Cycling http://gatewaynode.com/taxonomy/term/67/atom/feed 2008-05-23T14:38:31-07:00 So it's happened... http://gatewaynode.com/node/50 2008-10-19T10:28:05-07:00 2008-10-19T10:33:59-07:00 justjohn     So it's finally happened to me.  I've been lured out of an environmentally friendly lifestyle and into an 80 mile a day commuter lifestyle.  OK, so lured is probably the wrong way to put it, I'm was terrified by what I learned about our economy over the last year so I started looking for a full time job instead of trying to run my own business through a greater depression cycle.  And that's what we're really entering, a greater depression cycle.  And this time, like the last time, it's fundamentally about too much debt.

    Most people I know who follow the economy assume that the central cause of our economic instability is based on the huge amount of bad real estate debt out there, and yes that is part of it.  Unfortunately it's only a very small part of it, just the tiny spark that has started a fire on banking sheets across the globe that will bring to light the enormous amount of debt that has crept into every aspect of the modern economy.  It's almost comical how many businesses, across the globe, run their operations on borrowed money.  And with how razor thin the actual cash reserves of modern businesses are (with very few exceptions), these businesses that are built on credit will begin to fail as the credit becomes unavailable or the interest rates on the loans rise directly cutting into the business profits.  It kinda snowballs from here on out.

    And the government responses have been patently ridiculous.  You can't solve a debt based problem by piling more debt on the people whom the economy depends on to keep it moving!  That's just absurd!

]]>     So it's finally happened to me.  I've been lured out of an environmentally friendly lifestyle and into an 80 mile a day commuter lifestyle.  OK, so lured is probably the wrong way to put it, I'm was terrified by what I learned about our economy over the last year so I started looking for a full time job instead of trying to run my own business through a greater depression cycle.  And that's what we're really entering, a greater depression cycle.  And this time, like the last time, it's fundamentally about too much debt.

    Most people I know who follow the economy assume that the central cause of our economic instability is based on the huge amount of bad real estate debt out there, and yes that is part of it.  Unfortunately it's only a very small part of it, just the tiny spark that has started a fire on banking sheets across the globe that will bring to light the enormous amount of debt that has crept into every aspect of the modern economy.  It's almost comical how many businesses, across the globe, run their operations on borrowed money.  And with how razor thin the actual cash reserves of modern businesses are (with very few exceptions), these businesses that are built on credit will begin to fail as the credit becomes unavailable or the interest rates on the loans rise directly cutting into the business profits.  It kinda snowballs from here on out.

    And the government responses have been patently ridiculous.  You can't solve a debt based problem by piling more debt on the people whom the economy depends on to keep it moving!  That's just absurd!

    So I feel lucky that I was able to secure a job that not only is a near perfect match for my skill set, and has me working with a great team, but a job that will also actually benefit from the early years of this greater depressive cycle.  Both my wife and I should be relatively unaffected by the early years of this catastrophe, and hopefully we'll be able to prepare enough to rough out the later years.  But achieving that relative security has required that I compromise some of my environmental values, which really hurts.  I really enjoy trying to live as efficiently and conscientiously as possible, and I've had to work hard to convince myself that an 40 mile commute is worth it.

    So I guess you could say that I've been busier than usual, but in a good way.  And for the time being, this blog will be less about environmentalism and more about technology and computing, just so I don't offend myself with the hypocricy of preaching what I cannot practice.

]]> A note to those who may take up regular cycling. http://gatewaynode.com/node/28 2008-05-23T14:33:52-07:00 2008-05-23T14:38:31-07:00 justjohn A spinning bicycle wheel    I actually didn't cycle today as everything I had to get out and do was less than a mile away and the weather was perfect(70 degrees F and sunny). So instead I just walked, pushing my daughter in the Bob. And I noticed, far more new people, cycling than I've ever seen out before, which is great.

    But, most of the new people I saw cycling where using the sidewalks. This is something that is actually pretty dangerous, more so most of the time than riding on the road. You see sidewalks are designed specifically for pedestrians, who move at 1-2mph, even joggers typically don't break 6mph. Which is slow enough for pedestrians to be able to safely negotiate passing and emergency collision avoidance on a 3' wide path. But even a casual cyclist will travel 8-10mph, and a cyclist moving at a good cruise will achieve 12-20mph. At those speeds the sidewalk is dangerously narrow for a bicycle, there simply is not enough time or room to safely pass pedestrians and other cyclists.

    To be fair, there are a lot of roads in the suburban environment that are also fairly dangerous for cyclists where the sidewalk might be a better choice. But realistically to be safe on a sidewalk a cyclist needs to slow down to less than 6mph and be much more alert than you would be on a street. Did I mention sidewalk designers don't care about blind turns either?

]]> A spinning bicycle wheel    I actually didn't cycle today as everything I had to get out and do was less than a mile away and the weather was perfect(70 degrees F and sunny). So instead I just walked, pushing my daughter in the Bob. And I noticed, far more new people, cycling than I've ever seen out before, which is great.

    But, most of the new people I saw cycling where using the sidewalks. This is something that is actually pretty dangerous, more so most of the time than riding on the road. You see sidewalks are designed specifically for pedestrians, who move at 1-2mph, even joggers typically don't break 6mph. Which is slow enough for pedestrians to be able to safely negotiate passing and emergency collision avoidance on a 3' wide path. But even a casual cyclist will travel 8-10mph, and a cyclist moving at a good cruise will achieve 12-20mph. At those speeds the sidewalk is dangerously narrow for a bicycle, there simply is not enough time or room to safely pass pedestrians and other cyclists.

    To be fair, there are a lot of roads in the suburban environment that are also fairly dangerous for cyclists where the sidewalk might be a better choice. But realistically to be safe on a sidewalk a cyclist needs to slow down to less than 6mph and be much more alert than you would be on a street. Did I mention sidewalk designers don't care about blind turns either?

    Also I can understand the trepidation some new cyclists may have about navigating in auto traffic. It is surely intimidating, especially if you haven't broken the 100 mile mark since taking up riding again (basically the 100 mile mark is roughly when riding will start to feel like second nature again). So while I don't encourage cycling on the sidewalk, if you feel you need to just keep it slow and be careful.

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