Autumn Bike Ride

Yesterday, a few days into Autumn, the heat of the summer finally broke. I awoke to a chill in the air and the mid-afternoon temperature peaked in the low 70's. What a great evening for a enjoying the weather on my bike, and so I made good on the promise of a long ride.

Here's a poem that captures some of that spirit by Michael Schein entitled "Autumn."

On the first day of Autumn,
a chrysalis day of slanted light,
I am drawn back to my bike,
the steel Bianchi
I rode one-hunredth of the way
to the moon this year,
then abandoned in August to the spiders.

Oh, what joy,
to be pedaling again
into the headlong rush
of the September breeze,
into bird songs
and swirling sepia leaves,
past sculls cutting the canal,
my purring crank and derailleur
a clockwork of wheels within wheels
shifting light and dark
like this gloaming Equinox.

A bicycle is balance and momentum,
the music of the spheres
distilled in steel or aluminum.
It requires no balance
to ride in an automobile:
one devours terrain
oblivious to its texture,
to pleasure or pain,
lusting only for the destination.

Perched on my saddle,
I am soft and observant
as the day I was born,
calm as in my mother's arms.

"It's as easy as riding a bicycle" we say,
and it is easy, this gentle machine,
the most efficient way to transmit
our small strength into motion.
With ninety-nine more such autumns
and the solar wind pressing me forward,
I believe I could pedal to the moon,
and never miss a single hummingbird.

God on a Bike

A poem by Pat Winslow

God on a bike going twenty miles and hour
over speed ramps, ignoring the pinch-space
cars that would topple him, helmetless
and roaring at road-ragers, mobile phone users,
the guess-where-I'm-going school of motorist.
His long white beard parts in the wind.

God speed, God. He stops at red lights
if he has to, but prefers to sail through.
Lycra shorts in all weathers, hairy legs,
pistoning past churches and bingo halls.
God on a bike is good news. He knows
when to apply severe body torque.

God's a rock hopper, a weekend mud churner,
a star on wheels. He can fix a puncture
in five minutes flat, slalom through gravel,
go twenty-four hours without sleeping.
He's the captain of the Cat and Fiddle,
Box Hill, C2C. He's a mashed gear man.

God cycles forty days and forty nights
alone in the wilderness. He stokes up
on Mars Bars, forks more transport cafe
breakfasts, smokes more fags than I could.
He's a seven-day wonder. The whole world
in a week. That's God the father.

Son Jesus does his own repairs, prefers
Reynolds tubing. He's had the same frame
for thirty odd years. He wears toe clips
that bruise his feet - that's
what comes of wearing sandals.
A chain guard keeps his robes clean.

There's a silver bell he rings each time
he rounds a bend in case of donkeys
or a man carrying a bed. Jesus on a bike
does the shopping. Bread and fish fingers,
a little wine. Abstemious Jesus with hair
in a ponytail under a kitemarked helmet.

There's an orange flag on a stick to warn
drivers to stay clear. Jesus isn't fearful
just careful. He carries batteries and cables,
a cape for bad weather. He's chairman of a club.
Twelve good mates. Though one's a bit suspect.
Drives a car that cost thirty thou. Flash git, Judas.

Sustainable Health Care, Part 2 - The Way We Live

This week's newspaper column - second in a two-part series on sustainable health care reform.

The way we lay out our neighborhoods directly impacts how much we, as a society, pay for health care.

Let’s take an imaginary drive through a typical American subdivision. (I say “drive” because walking is usually not an option.)

Scooting down the main drag, we see strip malls and commercial buildings lined up end to end. With rare exception, everyone we encounter along this strip drove there in an automobile.

Huge parking lots in front of each establishment accommodate workers and patrons who park as close to the front door as possible. After all, who would want to walk on hot pavement with the sun beating down when all the trees have been removed?

And you’ll notice that all of the parking lots are disconnected. To get from one place to another – even if the destination is next door – people get back in their cars and drive. Don’t bother looking for sidewalks; in strip mall land, walking is so uncool.

