Biking and Spirituality

The "dashboard" of the mule, circa late January 2009

I have often found bicycling more than just a mode of transport from point-A to point-B. Nor is it simply a way to conserve gas money, get exercise, and save the planet...for me bicycling can actually be a meditative and spiritual practice. When I'm in traffic in a vehicle I, like many, often find myself frustrated and angry. When I'm on a bike life takes on a different pace...things are more relaxed, calmer...simpler.

I, of course, am not the only one who feels this way....click here, here, here, here, and here.

This Bothers Me

This bothers me on many levels (and no, the quality of the image isn't one of them). I was out for a walk today and came across this soda container in the grass...it bothers me that a person would either discard it as they walked by or threw it out a car window...couldn't they wait to get to a trash can? But what I find equally bothersome is the size of the container...64 ounces! That's a half-gallon of soda. Could one person have drank that entire thing? I was recently at a movie theater and the smallest soda available was 24 ounces...popcorn came served in containers larger than a waste-basket. But then again that may explain why the container was lying in the grass...maybe the owner drank the entire 64 ounces and passed out and had to be rushed to hospital...leaving only an empty container as evidence.

Whole Grain Breads

If you are at all interested in whole grain bread making this video will be of interest...it's a 15 minute clip of a talk given by the prolific author/baker, Peter Reinhart. To visit his blog, click here; to visit an Amazon search of his books, click here.

Sold!

Yup, I sold it...well, almost...was given a down-payment on it. The buyer is a local chef/restaurateur that is going to use it to make deliveries...awesome, I couldn't ask for a better home for it. When the sale goes through and it's in use I'll post photos and links. In the meantime here's a link of it in use a year-and-a-half ago...click here.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#72)

Twenty Loaves of whole wheat bread in seven plastic crates.
A canvas bag containing 4 books.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#71)

20 pounds of whole wheat flour in two plastic containers.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#70)

$65.68 worth of groceries.
Two packages of sushi (California roll).
Three liters of red wine.
A u-lock.
Two plastic soda crates.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#69)

2000 feet of plastic wrap.

Three Qualities of a Sustainable City

This is a great interview with Jan Gehl...the Danish architect who specializes in sustainable city design (to read a short bio of him click here).

If you're a regular reader of this blog this video is preaching to the choir, but it's an inspiring one none-the-less (and worth the 4 minutes to watch). Hopefully more cities in America will heed his (and other advocate's) advice.

Jan Gehl: 3 Qualities of the sustainable city from Sustainable Cities™ on Vimeo.

Things That Can Be Carried On A Bike (#68)

Two ceramic dinner plates.