Well, my efforts to track my gasoline usage have run out of gas… I just don’t have the desire to keep on writing down every trip I make, how, how far, etc…
I am comfortable that having tracked my usage for half a year, including some serious winter months, that I can get by on less than 2 gallons of gas a week. This is better than my goal & probably puts me in a pretty good position for dealing with $10 per gallon gasoline that is likely coming in the years ahead.
So I’ll need to move on to other topics for this blog… I’m open to suggestions.
Well, I’m still using less than half the gas that I set as a target… however my gas usage has jumped up quite a bit. I had a meeting that required a suit & tie; some meetings that happened on short notice & then evening outings with my wife. I’m doing pretty well staying with my bike even when it is raining, but car trips are coming more often than I would like. Of course back a week or so, I did a ski trip to Mt. Hood (with 2 friends), but of course that hurt my mileage as well.
Oh well, I haven’t left my car behind, but it sure stays in the garage most of the time… and I’m still ahead of my goal and using just over a gallon of gas a week. Not bad!
Well I’m entering my third month of tracking and I’m having to deal with some serious winter weather. I’m using a car far more than during the better weather this fall, but I’m still using 1/3 the gas compared to the goal I set for myself. So still feel pretty good about where things stand.
Regarding bike gear… winter in Portland means lots of darkness… the sun isn’t up until after 8am and it is down again by 4:30pm, then there is the constant overcast… so dark, dark, dark on almost any ride. This makes your lights a very important part of your equipment.
For my headlight I use a Night Rider MiNewt… producing a daylight visible light. Normally I use it in flashing mode (which turns heads because the light is powerful enough to make a clear flashing pattern on any street sign with any reflective material). On very dark, low traffic streets I’ll switch the light to a constant beam both to provide good illumination for riding, but also because the flashing mode turns into a strobe light that drives me crazy if it is the only light source around. Comes with rechargeable batteries and charger. This light is expensive, but definitely worth every penny… however, it does mean that I don’t leave it on my bike when I have it parked.
For my taillight I use a pair of Planet Bike Superflash LED lights. This is the most noticeable tail light I have found. I use it in flash mode, where every fourth flash is super bright. The light is small & cheap; plus batteries seem to last a long time.
Another cold day on the streets of NYC… but people here are prepared. Strollers have several layers of protection. First a clear plastic outer shell that keeps the wind out. Then comes a down sleeping bag… at least that is what it looks like. Finally some warm clothes. The kids seem content & walking with a stroller beats driving I’m sure.
For the ladies, cold weather seems to mean all black… black is everywhere. Boots are also a clear favorite, some look like old style rubber boots (dressed up of course), others have 5″ heels. I was surprised to see that an REI staple… North Face, has clearly gone fashion conscious… North Face is everywhere on the streets of NYC and in some very non-trail friendly designs… the ladies appear to love the full length down coats with a hood.
Another fact of this dense urban environment is frequent trains. Who needs a schedule… the next train will arrive in 2 minutes. It is almost like having a high speed moving side walk. Makes for a quick and comfortable way to cover the city. The change in mindset when trains are so frequent is incredible. Not sure how long until MAX reaches the 5 minute frequency in Portland… but it will be a breakthrough.
We topped off our outings today by spontaneously buying tickets for the Met Opera this afternoon. Karen loves to watch these when they are shown live in the movie theatre… here was a chance to experience the real thing. We were just in jeans and tennis shoes, but did not feel out of place. The tickets we bought from a well dressed old lady were at the front of the 4th balcony… far enough away that it was tough to tell who was singing. All in all, Karen said she enjoys the movie theatre experience more.
We had a great day today out and about in Brooklyn NY. We are staying in a hotel in Manhattan, so we took the subway downtown & then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with snow flurries & a dark sky. It is a fun walk across the famous bridge, high above the traffic lanes & beautiful vistas of the towering buildings as well as the statue of liberty. We passed an entourage of NY Jet fans marching from Brooklyn into Manhattan… I guess kicking off the NFL postseason. We walked a little circle in Brooklyn hitting the downtown, Brooklyn Heights, and Dumbo. They have some great plans for improving the river front area which should be a beautiful space with wonderful views of Manhattan when finished in 5 years or so. Great fun walking through the neighborhoods, checking out apartments, marveling at the density, and mystified about how snow removal ever happens on the narrow streets.
Then we hoped the Q train to head further into Brooklyn for lunch. We got off at Ave J & walked a block to Di Fara Pizza… a tiny hole in the wall place, reputed to have the best pizza in NYC. Well the critics were right, the pizza was excellent… the whole place is a one may show… an old guy in his 70s at least, who does everything (except take your money). He is also the only guy I’ve seen so far in NYC that isn’t in a hurry. The place is a dump… dirty, unkempt, small, falling apart… but packed with pizza lovers. Everything is fresh, the herbs are even growing in the store window fronts, and lovingly handled. If you are in the area, it is worth the trip (& the wait) for a Di Fara pie.
We closed out the day at the Brooklyn Museum… rock & roll photos/videos and the Egyptian exhibits were very good. They also had done a great job of putting a modern lobby onto the old existing building… we had to check the leftover pizza box & everyone joked about eating it… luckily all the slices were still there when we left. Looks like pizza for dinner tonight as well.
