tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82959993108697795632024-03-18T14:56:49.487-04:00DIY Biking | How bike builds, bike travel and bike life can save the worldMikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.comBlogger479125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-121957109769679492021-11-16T11:51:00.001-05:002021-11-16T11:51:26.019-05:00Cranksgiving San Jose 2021: Two Wheels, New Ways to Help Our Neighbors<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOpVg1XhsTc/YZMIlxlrOAI/AAAAAAAAuk8/DeDZzJZoAS4dD0OGQ5cs--6blvshdutygCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_5197.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOpVg1XhsTc/YZMIlxlrOAI/AAAAAAAAuk8/DeDZzJZoAS4dD0OGQ5cs--6blvshdutygCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_5197.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On a normal year, I'd sit with a big crew - Ocean's 11-style - and divvy up tasks for Cranksgiving San Jose.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But this isn't a normal year - last year wasn't, either. In fact, I'm pretty sure I haven't had a normal year since 2012. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thanks to misinformation, the plague is still very much a part of everyday life - so much so large events are still being cancelled, postponed, or virtual. The Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope ride was virtual this year but still great (the in-person version was cancelled due to rain) and the Appled Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot will once again be virtual. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFhuitQueJQ/YZMMoo1UuVI/AAAAAAAAulI/vek-MKDxHMUVpfQvA_nfPXGGcYOJPSj4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8162.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="2048" height="352" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFhuitQueJQ/YZMMoo1UuVI/AAAAAAAAulI/vek-MKDxHMUVpfQvA_nfPXGGcYOJPSj4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h352/IMG_8162.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cranksgiving San Jose this year is going to try to borrow the best of both worlds. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">From November 15th until November 24th ride a bike to <a href="https://www.sjsu.edu/sjsucares/get-assistance/spartan-food-pantry.php" target="_blank">Spartan Food Pantry</a> at San Jose State University with some items needed by hungry students - check their <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x2oWDFLyx3MN-vTya3r32E7xbNYdxWyh/view" target="_blank">donation guidelines</a> for what you can bring.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I learned about the Spartan Food Pantry from <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-students-rely-on-campus-pantry-as-food-insecurity-grows/" target="_blank">an article by San Jose Spotlight</a>. Run by SJSU Cares, it found in a recent survey 29% of students at SJSU are food insecure.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOFXBP93ezY/YZPelzjoqEI/AAAAAAAAulU/MAFU0y18P5AcPEXT6JuiprTzedMqccZyACLcBGAsYHQ/s1943/IMG_9931.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="1943" height="548" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOFXBP93ezY/YZPelzjoqEI/AAAAAAAAulU/MAFU0y18P5AcPEXT6JuiprTzedMqccZyACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h548/IMG_9931.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For those of you who live and work near downtown San Jose you can plan on an in-person donation Mondays and Fridays from 10am to 5pm or Tuesdays through Thursday from 10am to 6pm. Follow the map pasted above to find the Spartan Food Pantry, which looks like this when you reach it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXSq1LmXQos/YZPfzN2IgdI/AAAAAAAAulc/7-wNkpi5Rg8GuaFmEl7vkEtr_Aty8p-1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2016/IMG_9602.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXSq1LmXQos/YZPfzN2IgdI/AAAAAAAAulc/7-wNkpi5Rg8GuaFmEl7vkEtr_Aty8p-1wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_9602.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When you drop off your donation, be sure to tell the person behind the desk that "I am donating on behalf of Cranksgiving." and take an appropriate picture of yourself/yourselves using the hashtag #CranksgivingSanJose on social media. And tell your friends. Some will ignore, but others may spontaneously decide to help their fellows and make a donation too. You can also <a href="https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1771/16/givingwide.aspx?sid=1771&gid=3&pgid=531&cid=1295&dids=4687.4608.4771" target="_blank">make a financial donation to Spartan Food Pantry here</a> and just write the word 'Cranksgiving' in the Special Instructions textbox. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cranksgiving San Jose is also running a virtual food drive with Second Harvest Food Bank - which isn't engaging in in-person food drives this year. Whether you can manage a trip to Spartan Food Pantry or not you can <a href="https://impact.shfb.org/team/392774" target="_blank">join the Cranksgiving San Jose team</a> and make a donation. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I know all of us are tired and all of us are living some level of Personal Hell since the plague started, but just like we insist on hammering the pedals when every instinct you have tells you to dismount, now is the time to make a million little differences. Thanks for reading and thanks for giving. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com87tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-56744819010072511642021-09-05T21:44:00.001-04:002021-09-05T21:44:35.098-04:00Urban Ore and a Tandem Tour of Berkeley <p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6GfghME_d4/YTVbgAkyeeI/AAAAAAAAugc/UoUMmue0sgMep9tBnYXucN32uFQedcB2QCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7390.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6GfghME_d4/YTVbgAkyeeI/AAAAAAAAugc/UoUMmue0sgMep9tBnYXucN32uFQedcB2QCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_7390.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.artbysuma.com" target="_blank">My favorite artist</a> wanted to attend a sketching workshop at a place called Urban Ore in Berkeley. My research of the destination began with looking at Google Earth satellite photos of used toilets.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Really. It did. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEXcwvM-3FQ/YTVcMd42PGI/AAAAAAAAugs/8EWtcBZBTDww_KVJSwaKjH9TG0K_cmNLACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7397.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEXcwvM-3FQ/YTVcMd42PGI/AAAAAAAAugs/8EWtcBZBTDww_KVJSwaKjH9TG0K_cmNLACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_7397.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I know these are mostly sinks in the ground-level photo but this does hint at the scale of <a href="http://urbanore.com/" target="_blank">Urban Ore</a>, which has the tagline "If you're not for Zero Waste, how much waste are you for?" Right there on its website. It's a big place. Parts of it make you think of where things go when people in the first ten minutes of every HGTV show you've ever seen use gentle touches in the 'demo' phase while other parts make you think of a fencing operation. Stacks of appliances. Thousands of doors. Car stereos in a precarious stack. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And, a few bicycles.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iHsPWwVonOA/YTVdNuuk66I/AAAAAAAAug4/gl0V1kYJpe8xmhwuytrlGKP-D3uldnZ4QCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_7389.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iHsPWwVonOA/YTVdNuuk66I/AAAAAAAAug4/gl0V1kYJpe8xmhwuytrlGKP-D3uldnZ4QCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_7389.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This classic <a href="http://www.dahonbikes.com" target="_blank">Dahon</a> was in great shape - save for the tires - but I left it where it was so as not to introduce a new tire size into my life. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What was supposed to happen is my favorite artist was going to sketch around Urban Ore while I'd bike around and do some recon. But instead I spent two full hours wandering about, admiring the items - and sometimes thinking about what I could turn into a new workbench for my shop. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Onxj8j7Nh8/YTVeZx1YTNI/AAAAAAAAuhE/vR1xORsMeyIXjFusmqnzCQU4T4v-HknpwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7395.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Onxj8j7Nh8/YTVeZx1YTNI/AAAAAAAAuhE/vR1xORsMeyIXjFusmqnzCQU4T4v-HknpwCPcBGAsYHg/w480-h640/IMG_7395.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A little extra room in the car and I'd have parted with the few hundred needed to bring this old doctor's office table home. I had visions of replacing the cushions with a countertop and keeping the spool of paper in place to protect the surface rather than the bottoms of patients. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">The place is also outfitted with some of the most refreshingly honest and unintentionally hilarious labels I've seen on used goods. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ym3doI8D8tE/YTVe5Xn_ReI/AAAAAAAAuhM/k_yaiRfdbiIe0nk8eZyb6150FRJDPJ3TACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_7388.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ym3doI8D8tE/YTVe5Xn_ReI/AAAAAAAAuhM/k_yaiRfdbiIe0nk8eZyb6150FRJDPJ3TACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_7388.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Who needs Las Vegas when you can bet $300 on whether or not you'll have clean clothes for work? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For $59, I bought exactly three things: the first was a Samsonite suitcase for $10 that was formerly the travel pod of someone's <a href="http://www.bikefriday.com" target="_blank">Bike Friday</a>. I know because it had familiar scars on the inside where certain bike parts are known to rub in transit and, even more telling, had three small holes drilled in it for the Bike Friday trailer kit - which as we all know is a great platform for <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2013/09/in-world-making-trailer-not-that-kind.html" target="_blank">building an original bike bike trailer</a>. There's nothing wrong with the case that I use for my own Bike Friday New World Tourist, but as you know I also have a Bike Friday Tandem and I'm hatching a couple's travel plan once the plague goes away. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And I bought these.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZP7-4yfKI4/YTVlV5Y_q6I/AAAAAAAAuhY/g17Su5OfS_IfAG2vLIhJV9qftn7_lqWwwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7392.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4ZP7-4yfKI4/YTVlV5Y_q6I/AAAAAAAAuhY/g17Su5OfS_IfAG2vLIhJV9qftn7_lqWwwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_7392.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is a classic lantern that I bought for $9. It will soon be found on a wall on the inside or outside of my house. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is also a small kid's mountain bike with six speeds, rotten tires, a kickstand that snapped off, bad brakes, a shifter you need a pipe wrench to turn and a derailleur that dates back to the Cretaceous Period. And I had to have it, since I've been interested in building a small mountain bike for my favorite artist, who nearly bounced out of her bike seat while pedaling her hybrid Trek at Wilder Ranch State Park.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yZ-EluCHns/YTVmY2NbMuI/AAAAAAAAuhg/E_SerNW9lho6WochkTIOzOoLFyXUlg0YgCPcBGAsYHg/s2293/IMG_6767.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2290" data-original-width="2293" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yZ-EluCHns/YTVmY2NbMuI/AAAAAAAAuhg/E_SerNW9lho6WochkTIOzOoLFyXUlg0YgCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_6767.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This was taken on a smoother part of the trail - the very bend up ahead was the start of more difficult terrain, so I floated the idea of getting a little mountain bike to see if she'd like it. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When the sketching thing was done, my favorite artist saw and approved of my purchases before we followed the tried-and-true practice of taking our Bike Friday tandem out of the car and rode to nearby Emoryville to Los Moles, where we locked up and fueled up on some great Mexican food. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Am6RlVH7ah4/YTVnKEJuA1I/AAAAAAAAuho/2Yt7NOSFEqcDDDgr451XxTPt3ysStuQZgCPcBGAsYHg/s2963/IMG_7400.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2963" data-original-width="2892" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Am6RlVH7ah4/YTVnKEJuA1I/AAAAAAAAuho/2Yt7NOSFEqcDDDgr451XxTPt3ysStuQZgCPcBGAsYHg/w624-h640/IMG_7400.HEIC" width="624" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Afterwards, we did about nine miles hitting a few shops and a flea market. I also bought some <a href="https://www.bicyclecoffeeco.com/" target="_blank">Bicycle Coffee</a> beans. </span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I even noticed a place called <a href="https://www.borp.org/programs/adaptive-cycling/" target="_blank">BORP Adaptive Sports and Recreation</a> and stopped by to learn about it. They make specialized bikes and other equipment for people with disabilities. It's very cool and, as of about thirty seconds ago, are one of #MyNonprofits. You can <a href="https://www.borp.org/donate/" target="_blank">donate to BORP Adaptive Cycling here</a>.