My bike has a flat

I was bummed last Saturday when I was not able to attend the International Climate Action Day Chicago Bike Ride because my bike had a flat. And although I own a helmet, lights, and a bike pump..I don't own a flat repair kit. If that's even what its called. True cyclist probably own four or five of them. And because I didn't prep for the event the day before, it was too late for me to find a bike shop to have it fixed in time to meet up with the group. Insert sad face here.

I found out yesterday I have this weekend off from rehearsal at Winter Pageant at Redmoon because they have a HUGE GIANT EVENT going on at the "buzz buzz buzz..." I can't really say but rumor has it that its at the ........ (click the little dots and find out where since I can neither confirm nor deny it).

Anyways, I have this weekend off so I will look for a bike shop to have my flat fixed, amongst other things. Because if you have ever seen my bike, you would know it is the baddest bike in the city!

Do you see this red bike in the front of the pack with the huge handle bars...that low riding baby is my bike. I bought it off craigslist from a lady.

(On a side note...I love craigslist. I purchased my amazing bistro table, living room furniture, box spring, brand new laptop, bike and other endless wonders from craigslist. Some things new and some lightly used. That's a green thing. Even if the seller is in the suburbs, I rent a zipcar and drive out to the burbs to purchase something used, thus extending the life of something and keeping it out the trash.) Have you ever used craigslist? Sometimes, its hit or miss. More often than not, I get amazing hits.

This summer I used my bike a lot of ride to my beach volleyball games and to ride to rehearsals on the weekends. I think I made it home a lot faster than if I had taken the bus. Plus I was making a lower carbon impact on the earth by doing so.

My bike isn't that great for riding in the city though, because it's really big and takes up space (although its light), so I am currently searching craigslist for a much skinner city riding bike.


Anyways....really, I just wanted an excuse to feature my bike. I just need to add a basket to it and I'll be all good.

Transportation - No Impact Project

 

Photo Credit

I take the public train to work. I walk a block to the train station and while I could transfer to another line that let’s me off right in front of work, I opt to stay on the first train and walk about six extra blocks. My employer pays for the cost of my monthly pass.

I use my time on the train to read books, listen to music, or talk on the phone. When going to rehearsals during the week, I take the train as well. On the weekends, however I ride my bike.

I participate in a car sharing program, Zipcar. It’s really convenient for errands, trips to Ikea, and taking friends home when its past midnight. I don’t want them to take the train so late.

This summer while playing on a local beach volleyball team, I would take the bus or train home and then bike to the beach for the games.

I don’t own a car. (my boyfriend owns four and two motorcycles. So he does enough to cancel my efforts out.)

In all honesty, I do enough to cancel the efforts out. I travel to NY about one to two times a month to visit him and those frequent trips cancel out a lifetime of granola behavior. This year I’ve traveled A LOT. I’ve gone home to Texas multiple times. I’ve gone to NY more than I can keep track of. I fly to Las Vegas and Palms Springs and also drove a six hour car ride to Hudson, WI. My travels and vacations cancel everything out. But what can I do? My family lives in Texas. My love lives in New York? Should I walk there? Or only Skype?  I need to hug my five year old sister on occasion and the only way to do that is to take a three hour flight to Austin, TX.

I’m not a fan of purchasing carbon offsets. So I won’t do that. Why can’t the airlines find ways to be more sustainable so that they are being better stewards over the sky? Why can’t there be a green airline? Is that an oxymoron? Can’t there be a plane made from recycled metal, that serves organic snacks, plays environmental documentaries and flies on corn oil or something? Blah!

This summer I thought about biking to and from work. THOUGHT is the operative word. I never did it. I could blame it on the fact there there are limited bike racks and no place to shower. But my gym..which I never go to is four blocks from my job and I could shower there. And if I’m up early enough to shower…well there should be ample space to park my bike. So I thought about it but didn’t do it. Perhaps my goal should be that when the weather is nice, I’ll do it at least once in my life. And once I’ve done it once, I’ll tell myself to do it for a second time at some point. And I’ll build from there.

 In the winter, that is not going to happen. Winters in Chicago have wind chills of -10 degrees. And if I’m biking along the trail by the lake, its probably even colder.

So what do I do? How do I change my efforts? I felt horrible feeling out my daily survey for today. I didn't change anything about how I get from one place to another today. Should I have biked today? So I have walked all those miles to work? What should I do? I'm at a loss.