Where DOES The Time Go?

Is this thing still on?

I haven't yet made summary of my MinusCar performance for 2009 - so I've got no empirical evidence of improvement. I think my car miles decreased again but I'm not sure. I DO know that last year I purchased my first tank of gas on January 26. This year I'll likely be a day or in arrears of that pace.

Lots of snow. Lots of snow and rain. A little extra driving to enjoy the snow on skis and snowshoes is putting me a tad off pace.

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In other noise - the top three MinusCar Project efforts at this very moment are...

I'm on the schedule to teach the League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 through the school districts Community Education program. This is probably the most important development for me personally.

State Senator Jerstad introduced 3ft Please legislation this week. The MinusCar Project is mostly ambivalent about asking for additional legislation. It's important for lots of cyclists though - it's a movement that's sweeping the nation, so I'll be supporting the effort by helping the South Dakota Bicycle Coalition.

South Dakota law already says "The driver of any vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left thereof." 3ft Legislation gives an objective distance - which is necessary given the number of people surrounded by 4,000lbs of glass and metal that don't know what a "safe distance to the left thereof" is.

Falls Area Singletrack's efforts to bring off-road biking into the city continues to progress. A meeting tomorrow with the land manager (City Parks) will lead to another meeting will lead to another meeting.

Meanwhile Articles of Incorporation are being signed, bylaws are being drafted, the checkbook ended up in my hands after a meetup at Monk's this evening. Yep, evidence people still trust me with their money. We're planning the trailbuilding kickoff and the approach to the summer's trailbuilding activities. Snakebite's riding herd on this project - we're calling him President Snakebite now.

Finally, Bike To Work Day is the third Friday in May. It's a late start for planning but we're in our third year of putting on essentially the same event. I THINK things will fall into place. If not, there's still going to be free pancakes. There will also be an increased presence of the Snakebite's Bike To Work Challenge. The MinusCar Project will be offering assistance.

It's not an accident that there's four things on my top three list.