Carbon Lite? Go Outside.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early and headed off to lead the regularly scheduled FAB Coffee & Donut Ride. I arrived at the rendevous to find four hearty souls waiting in the 26-degree temps.

A guest! We were pleased to have Tom from Minneapolis join us for the ride. It didn't take long to learn he volunteers for Transit for Livable Communities, one of my favorite organizations, and he knows some of my (heros?) favorite people.

We headed off to Dunn Brothers - and I managed 27 miles for the morning.

In the afternoon The Family headed to the Outdoor Campus. We explored the place for a few hours. I took some pictures of the wildlife along the way.

I failed to take a picture of the snake we found warming in the sun. Snakes. November. The Boy 7 and The Wife saw a deer - I didn't get a photo of that either.

I did get a tree sloth.



There was a kid who's not necessarily soft spoken but he still had a big stick .



We found these ducks.



This one appeared to be Alpha.



Finally, it was clear that we'd overstayed our welcome.



We wandered some more and found a bird named Woody...



...and a tree that could hold everybody up.



Finally it was getting late...



...so we headed home.

Wandering around the city. Left the car behind a while ago. Haircuts, Caribou (we got in trouble for beverages on the bus - a risk I knowingly took), couldn't quite grasp the 10th & Phillips demonstration as we passed on the bus. They were gone when we were able to make our way back. I assume PETA. Finally the Visual Arts Center - Scott Ehrisman's got a piece it kinda like - and Roller Dollz photos too.

Good times exploring.

091123 Transportation Donut

Some weeks it just all comes together...



A bit of a big week in MinusCarLandia. There a few pots on the stove. I'm almost to busy too drive - and that's reflected in the donut!

My favorite meeting this last week was the CAC of the MPO at SECOG. There was lots of discussion about what it means to have received the Bicycle Friendly Community award. Lots of people are pretty happy about it. I didn't hear a bit of cynicism. When traffic engineers are happy about bikes, I'm happy about bikes.

At that meeting an engineer explained how it was that for many years traffic engineers have gnashed their teeth and asked the question - what would happen if the sensitivity of vehicle sensors was increased to detect bikes. Would it mess up traffic?

Our fresh young engineer turned all that upside down by going out and increasing the sensitivity of some of the vehicle sensors.

That story brought a lot of laughter into the room. If you can't laugh at yourselves who can you laugh at, eh?

--

The other big things are the No Impact Man movie and the Falls Area Singletrack project. There's probably a post or two about those nearby.

Playing In The Dirt

After more than a year The Falls Area Singletrack (FAST) project at Leaders Park is just about out of the incubator. The City's Parks Board approved our proposal and agreed to let it go to the neighborhood for public input.



The Parks Department has a website for the project as well.

Yesterday FAST held an informational meeting for interested people. I had my usual "what if you throw a party and nobody comes?" anxiety and the bike community showed up with five times my minimum expectation.

That Snakebitten fellow and I worked the agenda. There was plenty of participation by attendees and I feel like we're ready to respond to most any question we might get.

No Impact Man: The Movie Part III - It's Happening

There I was, minding my own business and this poster arrived.



It's a free movie! About The No Impact Man.

Please come.

If you're Facebook inclined the event page is here.

No Impact Man: The Movie Part II

The other day on the way to work I stopped off for a warm cup of joe. That's not the only Joe I found, the director of The Sioux Falls Green Project was in there.

We chatted. I'm all like, "MinusCar Project."

He's all like "Sioux Falls Green Project."

I'm all like "No Impact Project (the movie)."

He's all like, "hmmmm..."

(parts of this post may be fictionalized for a poor attempt at enhanced drama. can you feel it? the drama?)

(i totally want to be clear, Joe doesn't at all sound like this when he talks. i on the other hand, as far as you know, do.)

091116 Transportation Donut

The ratio of bike to single occupant vehicle looks good. The multi-occupant miles are very high due to a trip to Mitchell for a meeting about the South Dakota Bicycle Coalition.

The high cost of state level advocacy, darn. The meeting was good though. We know what we're doing for the next 9-ish months.

No Impact Man: The Movie

I noticed the No Impact Man movie is out and about. I was thinking the other day how nice it would be if it showed in Sioux Falls. Colin Beavan has been blogging his journey for a long time and often puts words down that resonate VERY well with me.

What's not to like - it's the No Impact Project. No Impact Project, MinusCar Project - like peanut butter and chocolate, no?

So I was just thinking how nice it would be if it showed in Sioux Falls.

Here's the trailer. Watch it. Even it's good.



Yeah, I like the No Impact Man and the No Impact Project.

091109 Transportation Donut

First, The Dad celebrated 4,000 bike miles this week.

It was a pretty good week. I’m particularly happy with the walking part. The Boy 11 says I didn’t walk much. I said if I walked enough to match the other sections I’d still be walking.



I’m a little surprised that it’s been so long since I’ve posted. I’m a little busy right now with actual projects with actual people.

I’ve had conversations with a health department in Lincoln, NE, a health department in South Dakota, and the Community Education program in Sioux Falls. All of these were about my involvment in the LAB Bike Ed curriculum.

I attended our Planning Commission meeting and spoke favorably about the Shape Sioux Falls 2035 Comprehensive Plan. Their approval was a necessary stop as it makes it’s way to the City Council.

The Falls Area Singletrack project took a very significant step forward this week.

I'm transitioning from my 3-year stint as treasurer of FAB to FAB Webdude.

The MinusCar Project has a something in development too.

Plenty of potential for stories to come.

091102 Transportation Donut

I started out the week strong but faltered in the end. Less rain in the forecast will help with motivation - which I need right now. This is the best time of year for riding...and night riding just got a lot more convenient.

Let's go!

Another Way For Less To Be More

In "ad man" Rory Sutherland's TED Talk he describes using marketing to make less seem like more.