Bicycles and politics - part 2

Alrighty. I've spent some time on the McCain website. Like Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain articulates a stance on energy - "John McCain On Energy For A Secure Nation."

The basic premise of McCain's statement is that our dependence on foreign sources of oil threatens our national security and provides direct support to our enemies. I'll dig into this in my next post, but for now let's just take this at face value. Anytime you're dependent on a resource you don't control, the person who controls that resource has leverage over you. If you have to pay that person for the resource and you don't particularly like each other - you're supporting your enemy.

So what does McCain propose to do to mitigate this leverage? I suggest you read the full content by following the links I've provided, but for you PowerPoint junkies here are the bullet points:

• We must increase oil production "here at home."
  
• McCain supports the development of alternate sources of power for our vehicles and the promotion of energy efficiency.
  
• McCain will "effectively" enforce existing CAFE standards (the mileage requirements auto makers must meet).
  
• McCain believes alcohol-based fuels hold great promise as both alternative to gasoline and as a means of expanding consumers' choices. Two subpoints - isolationist tariffs and special interest subsidies are not moving us toward an alternative fuel choice; and he supports flex-fuel vehicles.
  
• McCain will issue a clean car challenge - offering a tax credit for each and every customer who buys a zero-emissions car.
  
• McCain will propose a $300MM prize to improve battery technology for full commercial development of plug-in hybrid and full electric automobiles.
  

The McCain site also goes into more detail about The Lexington Project - basically his plan for strategic energy independence by the year 2025. This is basically an expansion on the bullet points above and is an interesting read. Included her is a link to his June 2008 speech on the Lex Project.

One observation to leave you with here - both candidates take on the issues of alternate energy sources, domestic production, and fuel efficiency. Only Obama seemed to venture into the question of changing the way we live - actually lessening our dependence on travel by automobile - as part of the solution to our dependence on petroleum, foreign or domestic. Would it be a stretch to label that a "maverick" idea?

Next time - my humble opinion on bicycles and politics.

Bicycles and politics - Intermission

Just letting you know that I'm not ignoring the McCain camp's position on bicycles and politics - but I am having trouble locating it. I have found where the Republicans have bashed Obama for supporting $12MM in earmarks to build bicycle paths ... hmmmm ... wait a minute!

Hold on to your handlebars!

Bicycles and politics - part 1

Looking through what the candidates have to say about transportation - including bicycle commuting. First, let's see what's in Obama's "Plan to Make America a Global Energy Leader":

"Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities: Over the longer term, we know that the amount of fuel we will use is directly related to our land use decisions and development patterns, much of which have been organized around the principle of cheap gasoline. Barack Obama believes that we must move beyond our simple fixation of investing so many of our transportation dollars in serving drivers and that we must make more investments that make it easier for us to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.

- Reform Federal Transportation Funding: As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks, and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country. Building more livable and sustainable communities will not only reduce the amount of time individuals spent commuting, but will also have significant benefits to air quality, public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

- Require States to Plan for Energy Conservation: Current law simply asks governors and their state Departments of Transportation to “consider” energy conservation as a condition of receiving federal transportation dollars. As president, Obama will require governors and local leaders in our metropolitan areas to make “energy conservation” a required part of their planning for the expenditure of federal transportation funds

- Level Employer Incentives for Driving and Public Transit: The federal tax code rewards driving to work by allowing employers to provide parking benefits of $205 per month tax free to their employees. The tax code provides employers with commuting benefits for transit, carpooling or vanpooling capped at $105 per month. This gives drivers a nearly 2:1 advantage over transit users. Obama will reform the tax code to make benefits for driving and public transit or ridesharing equal."

Coming up in Part 2 - what does the McCain camp have to say?

Yipee ki yay, git along little doggies

What do cyclists and cowboys have in common? Saddles and sore arses.

Won't go into details, but let's just say that I need to get the commuter refitted now that it's been repurposed. The angles that worked for triathlons and aerobars do not - ahem! - work for commuting in a more upright position.

Fortunately, it's a rainy week (bad for riding the bike) on the Piedmont and I have my trusty steed (the 77x) equipped with a wide cushy saddle. Round up the herd and pass the ibuprofen!