Thanks to Aaron’s suggestion, we brought long underwear along on the trip, so we stayed toasty despite walking for long stretches in the windy 20 degree weather.
Alright, I’m back in the saddle… bike saddle that is.
For the last 2+ months I’ve been making a Godzilla sized carbon footprint. We flew half way around the world & then drove roughly the length of the US west coast before flying back home. Since coming home, we’ve flown to Colorado for a ski trip, which included renting a van to cart all our skis around the mountains for 5 days.
But all of that I knew & bought into… the surprise has been how hard it is to return to my frugal carbon footprint… once I reached a state of being fat, dumb, and happy (driving a car, staying dry inside, quickly getting to my destination 15 miles away, etc), it was quite tough to actually return to using my bike for transportation. Of course the fact that it is now cold and rainy most days in Portland does not help my motivation… but that is a cheap excuse. So my fat carbon footprint continued through December simply because I was lazy and slothful.
I have restarted by carbon footprint log as of January 1st and I’ll post an update soon. Today was a break through as I did some significant rides in light rain today. I think I’m getting back my mental toughness… while I don’t expect to match my summer stats, I should still be able to keep my bike as my primary form of transportation.
Why am I fixing leaking faucets, putting snow tires on the car, cleaning up the kitchen, etc?
Why am I so far behind on all of my projects?
Why do the windshield wipers come on when I try to signal a turn in the car?
Why didn’t we do a fun outing to a new adventurous place today?
Ouch… we are no longer on vacation. Darn!!!
It has been more than a decade since we have been gone for 6 weeks from our home. While it is great to have a long vacation, re-entry into the real world can be a bit of a shock. Since we flew from 45 degrees South to 45 degrees North on Dec 12… we went from nearly the longest day to about the shortest day after one airplane ride… and all the weather implications that implies. Also there is no hotel maid to clean the room or restaurant staff to take care of feeding us. Now it is back to our normal life where we take care of ourselves and try to complete projects that will help our community.
Its great to be home, but hopefully I’ll stop feeling dizzy pretty soon!
Here is my summary from our 6 weeks traveling in New Zealand.
If you love the outdoors and adventure, then New Zealand is a must visit location. Push it to the top of your travel list.
Stunning landscapes: coast line and beaches, lush tropical forests, awesome jagged peaks of the southern alps, and the beauty of the fjords.
Great hikes… for a day or a week.
Adrenaline rush activities enabled by sane liability rules.
Warm, friendly, helpful citizens who all go by their first names.
Intense sun (ozone hole), unpredictable weather (so seize the day), & constant wind.
Very sleepable airplane ride from the USA west coast… so fly economy and spend that business class premium on activities in NZ.
If you are coming to NZ, here are my recommendations:
Must see/do:
Cape Reinga at the far north of the north island. I would include boogie boarding in the dunes as well as hiking down to one of the beaches at the tip. The bus tour is good, but I’d recommend just driving up on your own & skipping the 90 mile beach drive.
Coromandel East Coast/Mercury Bay. This is Cathedral Cove, Han Hei beach, and Hot water beach. The hike between Han Hei and Cathedral Cove is beautiful, good kayaking as well.
Tongariro Crossing. Lonely Planet says best day hike in the world… enough said.
Abel Tasman Park. Do at least one day of hiking and one in kayaks. Remember that tides and water taxi schedules drive things here so do your research.
Southern Alps hikes out of Wanaka and Queenstown.
The Routeburn 3 day trek.
Doubtful sound cruise.
Must Do Thrills: Nevis bungy jump, aerobatic airplane ride, zorbing, skydive. As of today, Zorbing can only be done in Rotorua. Because we thought it was also available in Queenstown, we did not get a chance to try Zorbing.
My favorite food stops:
- Boat Shed; $$$ in Nelson
- Hot Rocks Pizza; $$ in Nelson
- Fergburger; $ in Queenstown
- Kebab Take away; $ on the waterfront in Wanaka
- TimTam cookies; at any grocery store
Have a great trip; Cheers; Kia Ora!!! … if you don’t come back with a fun burn… then you probably should just have them nail the lid on your coffin right now.
Well we closed out our trip with a great day on the Otago rail trail.
It was a beautiful summer day… hot (85F) and sunny… something we’ll savor when we hit Portland in a few days. After several days with little activity, it was great to spend the day on bikes.
The central Otago region is a high desert plateau… reminded me of Montana and Wyoming. This is also the first place we’ve been in NZ that was brown… what a shock, somewhere in this country that does not get a ton of rain.
Today we biked 70KM of the 160KM trail. This is a gravel path contructed on top of an old railway line. For whatever reason today’s highways did not follow the same route as the old rail line, so for much of the time we were riding out of sight/sound of highways… just rolling through pasture land listening to birds and sheep while taking in the picturesque views of rolling hills with rock out croppings. We crossed over numerous bridges, some over 100M in length and we went through 2 tunnels, one over 200M in length. Very cool.
cycling the central Otago rail trail
We had a great lunch at the Muddy Creek Cafe and then we finished off the ride on the Alexandra-Clyde river path… a little more technical and challenging on the bikes and also in the shade which was helpful late in the afternoon.
