is on active duty and my brother is in a civilian logistical and support position. Both have been away for a very long time even since 2005. Both could, at the end of their respective enlistments and or contracts, return to civilian lives. Both choose to stay and serve.

Regardless of anyone’s position on this war, it’s still a war and very dedicated and brave people are willing to go into harms way. The bottom line is that they are all volunteers who willing stand between you and pain no one wants to feel. And they do it with a clear understanding that it has huge costs to them, including possibly takng their limbs and or lives. It really is about service and sacrifice which, in the end, is actually for all of us.

So as we go about our business with our families and friends this Christmas please remember that there are people; sons and daughters, farthers and husbands, wives and mothers, brothers and sisters, in far away places standing on the line for you and me.

If you see someone in uniform please be sure to thank them, show your gratitude for what they are doing.

Peace On Earth, Good Will To All.

The other night (before all the snow) about 7PM, I was approaching an intersection when something caught my eye to my left. I had to look twice, first to acquire the object, realize it was moving and then second to identify what it was. All dressed on dark clothing face covered against the cold was a bicyclist. There was absolutely no lights, reflectors, bright clothing or because of the cold skin showing. Nothing on to help mark this person, just their dark light absorbing clothing. The truth is my wife spotted this person first and I am not sure I would have seen them before it would have mattered. And I think I am very observant and always looking for cyclists.

Now my first thought was, that person is in a dangerous situation, moving about in an urban area at night etc. etc. Then I thought, given the outcomes of many car vs. bicyclist crashes just how unfair was this person on that bike being!?!? I mean even a reflector or one piece of bright colored clothing would be better than nothing. When a bicyclist gets hit by a vehicle it ruins more than the just that bicyclist day.

There are so many ways to improve the visibility of a rider and their bike. It is crucial to be seen as far away as possible to give drivers time to react to what they see, make a judgment and then act. This is especially true during the colder months and winter it is paramount to be seen because drivers just don’t expect to see a person on a bike when it is 15 degrees out and or there is snow on the ground. The use of rear and front blinking lights, side visibility issues, reflective clothing, vests, the list goes on and on! There are many web sites you can Google Bicycle Visibility for and check out for ideas and products.

Certainly there is no “Silver Bullet” that will protect you 100%, but you sure can increase the odds of NOT getting hit, especially at night. Complacency is cause for more accidents than any one would ever want to truly admit.

Safe Cycling – Act Accordingly……….Cyclist Visibility – ‘Survival of the Brightest’

The other night (before all the snow) about 7PM, I was approaching an intersection when something caught my eye to my left. I had to look twice, first to acquire the object, realize it was moving and then second to identify what it was. All dressed on dark clothing face covered against the cold was a bicyclist. There was absolutely no lights, reflectors, bright clothing or because of the cold skin showing. Nothing on to help mark this person, just their dark light absorbing clothing. The truth is my wife spotted this person first and I am not sure I would have seen them before it would have mattered. And I think I am very observant and always looking for cyclists.

Now my first thought was, that person is in a dangerous situation, moving about in an urban area at night etc. etc. Then I thought, given the outcomes of many car vs. bicyclist crashes just how unfair was this person on that bike being!?!? I mean even a reflector or one piece of bright colored clothing would be better than nothing. When a bicyclist gets hit by a vehicle it ruins more than the just that bicyclist day.

There are so many ways to improve the visibility of a rider and their bike. It is crucial to be seen as far away as possible to give drivers time to react to what they see, make a judgment and then act. This is especially true during the colder months and winter it is paramount to be seen because drivers just don’t expect to see a person on a bike when it is 15 degrees out and or there is snow on the ground. The use of rear and front blinking lights, side visibility issues, reflective clothing, vests, the list goes on and on! There are many web sites you can Google Bicycle Visibility for and check out for ideas and products.

Certainly there is no “Silver Bullet” that will protect you 100%, but you sure can increase the odds of NOT getting hit, especially at night. Complacency is cause for more accidents than any one would ever want to truly admit.

Safe Cycling – Act Accordingly……….Cyclist Visibility – ‘Survival of the Brightest’

If you believe that Oil Prices will stay at the level they have been, think again!
OPEC WILL raise oil prices as soon as they can and as high as the market can stand. That is a simple rule of economics. Since it is Saudi Arabia’s(and others) major, if not sole source of income, when the price drops on the world market due to various economic variables it is like you or I getting a salary cut every time it snows here this winter.
So for OPEC to attempt to control the production rates of oil, which directly controls the demand i.e. price, because the demand now out weighs the supply is a no brainer.

So what can we do about it? I mean besides lip service to some broad stroke policy statement made in DC. Hmmmmmm what?

I starting to think about how I could reduce my costs associated with oil. I need it when I need it, heat my house, drive my car, lights etc. but I can reduce it. Turn lights out, change light bulbs out to low energy LED or fluorescent (yes I know there is an environmental impact with all this, but practically speaking) turn the heat down few degrees, and I drive slower when I do drive. Conserve more stuff and make that your life style. And since this about bicycles, use one more often than I have!

Yep, if we all demanded of ourselves the behaviors that we might be asking Government to do there would be fewer problems to solve. Behaviors that would directly put a huge dent into our need for OIL and might make it a far less of an issue in the overall picture. Too bad a few US auto makers didn’t get the message earlier, things might be brighter in Detroit this winter for all those associated with that industry. But alas it is human nature to take the path of least resistance. Won’t make you richer, stronger, or smarter, but it is easier.

