Bright idea...

So much is happening in the world of cycling and bike commuting...so many wonderful ideas! Nathan Wills has one of these great ideas. I hope you will join me in supporting him and his bright idea.



In the mean time ride safe and keep the bright ideas coming!

It's been a long time comin' - Bike Month

May is Bike Month and in celebration I am working to bring Buzz Commuter back. Every day this month I will post at least once (if not more) as I get back in the saddle and on track.

First is a short film I really enjoyed and wish to share...the time has come!

Thank you, Abhishek, for such a great film.


The Convert from Abhishek Mukherjee on Vimeo.
This is a short film promoting Jacksonville's Bike Month in May. Please visit http://jacksonvillebikemonth.com for more information.

Starring (in order of appearance):
Jacquelyn Mills, Abhishek Mukherjee, Katie Smith, Chris Jackson and Corey Callahan

Original Music by Goliath Flores
Directed and Produced by Abhishek Mukherjee and Katie Smith
Cinematography and Editing by Abhishek Mukherjee
Audio Mastering by Eric Jenkins

Jacquelyn's Pashley bicycle provided by Koula Redmond
Chris's bicycle provided by ZenCog Bicycle Company

Shot on location in Jacksonville, FL.
Shot entirely with a Nikon D90, 18mm-105mm f/3.5-5.6, 50mm f/2.4

This video uses these sounds from freesound.org:
bicycle by Klankbleed ( http://www.freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/107776/ )
freewheel by Corsica_S ( http://www.freesound.org/people/Corsica_S/sounds/74792/ )
beeps by junggle ( http://www.freesound.org/people/junggle/sounds/26777/ )

Rest and Relaxation

I kinda took the day off today. I only rode about 7 miles and went sailing instead of a big ride to let my legs rest a bit. The 7 miles was uphill on the way to my friend's house with the sail boat (catamaran to be more specific), but that meant a nice downhill on the way back after a morning of a little sailing on a local reservoir. The wind was calm...good thing since I've only been sailing once before. It was fun.

I'm including some photos from my ride in downtown Denver yesterday. The first photo is of the BikeDenver bike parking for the Taste of Denver or something like that. This was at round 5 or six in the afternoon. Not as full as earlier in the day, but people were still stopping in...what a great service. Definitely beats trying to park a car. Volunteers would check the bike in and out. Nice...I think I may have to volunteer for that too.

This next photo is of my bike. I like the sign in the background. I was just parking there to make some photographs when I turned around and noticed the sign. You can also see my new big box on the back. I got this so I could store my camera and some other stuff while I'm out and about. It's big (27 liters), but it seems to work ok. I had to use a piece of wood between the box and my rack to keep enough space to have my panniers. I can carry a lot for crap now.

The last photo here is of this cool clock I saw as I was rising past an old industrial building just off Mississippi and Broadway in south Denver. It's broken of course, but a nice subject non-the-less. I hope to get some more photos in better light before it is gone as part of a reconstruction project for the area. It's too bad some of the old parts of the building can't be saved for the new construction. Maybe it will...still pretty cool. I really like the look of the old warehouse/industrial areas. There's something very historic about them like the ruins of a past age.

Lazy day

I didn't do much today, and it was a pretty nice day. I mostly slept in preparation of an night shift.

I've been looking at some new lights for my bike and one of the lights is the NiteRider MiNewt Mini USB light. It can charge via USB (laptop computer) or by AC and is supposed to have a lot of throw (i.e. very bright). Looks like I could mount it to my helmet too. That would be nice for nights like tonight as I ride to work.

On the other side of night riding it will be pretty cool to ride back in the early morning. I am usually riding to work at the time I'll be headed from work tomorrow. Wonder if any bars are open at 8:30 am?

Here's to another 8 miles on bike.

Day 1 without a car

Yesterday I sent my very fuel-efficient car back to Washington State (this leads to a much longer story I may tell in the coming days).
Today I begin life as a commuter without a car. Not bad. A few months ago I purchased a Novara Buzz V from REI ($449 retail). I have already put over 400 miles on it since I purchased it, but now it is my transportation along with public transportation.
In the coming weeks I hope to report on my progress as a bike commuter.
I did some grocery shopping tonight on the bike...I have some panniers (saddle bags) that I used. Took a little bit to fit everything, but it worked out fine (though my bananas were a little bruised).
I'll continue to update the blog as time goes on, but for now...my first day without a car!

4 official miles today