<br /></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">By the time we packed up and drove home, it was about dinnertime, but I still managed to get in the shop and start working on the small mountain bike. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7mjABOlZ9UI/YTVoht681rI/AAAAAAAAuh0/U-9f4n3neUMjvXG4JSydOfJU9ObbJpo1gCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_7426.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7mjABOlZ9UI/YTVoht681rI/AAAAAAAAuh0/U-9f4n3neUMjvXG4JSydOfJU9ObbJpo1gCPcBGAsYHg/w480-h640/IMG_7426.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><p>I hit a snag early on when I discovered I didn't have the right size seatpost in my parts inventory. I needed a 34.5 and most of what I own is 27.2. Rummaging brought out every size but 34.5. It's like the Alanis Morrisette song: '10,000 spoons and all you need is...a slightly larger spoon' or something along those lines. </p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">I will keep you posted on this and other builds. In the meantime, remember the following:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">VivaCalleSJ is on September 19th. The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition - one of #MyNonprofits - is sponsoring their very first Silicon Valley Bikes ride that is 10, 20, or 40 miles. <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/ride/" target="_blank">Learn more about it and sign up here</a>. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cycle of Hope, Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley's ride, is taking place in late October. There's an option to ride in-person or virtual - and the in-person event is on the 24th. <a href="https://www.habitatcycleofhope.org/" target="_blank">Learn more and register here.</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Cellista's new album, Pariah, drops on Oct. 1. You can buy it on Bandcamp at <a href="http://Cellista.Bandcamp.com">Cellista.Bandcamp.com</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For my California readers: please vote no on the recall by September 14th. Just like <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2018/06/why-effort-to-repeal-gas-tax-must-die.html" target="_blank">the mean-spirited and stupid plan to repeal the gas tax</a> it is an awful idea with awful consequences. CalBike had <a href="https://www.calbike.org/lets-not-replace-newsom-with-gruesome/" target="_blank">a good post about the recall </a>the other day and I'm too angry and annoyed I'm spending time, money (<a href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/stoprecall-mar21-ads?refcode=ads-210315-gs-launch-dtd-ca-eng-12527340155-119354055116-505675003577-%2Bgavin%20%2Bnewsom%20%2Brecall&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1dGJBhD4ARIsANb6OdmmXbSm3pcEpfkIZZD33YF6wi03-PYQNp_yYQnl5IXs9M05fl8Kl6UaAqYbEALw_wcB" target="_blank">donate to the Stop the Recall campaign here</a>), and space about the recall. I'm tired of being made to vote for things we should already have in place. Just vote no - and bike to deliver your ballot if you can ride a bike safely. </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yRTpZ2hcmqY/YTVvIUCYDVI/AAAAAAAAuiM/XMRMl5zKBeI-_SHN5pBU24HvWIiFglEjwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_7387.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yRTpZ2hcmqY/YTVvIUCYDVI/AAAAAAAAuiM/XMRMl5zKBeI-_SHN5pBU24HvWIiFglEjwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_7387.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-3053079932123441222020-12-17T10:51:00.004-05:002020-12-26T20:58:49.889-05:00As Merry as it Gets <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BaK0ewjDTjw/X9QpV2jV0TI/AAAAAAAApMA/VlQ5X72fFZwMSxznKLMwnyPcMLS0j1u_wCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_0136.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BaK0ewjDTjw/X9QpV2jV0TI/AAAAAAAApMA/VlQ5X72fFZwMSxznKLMwnyPcMLS0j1u_wCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_0136.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is it. This is the Apollo 13 of Holiday Seasons in the Apollo 13 of years. We're not landing on the moon - or, in my case, JFK International Airport in New York - so let's break out the duct tape and keep the life support going until we get back to Earth-That-Was.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If you still have a job and a place to live, you're like me and one of the lucky ones - and if you don't get to fly where you want to this Christmas that means you have a little money to spend donating to a few nonprofits. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is my third round of making donations: the first was in the wake of a cancelled Spring trip to Italy, the second was when my parent's 50th anniversary bash in New England was cancelled in August, and with December officially flight-free, it's time for a third since I'm not flying to New York and taking a train to Connecticut.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This one's especially tough. It's not just the tradition of not going to Connecticut but also the microtraditions that are associated with it, like bowling with my sister on Christmas Eve and renting a CitiBike in Manhattan after a red-eye flight.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xctkvu6jdLM/X9t0ilCGzzI/AAAAAAAApXg/NQtfvXMoWHIGIZpiMsPAZNtT5FzIzCLcgCPcBGAsYHg/s3401/IMG_0666.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2521" data-original-width="3401" height="474" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xctkvu6jdLM/X9t0ilCGzzI/AAAAAAAApXg/NQtfvXMoWHIGIZpiMsPAZNtT5FzIzCLcgCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h474/IMG_0666.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding in New York City, December 21, 2019. </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Here's the list of (most) of #MyNonprofits, and I'd be grateful if you made a donation to any or all of them with money you were supposed to spend on a plane ticket AND if you'd go on your own social media platform and introduce your followers to nonprofits that matter to you. </span></p><p><a href="https://www.bike.nyc/donate/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Bike New York</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.communitycyclesca.org/make-a-donation" target="_blank">Community Cycles of California</a></span></p><p><a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/donate.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Good Karma Bikes</span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://give.habitatebsv.org/?hsCtaTracking=5cb60ddb-23f6-4f11-b167-1dd4a43e61cc%7C37820613-ca33-4b4f-b10d-0b802560c36e" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><a href="https://highwaysperformance.org/product/donations/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Highways Performing Arts Center</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://ilsr.org/donate/" target="_blank">Institute for Local Self Reliance</a></span></p><p><a href="http://www.ucolick.org/main/support/giving.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Lick Observatory</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.projectexplorer.org/donate" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Project Explorer</a> (the founder of Project Explorer, Jenny Buccos, created <a href="https://www.projectexplorer.org/crash-test-world">Crash Test World</a> - a show starring Kari Byron that premiers on Science Channel January 8th - be sure to watch - I want smart things to succeed in 2021) </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://checkout.fundjournalism.org/memberform?org_id=sanjosespotlight" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> (an easy way to do this is to become members/</span><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/san-jose-spotlight-two-year-anniversary-celebration-tickets-131993073837" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">buy tickets for their 2 year anniversary celebration in January</a><span style="font-family: arial;">) </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://give.shfb.org/donatenow" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Second Harvest of Silicon Valley</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/bf16c91e-5e25-434c-ab77-2e1fda65aa98" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/donate" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Valley Verde</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://veggielution.org/donate" target="_blank">Veggielution</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://ywca-sv.org/donate-to-ywca-silicon-valley/" target="_blank">YWCA Silicon Valley</a></span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As I type this I'm looking at the Christmas tree in my living room that was brought home on a Burley bike trailer I modified for the purpose of carrying a tree. It didn't take much: some bolted aluminum bent with a pipe bender. Here's a better photo:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V34kp2NVKb4/X9tuu440dII/AAAAAAAApP0/ltU8UZnIieIKZaRWuBedSp1DfaH0zLVSgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_0106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V34kp2NVKb4/X9tuu440dII/AAAAAAAApP0/ltU8UZnIieIKZaRWuBedSp1DfaH0zLVSgCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_0106.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">We rode five miles in South San Jose to a lot and picked out a 7' noble fir (they look good and don't have the porcupine quill effect when you touch them, but they don't smell like a pine tree). This is the first real tree in my house in 17 years. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LL9zMSos-Fc/X9txjsx5GPI/AAAAAAAApTw/5fRPUpl-8qwcxYgsJTgG0liJExCJGNucACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_0208.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LL9zMSos-Fc/X9txjsx5GPI/AAAAAAAApTw/5fRPUpl-8qwcxYgsJTgG0liJExCJGNucACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_0208.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I almost couldn't believe how well it worked: the tree was carried at a 45 degree angle and the trunk was lashed with a solitary strap. If you live in the Bay Area and would like to transport your tree by bike (if you haven't gotten one yet) let me know and you can borrow this in exchange for making a donation to one of #MyNonprofits. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's it. Settle in. This is as merry as it gets and it's up to us all to add whatever humanity, perspective, support and community we can this year. I'm counting on you. Also be sure to shop local: I recommend coffee from <a href="https://www.nirvanasoulcoffee.com/coffee" target="_blank">Nirvana Soul</a> in the Sofa District and books - for yourself or <a href="https://www.hicklebees.com/holiday-book-bundles" target="_blank">books for others</a> - from <a href="https://www.hicklebees.com/" target="_blank">Hicklebee's</a> in Willow Glen. And if you're local is Stamford, Connecticut, visit <a href="http://www.lorcacoffeebar.com/" target="_blank">Lorca</a> on Bedford Street and get merch from the creative force that is the <a href="https://shop.dangergallery.com/" target="_blank">Danger Gallery</a>. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sk4QOUJuw2o" width="320" youtube-src-id="sk4QOUJuw2o"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com244tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-29425079639889174672020-10-12T20:20:00.003-04:002020-10-17T00:24:23.937-04:00Cycle of Hope 2020: Biking for Affordable Housing with Habitat for Humanity EBSV<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAPOnkEg_AQ/X4TZkLT1XxI/AAAAAAAAlEo/KguLZ2t19jctQ3Nu4OxevBIxYG91nzZtwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9015.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yAPOnkEg_AQ/X4TZkLT1XxI/AAAAAAAAlEo/KguLZ2t19jctQ3Nu4OxevBIxYG91nzZtwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>There's still time to <a href="https://www.habitatcycleofhope.org/" target="_blank">register for the Cycle of Hope</a> or you can <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/fundraiser/2877273" target="_blank">donate to my page</a>! Whoever raises the most in the 24 hour period of Saturday, October 17th will win a six-pack of beer from <a href="https://lagunitas.com/" target="_blank">Lagunitas Brewing Company</a> I don't drink but I'm excited Habitat for Humanity is closing in on their fundraising goal anyway :) </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Today I went on the <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/event/2020-cycle-of-hope-ride-from-home/e269181" target="_blank">Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley Cycle of Hope ride</a>. You can do it too, but you don't have to wait for 2021 - you can do it anytime between now and October 25th. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That's because this event - just like most others these coronavirus days - is virtual. To Habitat for Humanity's credit, they leaned into the advantages of a virtual event.