Lance, again? Uh, yeah!

Anybody out there not see this coming? Burn thru some celebrity girlfriends. Raise money for your foundation. Promote an energy shot. Get bored.

This feels a little like Favre and the Packers. Hoping Lance has as good a first game as did Brett. What y'all thinking about this?

Friday morning coffee

Completed the full enchilada commute yesterday - 38 miles round trip on two wheels. The freeway was jammed up northbound as I passed over I-77 on the Stumptown Road bridge. Ugly.

No bicycle today. I've been trying to keep my Fridays clear of face-to-face meetings in our Uptown Charlotte offices. This enables me to work from our Huntersville office, which happens to be within walking distance of my home. It also affords me the opportunity to grab morning coffee with my good friend Dan.

What is it about coffee and friends? I think I could sit here with Dan for hours just sipping, talking, and thinking. And so we sip, talk, and think. Until our corporate programming sets off cognitive alarms - we begin checking Blackberrys for signs of life on repective motherships and fretting about meetings/decisions in the day ahead. It's time to go.

We say reluctant good-byes and head for the office. Glad to have had the time enjoy the java and friendship, trying to figure out how we can turn this into a living. Anyone?

Monster truck

Departure temperature is 60F. Beautiful morning for my first full-on commuter traffic bike-to-work.

More traffic on the road than my ride home on Tuesday night. People sure do get up early around here. Again, no bad actors. Everyone seemed pretty respectful. Still, I'd feel better if I had a defined bike lane. The GF would feel better, too. I send her a text message when I get to the office. "Safe and sound."

The Monster folks had big pickup truck parked in front of the building this morning. Handing out free cans of "Mean Bean." Was hoping for "Khaos" (my personal favorite), but hey - it's free! I'll give it whirl.

Colleague stopped by the cube after spotting the bike at the end of the aisle. She's been a bike commuter for a while now and has previously promoted bike-to-work days. Happy to see that I've joined the good guys.

Ah, life is grand!

Lunch break walk

Slept in and rode the bus today. Stepped out of the office at lunch time and felt like I'd gone to the dog park and left my puppy at home. Seemed like everywhere I turned, I saw a bike.

So, of course, I went for a ride with friends after getting home this evening. Puppy love.

Lately I've been having political thoughts in between my puppy love moments. This has got to be one of the most interesting election years in my living memory. At least a close second to Nixon/Agnew v Humphrey/Muskie v Wallace/LeMay in '68 following the assassination of RFK. History in either direction - the first African-American president or the first female veep. In 1968 Nixon/Agnew won the popular vote by 500k votes and the electoral vote by 110 votes, leading a shift in power - Republicans became the majority party. 

40 years later - another shift in power?

Road buzz

Today at lunch time I stepped out of the office to grab a bite to eat. It was nice day - low 80s, very little humidity. I knew that I'd have to skip the bus and pedal it home for my first full-fledged evening return trip.

Glad I did.

I think I had pictures in my head of fanged motorists impaling bicyclists on their hood ornaments in the rush hour melee. Never happened. In fact, not a single bad actor. Who has the actuarial tables on that probability?

I did, however, experience the post-commute road buzz with full blown munchies. It's that endorphin-rich sense of well-being that comes after a long run or ride. I'm a road buzz junky. 

Throw some good Mexican food and a Dos Equis on top of road buzz for an augmented high. 

Mmmmmmm. Delicious.

Shifting gear

Bi-modal this morning - had to get to the office early to welcome a new person to the team. Bike-bus-bike. Thinking I'll do the entire commute home this afternoon. Just not enough of a ride this morning and the hurricane at the end of the week should dampen my commuting hopes on Thursday/Friday. Got to ride while the riding's good.

Shifted my gear a bit this weekend. Threw on a rear rack and truck for the clothes I do carry, and went to a messenger bag for the laptop and files. I wasn't thrilled with the backpack and the sweaty back thing. I needed a little room to air out and this seems to do the trick. Couple of photos.That's all she wrote for the morning. Busy day in the office to make up for the banker holiday yesterday.