Stuff Bicyclists Like - Insanely Long, Perhaps Reckless Bike Rides

You know those nagging thoughts that linger in your mind, itching and gnawing every once in a while? Whenever I get one of those I think back to what I learned in the best film I've ever seen in my life:

“Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny.” -Babe

Well, I've had this idea for a couple years now, so while I don't think it'll reveal any sort of destiny, I can't ignore it much longer.

Quest: 100 mile bike ride
Destination: a friend's place in Davis, CA (will have to check in with them first or else risk crashing at the Amtrak station...on the plus side there's an In-N-Out nearby)
Prep: buy bike patches, eat more protein, stop eating cookies and froyo
Logistics: route map pending
Countdown: 10 days

Will update soon

--------- End of mission log ---------

How cities can promote environmental justice

Maybe cities aren't the best proponents of environmental justice (as of now).  Most often, cities are the scene of the crime - fires at a Chevron refinery in Richmond, CA, air pollution from the port in Wilmington, CA.  These cases and others like it impact already vulnerable communities the most, but it doesn't have to be so.

Environmental Justice.  It was hard to define this especially because I hear so many different meanings. But the best and clearest definition I've heard comes from activist Majora Carter "no community should be saddled with more environmental burdens and less environmental benefits than any other." In her TED talk, Carter speaks of how the creation of a greenway along the South Bronx waterfront transformed the surrounding neighborhoods with green open spaces and mixed-use economic development.

I am inspired to think that cities don't have to be the sites of social and environmental degradation anymore.

Here is Majora Carter on "Greening the Ghetto"

Me on Vacation

From either humortrain.com or failblog.org (I forget)

Ugh, the sad truth. It's spring break and I have to drag myself to go outside. But so far, it has not been a total waste.  I went to a Trader Joe's for the first time and splurged on their chocolate almonds.  It's the small victories that count.

The big victory is that I survived near death by challenging my inexperienced Angeleno legs to bike San Francisco's hilly streets, much to the annoyance of the motorists behind me.  Never mind the hills, the ridiculous wind speed alone almost toppled me into the car's path.  I'm exaggerating, but those winds do travel really fast.  

So, chocolate almonds and conqueror of Market Street, SF. Pretty good start to my first spring break away from home.

Farmer's Market at Market/7th St

RIo Hondo + Los Angeles River Bike Path

Bicycle Culture in LA

Bicycle Culture in Los Angeles from Jimena Cuenca on Vimeo.

Stuff Bicyclists Like - Spoke Cards

For my first assignment in my cultural anthropology course, I have to write a 4 page commentary on the website Stuff White People Like.  I've taken a quick look at it, enough to satisfy my happiness that this is not going to be a boring, dry assignment, which is great.  Another part of the assignment is to write a "stuff my people like" entry.  I immediately thought of bicyclists.

I protested getting a driver's license as long as I could, but my parents practically shoved me into the DMV when I turned 20.  So now I drive, begrudgingly, with a permit and I'm in no hurry to take the test. Well, maybe in a bit of a hurry. I really want to drive up north to Montaña de Oro or San Simeon.  But anyway, the reason I detest automobiles is because I am first a bicyclist.

The reasons are multiple and varied.  Inexpensive, environmentally friendly, fun and cool. I love bicycles.  I've been riding since I was in the 3rd grade. So yeah, I'm part of the community.  That's not to say I'm an expert though.  Just like with any society, a group is filled with many perspectiveS and that's a capital S in bold because that's the way my Anthro Professor wrote it.  The S means to be aware of oversimplification at the risk of stereotypes.  A group has many individuals, each with their own perspective and belief.

That's a long-winded explanation of this post...

So, stuff bicyclists like. Spoke Cards!

Food Not Bombs

I'm not sure whether they have any specific function.  I've heard some people say that certain spoke cards represent the group rides one has been on. This particular one was made by a pretty cool guy named Woody, who volunteers at the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. It definitely has a humanistic/political message. I also think some spoke cards just look cool and have an aesthetic appeal.

What are your thoughts?

Project for Positive Change

My final project for my Critical Thinking course is to "concretize some of the theoretical concepts we have been investigating, in particular alienation (both interpersonal and intrapersonal), division of labor and commodity fetishism."  So, we've analyzed Marx's German Ideology and Althusser's Ideological State Apparatus, which were interesting and demanding reads that analyzed alienation and division of labor within society and the individual.

Anyways, the final project is called Project for Positive Change.  I don't feel alienated at the moment.  Maybe during midterm week or finals that might change, but at the moment I'm kind of excited about this.

Week 4 

If only more people would__________that would make my life and the lives of my community members better.

I knew I wanted to work with bicycles, but I didn't know what issue to approach.  I thought about expanding bicycle safety education, especially after a spirited debate with a colleague about the bicycling trend in Los Angeles (of which he was adamantly against).  I'm still not really sure what I want to do for this project and for the sake of this assignment I suppose I should pick soon. 

So, I guess if only more people would advocate for more bikeable and walkable spaces that would make my life and the lives of my community members better.

Next Step is identifying my immediate community.