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can do it anytime, you can choose your own route if you want, and the cause - the building of affordable housing - did not lose its importance during shelter in place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Unlike last year, when I found myself in a lousy mood and decided to do the ride anyway (on my then-just built <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/12/the-making-of-back-to-future-road-bike.html" target="_blank">Back to the Future theme bike</a>), this year I really wanted to do it and signed up. The problem I had was I didn't commit to the date and decided, literally this past Friday, that Indigenous People's Day would be the day that I'd ride. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Since I picked a 62 mile ride, I chose a route that would fill that distance. Going to <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/09/mynonprofits-be-friend-of-lick.html" target="_blank">Lick Observatory</a> was an obvious choice but unsure the main building - and the room where the coveted vending machine and water fountain are kept - would be accessible since it had been closed due to the fires. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So I picked Mt. Madonna County Park as my destination. It is about 30 miles to get there - about the same as getting to Lick Observatory - but would involve about half of the climbing. That meant I could probably pack a 2 liter Camelbak and have enough water to do the whole distance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Last night I gathered my cycling kit, several protein bars that were not expired - which is a big change for me - and a few other items. Then I sat down and checked my email, and found one from Cycle of Hope reminding me to download an app called <a href="http://www.racejoy.net/" target="_blank">RaceJoy</a>, which would be used to track the ride. With an old iPhone busting at the seems with photos, I downloaded the app reluctantly, but after following several prompts I had everything all set in a few minutes.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m8t4ZaqCuLQ/X4TeKKV29lI/AAAAAAAAlOw/w_DbdQyhvFAr9FBHi8QQo2ufeNUe-PU-QCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m8t4ZaqCuLQ/X4TeKKV29lI/AAAAAAAAlOw/w_DbdQyhvFAr9FBHi8QQo2ufeNUe-PU-QCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_8973.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With the Back to the Future bike all shiny and tuned (since <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/09/mynonprofits-habitat-for-humanity-east.html" target="_blank">the 2019 Cycle of Hope ride</a> I added a larger rear cassette for easier climbing, a <a href="https://canecreek.com/products/suspension-seatposts/" target="_blank">Cane Creek Thudbuster</a> seatpost for comfort, and a Flux Capacitor just Because) I headed off to my personal start line.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N6dRNb-XgA0/X4TfWXa6pVI/AAAAAAAAlP4/J8FnDluMUJsVMbHEJZO7U8Tn0bneOvUiwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8974.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N6dRNb-XgA0/X4TfWXa6pVI/AAAAAAAAlP4/J8FnDluMUJsVMbHEJZO7U8Tn0bneOvUiwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_8974.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I switched on Strava, and then I opened up the RaceJoy app, selected my ride, and much to my surprise (and any nearby household that may have had the windows open) a recorded message played that welcomed me to the ride. Assured I had started the app properly, I set off - first heading to the Coyote Creek Trail.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2WdOx1Vi0ds/X4TfdRgVhPI/AAAAAAAAlP8/zseKmpJvzpM0a1CdF-FBrVofdzKtsttYACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_8975.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2WdOx1Vi0ds/X4TfdRgVhPI/AAAAAAAAlP8/zseKmpJvzpM0a1CdF-FBrVofdzKtsttYACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_8975.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Over the past several weeks, I've used my old recumbent and my Box Bike Collective/Box Bike by DIYBIKING.COM cargo bike for riding, so the Back to the Future bike felt like a rocket as I headed into the 57 degree morning (thanks for the weather, <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/author/kari-hall/#:~:text=Kari%20Hall%20joined%20NBC%20Bay,a%20self%2Ddescribed%20weather%20fanatic.&text=Kari%20began%20her%20career%20at,Hurricanes%20Katrina%2C%20Rita%20and%20Gustav." target="_blank">Kari Hall</a> of NBC Bay Area).</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A few miles in, while I was still on roads, I heard voices coming from somewhere and I thought someone was blasting NPR from one of the cars ahead of me...but it was actually the RaceJoy app. Every five miles, a woman's voice would tell me about my pace and average speed, followed by words from a sponsor of the event (and one was even a story from someone who has gotten a home because of Habitat's work - I slowed down so I could better hear that one). If you have a handlebar phone mount I recommend you use it since I felt like I had tiny people talking to me occassionally from my waistpack.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0-CAvWeleM/X4TgoazMS6I/AAAAAAAAlQk/6jrOxcZ3wvUCIATmpsmkNtVrQuHGrreAwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0-CAvWeleM/X4TgoazMS6I/AAAAAAAAlQk/6jrOxcZ3wvUCIATmpsmkNtVrQuHGrreAwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Vineyards always make me think of a friend of mine in Napa - and there are quite a few to see on Watsonville Road. The bike was working perfectly and I was feeling good about my time.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGgxuoxTYjs/X4Tg_qlLInI/AAAAAAAAlQ0/dT61nm9HwmY6tiFv-PXGKlWPLlyHb1XcwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_9010.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGgxuoxTYjs/X4Tg_qlLInI/AAAAAAAAlQ0/dT61nm9HwmY6tiFv-PXGKlWPLlyHb1XcwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_9010.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I pedaled up Hecker Pass Highway - a road that has so much potential. As you can see it has recently been paved, so the asphalt is very smooth. It also has a rumble strip in the middle of the road, which creates a disincentive for people to pull into the middle to pass a cyclist. With only a luxurious inch-and-a-half shoulder most of the way up, it was a white-knuckle stretch when cars would pass closely. But the larger cassette on the back paid off even though I didn't even go into the tiny front chainring for this part (I wanted to pass through this part as fast as possible).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4jO4cdbOAYc/X4TiDsBw9MI/AAAAAAAAlRE/gX2qEdASvcUVu1zCIZF7Vaiv8Ul5FM0CwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9012.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4jO4cdbOAYc/X4TiDsBw9MI/AAAAAAAAlRE/gX2qEdASvcUVu1zCIZF7Vaiv8Ul5FM0CwCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When I did reach the top, I did a lean against the Hecker Pass sign, and read the stone plaque just behind. Hecker Pass was named after Henry Hecker, who was behind this road and was apparently not a cyclist back in his day or he would have designed it differently.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A few hundred yards beyond is the long shuttered Mt. Madonna Inn. I rode up there to catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean before heading into Mt. Madonna Park, where I did use the tiny chainring to climb the first hill. Without any rangers around, I had little idea of what to do or where to go when I arrived, but I thoroughly enjoyed riding in the tall, Endor-like trees.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The RaceJoy app again broke the silence by congratulating me for hitting the halfway mark. It even suggested I drink some water, so I did as I listened to the message from the lead sponsor, Patelco Credit Union. I was even within sight of the bench overlooking the valley you can see in the first photo when I hit 31 miles.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpohvYE-6gw/X4TjmrH1enI/AAAAAAAAlRQ/tavK00N5QCIwTKbCV6zbP3DFT7bFfnsZACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xpohvYE-6gw/X4TjmrH1enI/AAAAAAAAlRQ/tavK00N5QCIwTKbCV6zbP3DFT7bFfnsZACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I tore open a couple of protein bars and ate in silence, trying to think about what to do next. I didn't feel like riding down Hecker Pass Highway, but I saw on a map Mt. Madonna Road, which looked like it led to Watsonville Road. When I arrived at the intersection for Mt. Madonna Road, I saw what I first thought was a crude, gravel driveway. But no: it was Mt. Madonna Road.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Then I remembered something a friend told me the day before. She was recommending Mt. Madonna as a destination and said she had been there herself and "the last mile and a half you're gonna want gravel tires."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I headed down the road that she must have been referring to not with gravel tires, but with the 120 psi Continental road tires the Back to the Future bike has had for over a year. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-KYYsOxM84/X4TlITfGEsI/AAAAAAAAlRc/0MieW1ohvIg3X7F7hgRKCgn_l6y1zlSmgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_9022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K-KYYsOxM84/X4TlITfGEsI/AAAAAAAAlRc/0MieW1ohvIg3X7F7hgRKCgn_l6y1zlSmgCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_9022.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I had just enough confidence in my handiwork to be convinced the bike would stay together. Me personally, less so. Fillings were relocated from my teeth and eyeballs rattled in their sockets as I descended. I kept thinking of the trip I did on the Bike Friday years ago in the hills outside of <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2014/10/biking-nations-paraty-brazil-part-i.html" target="_blank">Paraty, Brazil</a>, where I biked on a similar mountain road on similar tires and the only flat I got on that trip was in the hotel room. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thankfully, the rough gravel eventually turned into asphalt, so I was able to open up the throttle a little - but not before being reminded of my comparatively less-than-stellar time from the RaceJoy app.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gH22EVU1w4s/X4TmlXzfxyI/AAAAAAAAlSc/mPsKa1DXOnM7xGQdUBexHXjYTpiO7PSnQCPcBGAsYHg/s2373/IMG_9025.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2161" data-original-width="2373" height="582" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gH22EVU1w4s/X4TmlXzfxyI/AAAAAAAAlSc/mPsKa1DXOnM7xGQdUBexHXjYTpiO7PSnQCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h582/IMG_9025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After passing several ranches I arrived at Watsonville Road, and was presented with a chance to head back on Uvas Road. I decided to do it and was once again presented with newly painted asphalt. But at that hour and on that road, there were few cars as I passed Uvas Reservoir. I stopped to prop my bike up on a conveniently-located stick and wondered if another rider had used the same stick for a similar photo earlier - or would later. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJ4yMZKXh7M/X4TnZYuRjyI/AAAAAAAAlTU/7R_dCl_iovsWsr07UnlSGkjAt10BexisQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9030.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJ4yMZKXh7M/X4TnZYuRjyI/AAAAAAAAlTU/7R_dCl_iovsWsr07UnlSGkjAt10BexisQCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After several more miles, I knew I was closing in on the finish - just in time for lunch! - so I took a cool down lap in a residential neighborhood for about a mile as the congratulations message played over the RaceJoy app. I had completed the Cycle of Hope 2020 ride. There were no <a href="www.routearrows.com" target="_blank">RouteArrows</a>, no bumping into the publisher of <a href="https://www.cyclecalifornia.com/" target="_blank">Cycle California Magazine</a> or the owner of the women's cycling apparel company <a href="https://www.tonikcycling.com/" target="_blank">Tonik Cycling</a> at the end of this one, but it was still a great ride worth taking, and an adventure I wouldn't have otherwise. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4HGJDI-Nx0A/X4ToW1JrSDI/AAAAAAAAlUE/FsF4FHfs28Asc4Ve2zo4VvxReYF9RMVHACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9052.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4HGJDI-Nx0A/X4ToW1JrSDI/AAAAAAAAlUE/FsF4FHfs28Asc4Ve2zo4VvxReYF9RMVHACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_9052.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">At my house, I leaned the Back to the Future bike against the door and updated my miles on analog. I also taped the wrappers of all of the things I ate on the ride as a general reminder to others not to litter. I went in the house and ate lunch. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Right now I'm sitting in my living room. I showered, changed, and have a <a href="https://www.gemellosmurals.com/shop/" target="_blank">Gemellos Murals</a> coffee mug nearby that has her drawing of the San Jose skyline on it. It's quiet and it's peaceful, and everyone should have one of these things called homes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Please make a donation to one of #MyNonprofits, <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/give/269181/#!