Market Day

Wednesday I woke up to NPR announcing that Oregon has the third highest air pollution in the Nation, owing largely to auto emissions. The paper went on to explain that Oregonians have some of the highest rates of Cancer due to air pollution. Sure made me glad not to be contributing to the problem.

I had another Chiropractic appointment, after which I peddled to the hardware store, City Bikes, and onto the Farmers Market. I love market day, especially in spring, everything looks so new and vibrant. People's Food Co-op hosts one of the city's only year round markets, and even though there are fewer booths this time of year, the teaming baskets of produce, the musicians, and the people are a delight to the senses. I love knowing the people who raise my food.

My bike buckets drew a lot of attention (I hope to have photos soon), the Farmers Market is in a neighborhood with a large cycling population. Several people were curious as to why I have them mounted over the front wheel, rather than the rear (I didn't have the Trail-A-Bike attached, so the answer wasn't obvious), as well as exactly how I built and mounted them, so I will be posting DIY instructions here soon.

Thanks to the bike-scale bungee cords that I picked up at City Bikes, I managed to use the top of the buckets as a surface on which to strap a flat of veggie starts and other delicate items from the Farmers Market. Also noteworthy: I was able to get all of my errands done in just over 3 miles: most car trips in America are under 5 miles -many are under 1 mile- making utility cycling a real option. Yet many folks have the misguided notion that they have "too much running around to do" to go by bike. If they actually looked at the mileage, and perhaps planned their trips, they would find utility cycling not only very do-able, but also far more enjoyable than fighting their way through traffic

Wednesdays Ride: 3 miles
Cumulative Bike Miles Since Febuary 1st: 151
Cumulative Cycling Expenses: $40
Cumulative Cost per Mile: $0.26

Cancer Cuasing Emissions: O

Subverting the dominant paradigm: Priceless