Something else is striking about this landscape. Where are the homes? No wonder no one is walking. You can’t get here from there. Let’s turn off on one of the side streets and see if we can find where people live.

Now we’re talking. We were looking for houses and now we have it - blocks and blocks of houses one after another without a grocery store in sight. Don’t bother looking for sidewalks here either. When all services are miles away, where would you walk to anyway?

Now let’s tour a sustainable community. I’m stopping the car; we can walk from here.

Tree-lined streets provide a cool canopy for our leisurely stroll down the sidewalk as we wave to friends and neighbors. Homes are located in close proximity to businesses here, so it’s practical and pleasant to walk to the grocery store rather than – out of necessity - drive.

We can stop in at that little coffee shop around the corner and meet Aunt Bertha. She’s not driving any more since she turned 80, but she gets around just fine. She walks to the bank, she walks to the diner, she even walks to the senior center where she and her friends have a rollicking good time. They all kid Aunt Bertha about being “spry as a kitten” because of her independence and zest for life. Aunt Bertha doesn’t spend much time at the doctor’s office.

Her younger sister, on the other hand, lives in suburbia. She also gave up driving a couple of years ago, but unlike Aunt Bertha, Aunt Bea is housebound. When she needs to go somewhere, someone must drive to her house and act as chauffer. Aunt Bea gets virtually no exercise, and is in considerably worse health than her older sister with the medical records to prove it.

Communities where walking is a normal part of daily life are inherently healthier places to live than those where driving is the only option. Think about that when you choose your next home.

Futureville

Images: The 1959 Compton Yearbook

Here, a vision of the future of auto-fashion from 50 years ago. So where are our cool futuristic vehicles?

BeauSoleil: Have House, Will Travel

BeauSoleil: Dress Rehearsal

photos: Philip Gould

Solar Decathlon Update: Every two years 20 university teams are chosen, based on proposals, to design an all-solar home and assemble it on the National Mall in Washington DC for public viewing and judging. Check back each Wednesday as the NAV Blog reports on the process of the design and construction of BeauSoleil, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's entry. For more info about the project, visit their website. And check out a short film about the project.



A couple of images by photographer Philip Gould depict the BeauSoleil home set up in Lafayette and "ready to go."

Th all-solar home is now en route to DC. I'll be stepping up the coverage over the next few weeks as TEAM BeauSoleil puts down roots on the National Mall.

Wright's Greek Orthodox Church, part 2

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Frank Lloyd Wright designed several churches over the course of his lifetime. While still in his teens, he supervised the construction of the Lloyd Jones family chapel designed by a Chicago architect of some renown - J. L. Silsbee. Wright would go on to apprentice in Silsbee's office for a year before landing a job with Adler and Sullivan.

Mr. Wright would often tout is credentials for designing churches as 'not belonging to any of them.' When asked about his religion, he explained "I put a capital "N" on Nature and I call that my religion."

Fast forward to the mid 1950's and here you have his Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin - a suburb of Milwaukee.

I stopped by to take some photos on my last trip to Milwaukee. More photos tomorrow. Holds up pretty well, I'd say. What do you think?

Billionaires for WealthCare Take to the Streets

There's a powerful constituency in the US that is "mad as hell" about the possibility of health care reform: Billionaires.

Actually, Billionaires for WealthCare is a bit of performance art that makes a powerful point about who stands to benefit most from keeping the status quo in the American health care (lack of a) system.

In this video, enthusiastic Billionaires for WealthCare join in with anti-reform marchers. Watch a "Kumbaya moment" where tea party protesters discover that "hey, we're for the same thing!"

Popping the Cork on BeauSoleil

Photo: the Daily Advertiser

TEAM BeauSoleil celebrated the competition their Solar Decathlon entry Thursday evening with an exhuberent "Bon Voyage" party.

The all-solar home, designed and constructed by ULL students, will now be on its way to Washington, DC where it will be installed on the National Mall along with 19 other university teams for public display and judging.

Set-up begins October 1st, homes are open to the public starting October 9th, and the event culminates with the awards ceremony on October 16th.

Lafayette's Daily Advertiser posted this photo essay and write-up.