/donation/checkout" target="_blank">Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley</a>, and/or <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/event/2020-cycle-of-hope-ride-from-home/e269181" target="_blank">register for the Cycle of Hope ride</a>. Thanks for reading and thanks for making a difference where and how you can.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com110tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-22086691278527597882020-09-18T00:29:00.007-04:002020-09-18T00:31:19.526-04:00#MyNonprofits - This is Bike New York<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtEIPKiAbWY/X2Qu6N2XpFI/AAAAAAAAk0o/28bUCpDFxlQ-cy5PzzPB53wi_4YuXDSvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0679.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NtEIPKiAbWY/X2Qu6N2XpFI/AAAAAAAAk0o/28bUCpDFxlQ-cy5PzzPB53wi_4YuXDSvgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_0679.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If I'm in New York City - like I usually am <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2018/01/biking-again-in-new-york-city.html" target="_blank">in late December</a> - I have to bike there. Mittens, a winter coat, a helmet I packed in my carry-on bag, I will ride. A <a href="https://www.citibikenyc.com/" target="_blank">CitiBike bikeshare</a> bike does the trick because I usually just have an hour or two. It's a great city to ride a bike in and the city is headed for a future with a lot more biking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>If your name is Bill DeBlasio, read that line again. Tattoo it backwards on your forehead so you have to read it in the bathroom mirror every morning if you must. Keep challenging him, my New York friends, and make sure no politician can even take a half-glance at public office, much less Gracie Mansion, without speaking to <u>how they will improve cycling</u>.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqKWQq7BMuE/X2Q3hCVz3II/AAAAAAAAk08/sLh2Bj9rQrcNvw2Uk9tEyvbP3rDQcl6zQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_0645.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VqKWQq7BMuE/X2Q3hCVz3II/AAAAAAAAk08/sLh2Bj9rQrcNvw2Uk9tEyvbP3rDQcl6zQCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_0645.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike New York is a big reason New York in the place to ride in that it is, and they are a major reason why I still enjoy riding there. </span><a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2015/04/dear-new-york-city-thanks-for-five-boro.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Their Five Boro Bike Tour</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> - a car-free ride through 42 miles of New York City with 30,000 other cyclists - I did ten years in a row. I still have a couple of my T-shirts. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The pandemic put a stop it it this year, but they're adapting as they can: they have a <a href="https://www.bike.nyc/events/spoketober/" target="_blank">Spoketober Challenge</a> next month and they're making some of their education programs virtual. Also they now have <a href="https://www.bike.nyc/recycleabicycle/" target="_blank">Recycle-A-Bicycle</a> as part of their offerings, so you can shop for a used bike or donate one yourself. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.bike.nyc/donate/" target="_blank">Donate to Bike New York here </a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And that's a wrap on this edition of #MyNonprofits: I took the amount of money that would have been spent on a plane ticket to (sigh) New York to visit family in Connecticut and over the past week and a half divided it up among some nonprofits that make a difference and matter. Everything about this pandemic tells me there are more hard times to come so if you are healthy, employed, and had your summer plans ruined too, make a donation to any nonprofits that touched you in some way. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ueZQ43TYL9U/X2Q2kFkQ1hI/AAAAAAAAk00/TKJ_sqWTeGQz8zaVLMIuLCqOlmOR5JS7ACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ueZQ43TYL9U/X2Q2kFkQ1hI/AAAAAAAAk00/TKJ_sqWTeGQz8zaVLMIuLCqOlmOR5JS7ACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_8106.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-23887624574626430162020-09-17T00:12:00.002-04:002020-09-17T00:13:21.115-04:00#MyNonprofits: Good Karma Bikes in San Jose <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Z1tWdfgh4g/X2Lb4-pQblI/AAAAAAAAkvM/0iZriA-xjHAa9UiYNewWikdr7JFHMzUtwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_4211.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Z1tWdfgh4g/X2Lb4-pQblI/AAAAAAAAkvM/0iZriA-xjHAa9UiYNewWikdr7JFHMzUtwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_4211.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="www.goodkarmabikes.org" target="_blank">Good Karma Bikes</a> has had a tough go lately - in the Arts Mercantile building on 460 Lincoln Avenue, they had <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/nonprofit-bike-shop-that-helps-san-joses-homeless-residents-burglarized-again/" target="_blank">another bad break in in June</a> - not a year after another significant one (both of the burglaries were covered by another one of #MyNonprofits, news organization <a href="www.sanjosespotlight.com" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight</a>). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">Like another nonprofit, <a href="https://www.communitycyclesca.org/" target="_blank">Community Cycles of California</a>, they've had to scale back too. Their hours are reduced these days to 12 - 4 Tuesday through Saturday - less if there is a fire. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Just my morale is affected by the wildfire smoke - they close the shop when the AQI is 150 or higher. When you have to rent a large industrial space for your work, the only air conditioning you sometimes get is when the windows are open. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's only $50 to sponsor a bicycle for a stranger who needs one, so please <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/donate.html" target="_blank">Donate to Good Karma Bikes here</a> so they can come out of all this stronger. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8oEqAEQ9Bzs/X2LiAK_T6LI/AAAAAAAAkvY/ETBkxZcA4F0_LfRh7-xKkmk996kaaoV5gCPcBGAsYHg/s2919/IMG_8856.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2442" data-original-width="2919" height="524" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8oEqAEQ9Bzs/X2LiAK_T6LI/AAAAAAAAkvY/ETBkxZcA4F0_LfRh7-xKkmk996kaaoV5gCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h524/IMG_8856.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-67767033758763909262020-09-16T00:07:00.000-04:002020-09-16T00:07:04.299-04:00#MyNonprofits: Highways Performance Space<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEc1Vm1nCPo/X2GH7rKod4I/AAAAAAAAkgk/cXWSmGZFvtITfAtab0nwBoSX1OrAJm4wQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_5747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SEc1Vm1nCPo/X2GH7rKod4I/AAAAAAAAkgk/cXWSmGZFvtITfAtab0nwBoSX1OrAJm4wQCLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h625/IMG_5747.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I've decided that I'll eventually compile all of the painted river rocks I've found on my walks in Santa Teresa County Park. I saw this one not too long ago and I read it as 'Live' as in 'live performances, live music' but it probably meant 'Live' as in...'Live Free or Die' or 'Live Through This'...the album by Courtney Love's band, <i>Hole,</i> back in the early nineties.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyone? </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, I probably read it that way because of a friend who commented that she misses museums, misses going to live shows, just...<i>misses</i> a physical interaction with people and culture. We all do, and we have to make sure these places are still there after COVID is gone.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">Just as another one of #MyNonprofits is doing, </span><a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/09/mynonprofits-city-lights-theater.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;" target="_blank">City Lights</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> in San Jose, </span><a href="https://highwaysperformance.org/" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Highways Performance Space</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> is holding virtual events. </span><a href="www.cellista.net" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Cellista</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> was to perform there on March 27 and she eventually did a virtual show with Highways but I missed it since I didn't </span><a href="https://twitter.com/HighwaysPS" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">follow Highways Performance Space on Twitter</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">at the time, but I do now. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://highwaysperformance.org/product/donations/" target="_blank">Donate to Highways Performance Space here</a>.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Closing in on the bottom of #MyNonprofits list - hope you start at the top of yours, help some places out, and turn up some music. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-52041965682490247782020-09-15T00:22:00.001-04:002020-09-15T00:23:07.374-04:00#MyNonprofits: YWCA Silicon Valley <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--K-00BSRM3A/X2A7wjyKVUI/AAAAAAAAkgE/KP7-SbCNFvwgrFiw8Lx3Acli1Je2nYqOwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1334/IMG_5395.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="976" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--K-00BSRM3A/X2A7wjyKVUI/AAAAAAAAkgE/KP7-SbCNFvwgrFiw8Lx3Acli1Je2nYqOwCLcBGAsYHQ/w549-h976/IMG_5395.PNG" width="549" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://ywca-sv.org/" target="_blank">YWCA Silicon Valley</a> had their Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to raise money to fight domestic violence this past May - and this year was the third in a row I've done it. Only this time, instead of Santana Row, I was alone in an empty VTA parking lot where I walked a mile while attempting to Strava-art an image of a house. A friend at work did it in Milpitas and we exchanged pictures of our shoes. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;">It was a nice moment, but domestic violence isn't a moment - it is a pandemic that has </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/01/860739417/domestic-abuse-can-escalate-in-pandemic-and-continue-even-if-you-get-away" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"> YWCA Silicon Valley noted they've had a 300% increase in requests for emergency shelters and/or financial help.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">The next YWCA Silicon Valley event is their <a href="https://ywca-sv.org/inspire-luncheon/" target="_blank">Inspire Luncheon</a> which is coming up on October 29th from 12:00 to 1:30. Susan Rice will be the keynote speaker and I hope you <a href="https://ywcasv.liveimpact.org/li/9568/sevent/evt/home/140208/69" target="_blank">register for the Inspire Luncheon here.</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://ywcasv.liveimpact.org/li/9568/sevent/evt/home/140208/69" target="_blank">Donate to YWCA Silicon Valley here.</a> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'll see you tomorrow and I hope between now and then you take some of the money you saved having trips cancelled this summer and put it towards some nonprofits that matter to you. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1s6hwygYg_M/X2BAe1lJBwI/AAAAAAAAkgQ/QcSvwMSUnOckSk2OBD1_brDFFNrgtYErgCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_4448.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1s6hwygYg_M/X2BAe1lJBwI/AAAAAAAAkgQ/QcSvwMSUnOckSk2OBD1_brDFFNrgtYErgCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_4448.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where my size 12 wedges dwell. Till next time, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><br /></span></span><p></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-46288695213667923882020-09-14T01:02:00.002-04:002020-09-14T01:03:45.036-04:00#MyNonprofits: Be a Friend of Lick Observatory <p><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: large;"></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d4t750G-HA/X17xDATFnwI/AAAAAAAAkaM/FL-5GXbBGpILxHh4jeKPur_HNC-aYgeLACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_8050.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d4t750G-HA/X17xDATFnwI/AAAAAAAAkaM/FL-5GXbBGpILxHh4jeKPur_HNC-aYgeLACPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_8050.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lick Observatory, August 24, 2019.</td></tr></tbody></table><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">The most worried I got during the SCU Lightning Complex Fire - which was both yesterday and a million years ago at the same time - was when I heard L<a href="https://www.ucolick.org/main/index.html" target="_blank">ick Observatory</a> was threatened. The worst part was there wasn't a lot of information - and it stressed me out that I could no longer see it from my garage thirty miles away. When the smoke finally cleared I could see the flames had indeed burnt the hills all around it, but it still stood. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/california-wildfire-historic-lick-observatory/" target="_blank">Matt Simon at Wired wrote a great feature about Lick Observatory and the fire here.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">My first trip to Lick Observatory was <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/06/a-view-of-lick-observavatory.html" target="_blank">on a bike on April 7, 2019</a>. After a summer car trip to one of their photography nights, I rode <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/12/the-making-of-back-to-future-road-bike.html" target="_blank">my Back to the Future-themed roadbike</a> back to Lick Observatory on August 24th. Twenty-five miles into a thirty-mile bike trip, I learned the riding up there in August is a lot different from April. My 1.5 liter Camelbak went dry and I crawled the rest of the way to the relief of that stupendous vending machine (which, if it is ever retired and I am eccentric <i>and</i> wealthy by then, I want that thing in my workshop).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMyqWDwXWSs/X173Ld5nzWI/AAAAAAAAkcE/20P2efFJDMMNu8eFhPOK951H9QnrLuwiQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_8335.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PMyqWDwXWSs/X173Ld5nzWI/AAAAAAAAkcE/20P2efFJDMMNu8eFhPOK951H9QnrLuwiQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_8335.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p>For now, my workshop can support the space for postcard I got from the vending machine and carried all the way down the mountain on my first visit.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'm not sure when my next visit is (I think the road is still closed) but I know that Lick Observatory could use our help (they also need San Jose to not install electronic billboards and add light pollution but that's another conversation). </span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.ucolick.org/main/support/folo.html" target="_blank">Donate to Lick Observatory Here</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AEbBTcCk8Xk/X174Ecwl61I/AAAAAAAAkdA/c7ptXMwuOcwLg8NY1sgzZgkGXVhiK0GXwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8327.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AEbBTcCk8Xk/X174Ecwl61I/AAAAAAAAkdA/c7ptXMwuOcwLg8NY1sgzZgkGXVhiK0GXwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8327.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The smoke is still hanging in the Bay Area air as you can see (that photo was this morning - look at what it looked like in May) With wind, time and some support we'll see clear skies again. Hope you donate to some nonprofits that matter to you w/ the hashtag #MyNonprofits. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8aAVgQXhQk/X174qn_n3pI/AAAAAAAAkdQ/EOUlVu_5MJI8yHGPv6A4H9xAmWludb5GwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_4890.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8aAVgQXhQk/X174qn_n3pI/AAAAAAAAkdQ/EOUlVu_5MJI8yHGPv6A4H9xAmWludb5GwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_4890.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com123tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-50177658986989524772020-09-13T00:24:00.000-04:002020-09-13T00:24:04.875-04:00#MyNonprofits: Veggielution in San Jose<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgmbRoa3FIU/X12batS84wI/AAAAAAAAkZ8/AgfCVVdm8ZcsaT4m3XrFo-6ymahSNZVwACLcBGAsYHQ/s2016/IMG_6122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgmbRoa3FIU/X12batS84wI/AAAAAAAAkZ8/AgfCVVdm8ZcsaT4m3XrFo-6ymahSNZVwACLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h469/IMG_6122.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Well, it's Groundhog Day...again. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Things are getting cancelled, but instead of falling to COVID and Shelter in Place rules, they fall to wildfire smoke. <a href="https://veggielution.org/" target="_blank">Veggielution</a> has a market on Saturdays and it was cancelled today so I wasn't able to go today - which is why the sky in that photo is suspiciously blue. For those of you keeping track: the AQI is in the 200eds around most of the Bay Area, so seeing as we are indoors, there really isn't any reason for you not to start donating to some nonprofits - and this is an easy one: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://veggielution.org/donate" target="_blank">Donate to Veggielution here</a> </i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></span></span></p><p><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-19878717416378477732020-09-11T11:16:00.001-04:002020-09-11T11:16:36.855-04:00#MyNonprofits: Valley Verde in San Jose<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ynaEBXrmnds/V1TNIUaurXI/AAAAAAAAIRQ/hyuigHrMIEwsdYMvoo0yVi3ommtieH0IgCPcBGAYYCw/s480/blogger-image-2092883078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ynaEBXrmnds/V1TNIUaurXI/AAAAAAAAIRQ/hyuigHrMIEwsdYMvoo0yVi3ommtieH0IgCPcBGAYYCw/w625-h625/blogger-image-2092883078.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</i></span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Writing a brief post this morning since I'm not riding or hiking this morning because the air quality is terrible. Valley Verde is a nonprofit that was introduced to me by another one of My Nonprofits, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. One of the best memories of the pandemic was <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/05/seedlings-cycling-blood-and-heels.html" target="_blank">a socially distanced ride to deliver seedlings</a> for free to families that needed them.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Valley Verde is engaging in a big fundraising effort right now and I'd love it if you donated. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://gf.me/u/yt7ybd" target="_blank">Donate to Valley Verde here</a>.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">I'm writing this indoors (where I hope most of you are) and just saw a segment on the Today Show that will not age well: people 'fleeing' cities, which has been debunked in several articles <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2020/7/13/21319909/coronavirus-urban-exodus-cities-moving-suburbs" target="_blank">including this great one by Curbed</a>. Cities are more important than ever (Hello! Climate Change!) and <i>we have to think about how we want them to look when this is over</i>. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XIpdR9vVM6s/X1uUoRikKkI/AAAAAAAAkYc/zcR9Om59C2syZxuBroIvws98ZuwM1_ZdgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_4359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XIpdR9vVM6s/X1uUoRikKkI/AAAAAAAAkYc/zcR9Om59C2syZxuBroIvws98ZuwM1_ZdgCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_4359.JPG" width="625" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-9503171198975209942020-09-10T23:43:00.006-04:002020-09-10T23:47:56.343-04:00#MyNonprofits - Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley <p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ykUrFKDVcBY/X1rpaE5BEjI/AAAAAAAAkXQ/ljJZyZXamxEEXzT6naSwPdMt9Px8-1j-ACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_5063.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ykUrFKDVcBY/X1rpaE5BEjI/AAAAAAAAkXQ/ljJZyZXamxEEXzT6naSwPdMt9Px8-1j-ACPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_5063.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armadillo Willy's in San Jose, a few months into the pandemic (they lost the 'Clerks' reference a while ago)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br />If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the do</i>nation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tonight's edition of #MyNonprofits starts with me giving a h/t to my sister in New York: she mailed me a care package randomly.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lmycXNkcEaA/X1rqlJ0-MWI/AAAAAAAAkXc/M-6qhYUhWd8NadU5IFG-CVecI5twdWpPQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8297.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lmycXNkcEaA/X1rqlJ0-MWI/AAAAAAAAkXc/M-6qhYUhWd8NadU5IFG-CVecI5twdWpPQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8297.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /><span>I was not expecting this. It is a bubble machine for a bike. You attach it to your seatpost, put in the provided bubble fluid, turn it on, and it emits bubbles while you ride. It's meant for those aged three and up - so I just get in under the wire. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I admit, I hadn't thought about bubbles in a long time. But a glance out the window at the still post-apocalyptic landscape made me thing I should bubble up the skies. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have room in my head - and in my schedule once I finished work - to think about bubbles because I didn't have to think about food. Well, I do think about food constantly but it's more about <i>when</i> and <i>what </i>I am going to eat.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't have to think about the <i>how</i>. But a lot of people in the Bay Area do, so tonight's edition of #MyNonprofits brings me to <a href="https://give.shfb.org/donatenow" target="_blank">Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley</a>. I just learned from their newsletter it is <a href="https://info.shfb.org/webmail/873931/39382128/6c4c85cf51ac84c0b66e170d132aff59a3187f02b9f229c66a08d2ef42689ab5" target="_blank">Hunger Action Month</a>. The same document reminded me that we are six months into shelter in place, which means <i>six months into a world where a lot of people are out of work and have scaled-back hours. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Remember you're not just helping an organization, you're helping the people who cut our hair, clean our houses, wait on our tables, and deliver our food, and do a thousand other things that make our neighborhoods work. <a href="https://give.shfb.org/donatenow" target="_blank">Donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County here. </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white;">Also please remember the #MyNonprofits thing doesn't just apply to the Bay Area - COVID has made a lot of people food inscure across the country. In New York one there is </span></span><a href="http://secure.cityharvest.org/site/MessageViewer;jsessionid=00000000.app362b?em_id=2968.0&dlv_id=6428&NONCE_TOKEN=96B50D18100A690D5E64080E3E2D66E7" target="_blank">City Harvest</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> - which I know about because Seth Meyers talks about it at the end of each <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/LateNightSeth" target="_blank">A Closer Look on YouTube</a>. <a href="https://secure.cityharvest.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2844&mfc_pref=T&2844.donation=form1" target="_blank">Donate to City Harvest here</a>, and if enough of us do we'll eventually get to a place where everyone can think more about bubbles than about how to get food. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymeOqfLOlXY/X1rwQG-Ik5I/AAAAAAAAkXw/EWSmO-qN0kkspy59nBoW9U_bkqT2hLe8ACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_8302.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymeOqfLOlXY/X1rwQG-Ik5I/AAAAAAAAkXw/EWSmO-qN0kkspy59nBoW9U_bkqT2hLe8ACPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_8302.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-89672828271899134062020-09-09T20:59:00.000-04:002020-09-09T20:59:15.440-04:00#MyNonprofits - Donate to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and take part in BTWD<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlbUCjrHWEo/X1l0L-wqEcI/AAAAAAAAkM0/mnY1m2tmpwwXH32uTH0FNABlSLdJB96FgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xlbUCjrHWEo/X1l0L-wqEcI/AAAAAAAAkM0/mnY1m2tmpwwXH32uTH0FNABlSLdJB96FgCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_3837.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the donation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I am leading with the photo above - taken on a ride to Morgan Hill in April - to remind myself what a real sky looks like. For those of you in the Bay Area and living through a historic wildfire season, you've surely noticed today that the sky looks like a cross between what Viggo Mortensen was pushing his shopping trolley under in 'The Road' and a hotel carpet with a light urine stain. It's been dusk since breakfast and every single photo on Twitter looks like this:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-scJ7umMKPMk/X1l1Gd9lSPI/AAAAAAAAkNY/moD68klkybAOAKHyBFmw6mXrB-y0sUPGACPcBGAsYHg/s1282/IMG_8282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="1282" height="568" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-scJ7umMKPMk/X1l1Gd9lSPI/AAAAAAAAkNY/moD68klkybAOAKHyBFmw6mXrB-y0sUPGACPcBGAsYHg/w625-h568/IMG_8282.JPG" width="625" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">That's the sky* if you're in the South Bay - in San Francisco the sky is Mars red (and if you look closely in one of the apartment windows you can see Matt Damon planting potatoes).</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway: instead of tweeting pictures of the post-apocalyptic wonder that is the greater Bay Area make a donation to a nonprofit and tell the world about it on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferGolson/status/1303769986952040452" target="_blank">Like Jennifer Golson in New Jersey just did</a>).