This past week’s ice storm in the Northeast has forced the example of what is like to live without electricity, from a few hours to days and looks like weeks in some places. Imagine for just a minute, what it would be like to have that even more wide spread and for longer periods of time. Use your imagination because in this new world we all live in, with current events, economic and other wise, it’s not all that much of a stretch as it might had been say when gasoline was .50 cents a gallon.

So that visceral reaction to $4+ a gallon of gas will be back, maybe not at $4+ but $3.50 is not bargain either.

Ride more, save more!

OK, so for the first entry here I agonized over just what to write about. I thought about how important it would be to set the tone and draw readers in for their exchange of ideas comments etc. I thought about how it would be important that I write about who we are, Ed (Shawsheen) and Vin (OldRoads.com) the bike guys at the a Cambridge Antique Market. What we are doing with this project etc.

Then it hit me…like “Dawn on Marblehead”.

I would like to introduce this blog to whom we hope to reach. That would be you! And just who are you? Who is it that comes to the Cambridge Antique Market and purchases used and or vintage bicycles? Who is it that will ride a bicycle 300 out of 365 days per year or every weekend or to the store three times a week? Who is it that sees a used bike as an opportunity to recycle something that already is one of the greenest manmade things, or just someone that likes to save a dollar rather than spend nearly what was $4.00 per gallon of gas. Although, we all like to think that we are very different from one another, you do have a few things in common. How can we say this you ask…? Well we have literally met hundreds upon hundreds of you and these are some of the things we have learned.

You are often an under grad, grad or some other type of student in some shape or form. You are here in the great Metro Area of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville etc. to pursue a world class education. OR, you are a professional working in this wonderful urban area that is host to so many possibilities for incredible work opportunities even when the economy is in free fall. OR, you are a hard working person that is enjoying all that this area has to offer in way of the arts, music, sports and you most likely take part in it all yourself and an artist, ball player or musician. OR you live here because you want to, not because you’re passing through for what ever the reason. You love the drastic contrasts of the region culturally, its weather, its landscapes and all that which make up this place we all call home.

A few more observations are: you like inexpensive transportation and feel good about that when you use it. You appreciate form AND function when they are combined, as they are with bicycles. You appreciate things that are well made. You appreciate being green, not just talking about it and you probably are not one to brag about it either. You appreciate being healthy, as a matter of life style. You appreciate that you can take a 20, 30, 40 year old item that has a lot of use left in it and make something new of it again. You appreciate the fact that for most any given day, you travel faster and more efficiently than all those vehicles you share the road with. You appreciate riding your bicycle because is down right fun and it makes you feel more like the urban dweller that you are. A part of this living breathing urban space we call home.

We would like to say thanks for chatting with us when you come in and letting us know who you are!

We hope that Bike Me Blog, among many things, will be an exchange of practical information that is both entertaining and informative.

Next week. Who are the bike guys in the basement at the Cambridge Antique Market?

I’d like to have you all come up with a saying that includes Bike Me in it that we might use to end this blog each time!

Hit the comment button and give it a try!

OK, so for the first entry here I agonized over just what to write about. I thought about how important it would be to set the tone and draw readers in for their exchange of ideas comments etc. I thought about how it would be important that I write about who we are, Ed (Shawsheen) and Vin (OldRoads.com) the bike guys at the a Cambridge Antique Market. What we are doing with this project etc.

Then it hit me…like “Dawn on Marblehead”.

I would like to introduce this blog to whom we hope to reach. That would be you! And just who are you? Who is it that comes to the Cambridge Antique Market and purchases used and or vintage bicycles? Who is it that will ride a bicycle 300 out of 365 days per year or every weekend or to the store three times a week? Who is it that sees a used bike as an opportunity to recycle something that already is one of the greenest manmade things, or just someone that likes to save a dollar rather than spend nearly what was $4.00 per gallon of gas. Although, we all like to think that we are very different from one another, you do have a few things in common. How can we say this you ask…? Well we have literally met hundreds upon hundreds of you and these are some of the things we have learned.

You are often an under grad, grad or some other type of student in some shape or form. You are here in the great Metro Area of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville etc. to pursue a world class education. OR, you are a professional working in this wonderful urban area that is host to so many possibilities for incredible work opportunities even when the economy is in free fall. OR, you are a hard working person that is enjoying all that this area has to offer in way of the arts, music, sports and you most likely take part in it all yourself and an artist, ball player or musician. OR you live here because you want to, not because you’re passing through for what ever the reason. You love the drastic contrasts of the region culturally, its weather, its landscapes and all that which make up this place we all call home.

A few more observations are: you like inexpensive transportation and feel good about that when you use it. You appreciate form AND function when they are combined, as they are with bicycles. You appreciate things that are well made. You appreciate being green, not just talking about it and you probably are not one to brag about it either. You appreciate being healthy, as a matter of life style. You appreciate that you can take a 20, 30, 40 year old item that has a lot of use left in it and make something new of it again. You appreciate the fact that for most any given day, you travel faster and more efficiently than all those vehicles you share the road with. You appreciate riding your bicycle because is down right fun and it makes you feel more like the urban dweller that you are. A part of this living breathing urban space we call home.

We would like to say thanks for chatting with us when you come in and letting us know who you are!

We hope that Bike Me Blog, among many things, will be an exchange of practical information that is both entertaining and informative.

Next week. Who are the bike guys in the basement at the Cambridge Antique Market?

I’d like to have you all come up with a saying that includes Bike Me in it that we might use to end this blog each time!

Hit the comment button and give it a try!