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's another one of mine I just donated to: <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a>. Advocacy, education and outreach - and like I said: if there is intersection in the Bay Area that is suddenly safer for bicycles than it was before, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition almost certainly had something to do with it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When the plague hit, they worked quickly and had postponed Bike to Work Day to September 24th and created a social media campaign called #JoyRideSV. Now, with COVID of course not letting up, Bike to Work Day is <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/btwd/" target="_blank">Bike to Wherever Days</a> which has random prize drawings and competitions all through September. <a href="https://www.lovetoride.net/bayarea" target="_blank">Sign up for Bike to Wherever Days here</a> and... </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><a href="https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/bf16c91e-5e25-434c-ab77-2e1fda65aa98" target="_blank">Donate to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition here</a></span></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UAOuKVApR6Q/VzVnGbmh1ZI/AAAAAAAAIMY/QcS6NIMu8IkQhjhryT2MHGDvHLXsiWVrwCPcBGAYYCw/s480/blogger-image-1344686851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="360" height="781" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UAOuKVApR6Q/VzVnGbmh1ZI/AAAAAAAAIMY/QcS6NIMu8IkQhjhryT2MHGDvHLXsiWVrwCPcBGAYYCw/w586-h781/blogger-image-1344686851.jpg" width="586" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike to Work Day in San Jose in non-social distancing times<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">A lot of people started biking when COVID started and we gotta make a world where they'll feel comfortable doing it after, so I hope you support the SVBC - and that you share your favorite nonprofits on social with the hashtag #MyNonprofits. I'll be in the saddle tomorrow and hope we'll be riding under a prettier sky. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">*sorry - that wasn't the sky; just a piece of paper placed over the power indicator button on an IBM ThinkPad. But I had you there, didn't I?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_Ic9InnzB0/X1l41Jeh6CI/AAAAAAAAkQ4/nesPavrrzoAFzj9bN5qlR402m3gqepwxQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k_Ic9InnzB0/X1l41Jeh6CI/AAAAAAAAkQ4/nesPavrrzoAFzj9bN5qlR402m3gqepwxQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8281.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-1903439065651969992020-09-08T22:48:00.001-04:002020-09-08T22:48:37.300-04:00#MyNonprofits: City Lights Theater Company in San Jose<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-weU044Lt534/X1gtA0ixfiI/AAAAAAAAkHg/BNDWD05pc4QhQr1ZdHx-1YhItH1Mh5rzwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1512/IMG_8271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1512" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-weU044Lt534/X1gtA0ixfiI/AAAAAAAAkHg/BNDWD05pc4QhQr1ZdHx-1YhItH1Mh5rzwCLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h625/IMG_8271.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the donation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you. </span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This morning, I checked <a href="http://PurpleAir.com">PurpleAir.com</a> - which is a thing that you do in California during fire season - and was happy to see that downtown San Jose had an AQI that seemed unlikely to kill me. I wore a decent quality n-95 anyway and took the Back to the Future bike for a spin. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQziwG7QpGY/X1guIsimhHI/AAAAAAAAkIY/Y3NLNMIdPIsFCjMTjJ3S6Mxofhq8_YyQQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LQziwG7QpGY/X1guIsimhHI/AAAAAAAAkIY/Y3NLNMIdPIsFCjMTjJ3S6Mxofhq8_YyQQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8269.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One of #MyNonprofits is <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/coffee-shop-dream-becoming-reality-for-san-jose-sisters-depite-obstacles/" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight</a>, and last week the reported <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/coffee-shop-dream-becoming-reality-for-san-jose-sisters-depite-obstacles/" target="_blank">two sisters are starting a new coffee shop called Nirvana Soul</a>, where Cafe Frascati used to be. According to the article it will open later this month so keep a sharp eye and pack a handlebar cup holder. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On the way back, the sight of the sign at <a href="https://cltc.org/">City Lights Theater Company</a> - a nonprofit that the artist <a href="www.cellista.net" target="_blank">Cellista</a> introduced me to - made me stop for another photo. Possibly an homage to the sign-off that <a href="https://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers" target="_blank">Seth Meyers</a> does at the end of A Closer Look when asking viewers to <a href="https://secure.cityharvest.org/site/Donation2?2621.donation=form1&df_id=2621&mfc_pref=T" target="_blank">support City Harvest</a>. It made me smile - and I made a small donation to City Lights Theater when I got home under a grey sky.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_HdUvnWmQw/X1g12AF7xDI/AAAAAAAAkMM/3ZauIld626MkcxChCEd7p1HKTgPTaIyTQCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_HdUvnWmQw/X1g12AF7xDI/AAAAAAAAkMM/3ZauIld626MkcxChCEd7p1HKTgPTaIyTQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8272.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A lot of theaters are obviously closed temporarily because of COVID-19 but <a href="https://cltc.org/" target="_blank">City Lights</a> has a lot of shows online, a podcast, and is producing an online show on Friday evenings called <a href="http://cltc.org/thenextstage/" target="_blank">The Next Stage</a>. The words on their homepage include <i>the stage is dark but the light's aren't out.</i> Let's keep them on forever - and when COVID is over we'll jam a table at Nirvana Soul and stand in a crowded line at the box office. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://cltc.org/donate/" target="_blank">Donate to City Lights Theater Company here</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That's all for the moment - hope you have a chance this week to find nonprofits that matter to you and tell the world about them. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-21092633963100592742020-09-07T18:57:00.004-04:002020-09-07T18:59:19.297-04:00Give Blood on Saturday (and donate to Be the Change Wellness Today) <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySJnWoNtyko/X1a65M64hCI/AAAAAAAAkFA/w27lXtwTJwU7Wa11kg_-eKFRU8sl9XpywCPcBGAsYHg/s3963/IMG_4050.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1694" data-original-width="3963" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySJnWoNtyko/X1a65M64hCI/AAAAAAAAkFA/w27lXtwTJwU7Wa11kg_-eKFRU8sl9XpywCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h268/IMG_4050.JPG" width="625" /></a></span></div><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><p><i style="font-family: arial;"><br /></i></p>If you're healthy, employed, and traveled less than you wanted this summer, please make a donation to a nonprofit organization(s) that matters to you and share the donation link on social media with the hashtag #MyNonprofits - encouraging others to do the same. I hope you take part - thank you. </span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Like a lot of you I have good days and bad days in terms of Coping With The Pandemic - and sometimes the former can flip unexpectedly to the latter with almost no warning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One time that happened was in late May - one of #MyNonprofits, <a href="www.goodkarmabikes.org">Good Karma Bikes</a>, was hosting a blood drive. I'm afraid of needles but I give blood anyway, so I was excited to do it. When I got there - masked and ready to go! - I marveled at how well that had everything planned out so donors could be safe distance from each other and the staff.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I filled out a questionnaire on a tablet, but when I got inside the Bloodmobile the nurse gave me some bad news about my answers: On the travel questions I wrote I had traveled to Hyderabad, India late last year, which is considered a malaria risk area - which meant I would be ineligible to give blood again until December. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As professional as the nurse was, it still felt like a bad breakup. I shuffled out of the Bloodmobile without a cookie and no bandage on my arm. The reasoning was the worst part: all I've wanted to do for months is travel - <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html" target="_blank">the #MyNonprofits initiative</a> was born from a trip in Italy I never got to take - and I couldn't even go across town to give blood because of travel I had done <i>before</i> the pandemic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It left me demoralized for days. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That brings me to now: Garvin Thomas of <a href="www.nbcbayarea.com" target="_blank">NBC Bay Area</a> is coordinating the 4th Annual <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bay-area-proud/" target="_blank">NBC Bay Area Proud</a> blood drive this Saturday, September 12th at 1375 Blossom Hill Road (Princeton Plaza) from 9am to 2pm. As I mentioned, the social distancing and other safety measures the staff at Stanford Blood Center engages is great but they just can't accommodate as many people as they did in pre-coronavirus times, so every appointment counts. If you're eligible to give blood <a href="https://sbcdonor.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/8267" target="_blank">visit the NBC Bay Area page of the Stanford Blood Center site</a> and make an appointment. You can also go to the <a href="www.stanfordbloodcenter.org" target="_blank">Stanford Blood Center</a> site and enter the sponsor code of 2440 (and when you give blood use the hashtag #GiveBloodSBC</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fw7iPgfbe4E/X1a1DfOJlLI/AAAAAAAAkEo/oJBcB3NjnCoCmgSvC743-TChYanbv5fpwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8265.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fw7iPgfbe4E/X1a1DfOJlLI/AAAAAAAAkEo/oJBcB3NjnCoCmgSvC743-TChYanbv5fpwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_8265.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In the meantime, please consider taking part in #MyNonprofits by donating to the nonprofits that matter to you - and on the off chance we share one I urge you to <a href="https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/NjYzMjM=">please make a donation to Be the Change Yoga and Wellness</a> - a nonprofit yoga studio. The pandemic hit them hard - they quickly moved to hold classes through Zoom but they still had to close their physical studio this summer. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j_Fc6iUEFvU/X1a3tMSDCjI/AAAAAAAAkE0/QIDmrHKhV2cQtBFoCURGcqm2zjYSpzvxQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3365.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j_Fc6iUEFvU/X1a3tMSDCjI/AAAAAAAAkE0/QIDmrHKhV2cQtBFoCURGcqm2zjYSpzvxQCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_3365.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And the organization is going to pause with even the Zoom classes later on this month - which I can tell already isn't going to be good for my own well being. So please, help them out if you can.</span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""><a href="https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/NjYzMjM=" target="_blank">Donate to Be the Change Yoga & Wellness here</a> </span></span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That's all I've got for now - hope you stay indoors today (it's over 100 degrees in San Jose right now) and make donations to some of your nonprofits and tell the world about them with #MyNonprofits. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-1796045911195201682020-09-06T15:34:00.005-04:002020-09-06T15:37:40.406-04:00#MyNonprofits - September Edition - Continues w/ Community Cycles of California <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xDhXOHd6vzE/X1UsQaOEtSI/AAAAAAAAj7E/4DS4NAykcSM8RfDIRUAZDqqrz9ZfX26xgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_6241.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xDhXOHd6vzE/X1UsQaOEtSI/AAAAAAAAj7E/4DS4NAykcSM8RfDIRUAZDqqrz9ZfX26xgCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_6241.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Community Cycles of California, August 15, 2020</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For those of you just tuning in: I started #MyNonprofits back in April: donating to one nonprofit that I like every day and sharing the donation link on Twitter with the hashtag #MyNonprofits. It began as a way to live through the pandemic and spend a little money that was earmarked for a trip to Italy that was cancelled. Now that my annual Labor Day weekend trip to New York and Connecticut was dissolved by COVID, I'm doing another round of MyNonprofits to cheer myself up and keep some perspective.</span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Friday I donated to <a href="https://checkout.fundjournalism.org/memberform?org_id=sanjosespotlight" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight</a> and yesterday to <a href="https://give.habitatebsv.org/?hsCtaTracking=5cb60ddb-23f6-4f11-b167-1dd4a43e61cc%7C37820613-ca33-4b4f-b10d-0b802560c36e" target="_blank">Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Now it's day three (and the day before I'd like you - if you can, to take part in #MyNonprofits to show organizations that matter that we have their back) and it's time to talk bikes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/6369073af179/looking-on-the-bright-side-a-community-cycles-update?e=8cc27b420b" target="_blank">Community Cycles of California</a>, as I wrote back in April, was in the unlucky situation of having to close the doors of their downtown San Jose retail location just weeks after opening (not before I 'panic bought' a gently used folding bike).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9srOy8nLtk/Xop1EkyfNeI/AAAAAAAAh80/NW8fm3W55_IMzQVbUVTk4XZ2rXdXhQdpQCPcBGAYYCw/s4032/IMG_2485.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k9srOy8nLtk/Xop1EkyfNeI/AAAAAAAAh80/NW8fm3W55_IMzQVbUVTk4XZ2rXdXhQdpQCPcBGAYYCw/w625-h469/IMG_2485.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Summer has been intense - <a href="https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/bicycle-shops-struggle-to-keep-up-with-surging-demand-for-bikes-parts-during-pandemic" target="_blank">the well-documented demand for bikes during COVID times</a> was felt in the walls of CCC, but the process of updating their web presence stalled in that time. Also - and this is the case with other nonprofits - COVID has impacted the work volunteers can do. </span>For months, two people were staffing a bike shop usually worked by eight or more. In <a href="https://mailchi.mp/6369073af179/looking-on-the-bright-side-a-community-cycles-update?e=8cc27b420b">their well written update</a> a couple weeks back, they announced they are scaling back shop hours and other work for about a month while they rebuild inventory and engage in efforts for their long-term prosperity. I want them to be even stronger by the time COVID ends, so I made another donation today.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3117760" target="_blank">Donate to Community Cycles of California here</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That's all for the moment. S</span><span style="font-family: arial;">tarting tomorrow I want to see some of you using the #MyNonprofits hashtag and supporting nonprofits - if you want some examples please look at my <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html" target="_blank">original list of My Nonprofits</a>. Thanks for donating what you can to the nonprofits that mean a lot to you. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4pByCQEBCvY/X1U5OTmGPAI/AAAAAAAAkAg/-tH9DR0a088ofZNHlW0p4bbLt6SHN8HhwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_3375.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4pByCQEBCvY/X1U5OTmGPAI/AAAAAAAAkAg/-tH9DR0a088ofZNHlW0p4bbLt6SHN8HhwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_3375.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-5789009855191693432020-09-05T11:13:00.003-04:002020-09-05T11:15:39.661-04:00#MyNonprofits: Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley (and the 2020 Cycle of Hope ride) <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPxJTkqEMzs/X1Oic00OOeI/AAAAAAAAj3I/5mKBV6ONcXQaUrVzuXwvVuCRD0QKAwyGwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9701.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPxJTkqEMzs/X1Oic00OOeI/AAAAAAAAj3I/5mKBV6ONcXQaUrVzuXwvVuCRD0QKAwyGwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_9701.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's early on Saturday morning. I'm watching the Tour de France - <a href="https://patch.com/connecticut/stamford/bp--cycling-is-unimportant-riding-a-bike-is" target="_blank">not because I care</a> about any of the teams but because I haven't been to another country in ten months and am soaking up the scenery (also to see if I can get a glimpse of the chef <a href="www.hannahgrant.com" target="_blank">Hannah Grant</a>).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'm also thinking about one of #MyNonprofits, <a href="https://www.habitatebsv.org/" target="_blank">Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley</a> and their upcoming event to help raise money for affordable housing, <a href="https://www.habitatcycleofhope.org/" target="_blank">Cycle of Hope</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Now some of you remember I did the Cycle of Hope ride last year even though, at the time, I was in no mood to do it and said so when <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/11/a-cycle-of-hope-in-bay-area.html" target="_blank">I wrote about it</a>. I was having a difficult autumn to begin with and don't ride in groups often...but now there's a long list of things I'd love to do and riding in a group is one of them. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ8O1Omc_8E/X1Om3jv7oOI/AAAAAAAAj4w/WdlQjXg2fikttGtgbZjKVgbgcFykqwNggCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3165.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ8O1Omc_8E/X1Om3jv7oOI/AAAAAAAAj4w/WdlQjXg2fikttGtgbZjKVgbgcFykqwNggCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_3165.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I've written on several occasions on the links between bikes and affordable housing - so much so I'm not going to interrupt the flow of my writing to embed the hyperlinks. But last year's Cycle of Hope ride was a lot of fun - and maybe net year it will look more like a group ride we all know and love - and this year's ride you can choose your course. So please <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/event/2020-cycle-of-hope-ride-from-home/e269181" target="_blank">register for the Cycle of Hope ride</a> - just like I did.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If biking isn't your thing I'm not sure how you found this post, but either way I hope you </span><a href="https://give.habitatebsv.org/?hsCtaTracking=5cb60ddb-23f6-4f11-b167-1dd4a43e61cc%7C37820613-ca33-4b4f-b10d-0b802560c36e" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">donate to Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley Here</a>.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pl4eUjTROao/X1Oic76wG2I/AAAAAAAAj3I/8EUh4IxT2BAFwIMX76d9XlU1DSl8Pr5bACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_9700.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pl4eUjTROao/X1Oic76wG2I/AAAAAAAAj3I/8EUh4IxT2BAFwIMX76d9XlU1DSl8Pr5bACPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_9700.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">That's all for today - hope you think about some of the nonprofits that have touched your life in some way and tell the world about them the week starting Monday, September 7th and use the hashtag #MyNonprofits. Let's mark the end of the summer with the start of a better world. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uSmRVGd5dOA/X1OhSerlfjI/AAAAAAAAj28/o5MqFrYLmFsENdNe6ikMVpdBWGSmzFfFwCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_9698.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="625" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uSmRVGd5dOA/X1OhSerlfjI/AAAAAAAAj28/o5MqFrYLmFsENdNe6ikMVpdBWGSmzFfFwCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h625/IMG_9698.JPG" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pausing during the 2019 Cycle of Hope ride. <a href="https://support.habitatebsv.org/event/2020-cycle-of-hope-ride-from-home/e269181" target="_blank">Register for the 2020 Cycle of Hope ride here</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p></p>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-63659742020392475152020-09-04T17:33:00.000-04:002020-09-04T17:33:06.233-04:00On Monday, September 7th: End the Summer, Start #MyNonprofits<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hnUUODXmuQI/X1Kpz2QiENI/AAAAAAAAjsU/x0NEpiEVlG8xfPFrtQvWSqxozh25GC3DQCPcBGAsYHg/s2225/IMG_6276.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2216" data-original-width="2225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hnUUODXmuQI/X1Kpz2QiENI/AAAAAAAAjsU/x0NEpiEVlG8xfPFrtQvWSqxozh25GC3DQCPcBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_6276.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of lightning I took in south San Jose early on August 16. Little did I know the very rare lightning storm started some intense and destructive wildfires. </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Not that anyone needs a reminder, but the pandemic continues. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This summer I did not fly to Italy as planned, and right now if I want to visit the state of my birth I'd have to endure two weeks of quarantine on arrival since California is on the NY/NJ/CT list. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I have a <a href="https://www.brompton.com/">Brompton</a> folding bike that is very useful for taking a train in to work and putting beside my desk at my job or under a table at a coffee shop.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">So much nostalgia in that one sentence (I dust my Brompton every week).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And now, wildfires fueled by a rare lightning storm.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The second largest wildfire in California state history is about ten or fifteen miles from my house and during the worst parts the evacuation line was less than three miles away. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A neighbor of mine has a four wheel drive truck with huge tires that he rarely uses and always keeps garaged. But like a lot of cars in my neighborhood, it's been in the driveway, facing out, for two weeks. I consider the truck a Leading Emergency Indicator - much like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index">Waffle House index</a> - and when it goes back to his garage I can unpack my go-bag.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And still, I am still one of the lucky ones. A lot of people have been out of work for months and I don't have a landlord to contend with.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This Summer, I spent a few days at Mammoth Lakes and another few days at Mendocino. In the interim I messed around with bikes in my shop, bought a portable bandsaw (about time you made that, Ryobi), and learned how to use a sewing machine. And I got to ride.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-avyRDCg1Kjs/X1Kr_xq0zTI/AAAAAAAAjwc/v2WXNeUxsasNJx4E3a4zMbjaAklruAsUACPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_5988.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-avyRDCg1Kjs/X1Kr_xq0zTI/AAAAAAAAjwc/v2WXNeUxsasNJx4E3a4zMbjaAklruAsUACPcBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_5988.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><p>So I'm lucky - but Facebook memories has been smirking at me a lot lately with reminders of trips back east to see family, friends, and chocolate-raspberry croissants.</p></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfmuOiw4pSI/X1KpWkOLPTI/AAAAAAAAjrk/CTNrsvraj0wzaFI4-NFcHTI33OcvPpozgCPcBGAsYHg/s3024/IMG_8313.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vfmuOiw4pSI/X1KpWkOLPTI/AAAAAAAAjrk/CTNrsvraj0wzaFI4-NFcHTI33OcvPpozgCPcBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_8313.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mystic, Connecticut with the Bike Friday in August 2019</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />I do Zoom and Facetime with them (my family and friends - not the croissants).</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Even though this is a rough summer, I'm bracing for a rough autumn and more hard times to come - especially for our most vulnerable neighbors who aren't as lucky as us. So I'm kicking off another round of <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html">#MyNonprofits</a> and I hope you join me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">#MyNonprofits is when you donate to a nonprofit that has touched your life in some way, share the donation link, and use the #MyNonprofits link to encourage friends to do the same. I suggest repeating the action every day for seven days since there are a lot of organizations doing a lot of necessary work and they need our help. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w5gzEnk140c/X1Kl1gjdGkI/AAAAAAAAjm8/WskhSB8k5b41fQXwgGf3HY6WP0vyVUsegCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_5768.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w5gzEnk140c/X1Kl1gjdGkI/AAAAAAAAjm8/WskhSB8k5b41fQXwgGf3HY6WP0vyVUsegCPcBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_5768.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'm asking you all to take the weekend and think of some nonprofits you love, and make a donation on Monday as our kind of way to make peace with this difficult summer (or as difficult as a summer can get when we're not hungry, not facing eviction, and currently employed). You can donate any amount but I suggest you figure out how much a cancelled trip cost you and donate that amount to your favorite nonprofits. In April it was Italy - today it is New York. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I started today by making a <a href="https://checkout.fundjournalism.org/memberform?org_id=sanjosespotlight">donation to San Jose Spotlight</a>. I hope I don't need to remind any of you how important journalism is in this time, but the service reporters do is worth paying for, so I offer them up as a place for you to donate if you choose to.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I'll present more in the coming days but for now: please ask yourself: <i>What are My Nonprofits? What are the organizations I definitely want to see make it through the pandemic? </i>Answer those questions on Monday, and share the results on Twitter and other social. And wear a mask this weekend. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hvJlSKiRRAM/X1KxSKYSudI/AAAAAAAAjzg/IZhnGaAzSgUK3rEqdXZdCgEkwVRlKoy1wCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_6221.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="469" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hvJlSKiRRAM/X1KxSKYSudI/AAAAAAAAjzg/IZhnGaAzSgUK3rEqdXZdCgEkwVRlKoy1wCPcBGAsYHg/w625-h469/IMG_6221.JPG" width="625" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p></div>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-23955468452653668332020-05-18T23:48:00.000-04:002020-05-18T23:48:00.477-04:00Seedlings, Cycling, Blood, and Heels: A #MyNonprofits Update<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Before you read this post: renew or <a href="https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/bf16c91e-5e25-434c-ab77-2e1fda65aa98" target="_blank">start a membership for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.</a> Do it now. I'll wait. </i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Join <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html" target="_blank">#MyNonprofits</a>: donate to a different nonprofit a day, every day for seven days or more, share why you love them, and nominate someone to do the same. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now that you've <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/" target="_blank">become a member of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a>, I want to tell you about a fun thing I did on May 9 with the hopes you agree to do it on May 23. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I did was volunteer to bring seedlings from one of #MyNonprofits, Valley Verde in San Jose to families in need. As I noted <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-update-deliver-seedlings.html" target="_blank">in my last post</a>: Valley Verde was supposed to hold their seedling fair but COVID-19 put a stop to that. What they decided they wanted to give the seedlings away, and they enlisted the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to handle the logistics and gathering volunteers to deliver the seedlings. It was a successful event that was covered by NBC Bay Area and <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/10/valley-verde-seedlings-get-special-delivery-by-bike-volunteers/" target="_blank">The San Jose Mercury News</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Signing up to do it made me happy. Putting it on my calendar made me happy. Heading there with my <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2014/08/building-city-bike-on-budget.html" target="_blank">City Bike</a> towing the seven year-old <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2013/09/in-world-making-trailer-not-that-kind.html" target="_blank">bike trailer made with an IKEA tub and Bike Friday trailer frame</a> made me happy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I showed up, and even though we were set at an acceptable physical distance and all wore masks, I was still able to recognize some friends. That made me happy, too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like the other riders, I showed at my pre-determined time slot and chose my rides - two deliveries about eight miles away. I rode out, I delivered the seedlings, I rode back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And Valley Verde and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition are doing it again on Saturday, May 23. If you've lost your job recently or struggling financially due to COVID-19 visit www.valleyverde.com by May 19th and follow the instructions to see if you qualify.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you were among the scores of people who signed up to help deliver the seedlings by bike and were turned away because <i>there were too many volunteers</i> <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScj7uJh5YDobO1ljJ9y0eDsCRuwMkxDsOuin_hJlT7mo_c-nQ/viewform" target="_blank">sign up to deliver seeds here</a>. And if you get to Valley Verde before your appointment time, pop into <a href="https://www.ijavacafe.com/" target="_blank">iJava</a> to get something to drink. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from iJava Cafe on Auzerais</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have some other Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition news: I am going to be on a panel on Wednesday at noon called <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1Pgz387ETgaMjQ4uGJ088w" target="_blank">How to Haul Anything By Bike</a>. It's the last Bike Month webinar co-produced by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Commute.org - <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1Pgz387ETgaMjQ4uGJ088w" target="_blank">Register for the Zoom webinar here.</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have a couple of other things to update you about with a couple of #MyNonprofits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Veggielution</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Veggielution just had their Eastside Connect event online. They had Sal Pizarro of The San Jose Mercury News as the emcee, author Cecilia Tsu as the keynote, and a variety of special guests. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_5ONkB_svQ" target="_blank">Watch it here</a> and <a href="https://veggielution.org/donate" target="_blank">make a donation to Veggielution</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Good Karma Bikes</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Good Karma Bikes is on 460 Lincoln Avenue in San Jose and is open for repairs and sales as long as you wear a mask and engage in physical distancing. Prior to the pandemic they'd hold mobile blood drives on site with a Bloodmobile from <a href="https://veggielution.org/donate" target="_blank">Stanford Blood Center</a> - and they correctly understand the need for blood donors hasn't gone away during Shelter in Place. The next Good Karma Bikes blood drive is on May 28th. <a href="https://sbcdonor.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/8960" target="_blank">Make an appointment to give blood here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>YWCA Silicon Valley (Walk a Mile in her Shoes) </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">YWCA Silicon Valley is going forward with Walk a Mile again this year - but instead of men walking in heels in a huge group in Santana Row to raise money to help fight domestic violence, they're doing a virtual walk to raise money to help fight domestic violence. I'm doing it for the third year in a row (I saved my size 12 wedges I used last year, as you can see) and this time I'm recruiting mates at my office to do it with me. I hope you <a href="https://ywca-sv.org/walk-a-mile-in-her-shoes/" target="_blank">register for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes</a> and encourage others to do that too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's all I've got for now: remember to keep washing your hands and taking care of yourself. I know all of us are experiencing some unruly cocktail of grief/shock/loss, but you still have your job and your health please start thinking of the nonprofits that matter to you and show them some support. As I write this I am supposed to be flying to Italy so I could eat and bike my way around Umbria. But I'm slowly letting go of where I'm supposed to be and thinking about where I am - and what I can do. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan Hill, California. May 17, 2020</td></tr>
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<br />Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-68498002770645083852020-04-28T00:09:00.001-04:002020-04-28T00:10:33.986-04:00#MyNonprofits Update: Deliver Seedlings by Bike on May 9 in San Jose <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDBl-o_FOkc/XqeGayT3UsI/AAAAAAAAiOM/JfZEUqB0-9UfDXaxicYaai0LzBFs1EJcgCPcBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDBl-o_FOkc/XqeGayT3UsI/AAAAAAAAiOM/JfZEUqB0-9UfDXaxicYaai0LzBFs1EJcgCPcBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3960.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have a calendar by my desk as I work from home. Because of COVID-19, there isn't anything on it - just two yellow sticky notes. One has the word <i>TODAY</i> written on it that I move from one day to the next. For quite a while, it has felt</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> like there is no tomorrow - just another version of today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Speaking of today: <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/coronavirus-live-blog-firefighters-test-positive-closures-and-cancellations-ramp-up/" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight's coronavirus blog</a> just reported the County of Santa Clara is extending their Shelter in Place order is going through May 31. So the <i>other </i>yellow sticky on my calendar - the one that reads 'lockdown ends' just moved up to the end of next month. Other than that, my calendar has seen no action.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But if you live near downtown San Jose, have either a bike with big panniers, a bike trailer or a cargo bike, you're going to mark your calendar with a blunt-point Sharpie: On Saturday, May 9th, Valley Verde needs your help to <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/2020/04/spreading-health-through-bikes-and-seedlings/" target="_blank">deliver seedlings by bike to area families</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let me back up a second.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/donate" target="_blank">Valley Verde</a> is, as of last night, one of <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html" target="_blank">#MyNonprofits</a>. For those of you who don't know: #MyNonprofits is a campaign when you make a financial donation* to a different nonprofit every day for seven days or more, encourage others to donate, and nominate one friend or more each day to take the #MyNonprofits challenge. I started this because I was supposed to fly to Italy for vacation in May, and of course that was cancelled, so I reasoned that if I can't enrich my life abroad, I was going to take the money that would be used on the trip and help nonprofits that enrich other people's lives - including mine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I first visited <a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/" target="_blank">Valley Verde</a> last year - my wife and I rode our tandem on the <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a>'s garden ride, and Valley Verde was one of the stops. Neither of us had heard of it before but we ended up taking an eggplant in the seatpost bag which survived the rest of the journey and later gave us an eggplant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like <a href="https://veggielution.org/" target="_blank">Veggielution</a> (another one of #MyNonprofits) Valley Verde is a farm in San Jose that specializes in giving education and other programs to low-income families - as well as edible gardens. They teach how to grow their own food - like, real food**</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">sold seedlings at their annual seedling fair, but like my vacation in Italy, that was cancelled which is a big loss for them and the families who use the seedlings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What Valley Verde is doing instead is giving the seedlings away to low income families. Let's skip ahead of their incredibly nice gesture and get to the rub: limited public transportation, no options for child care and other factors means a lot of people want seedlings but can't physically go get them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So the <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a> is trying to get volunteers to help bring seedlings to families on <b>Saturday, May 9. </b>It is not an organized ride - it is a socially distanced one. This means you can't just show up with a cargo bike or a bike trailer or big panniers and take plants. What you need to do is click here to <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4GEot-XThh10OJ-02lYO4TF0ailXEl1rvXZuiZr0VZfn9PQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1" target="_blank">make an appointment to give away seedlings by bike</a> and choose how many miles you wish to ride to deliver zucchini, peppers or other plants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The plants themselves are in containers - the size is about 6' x 10" by 10" - so if you have a trailer or a cargo bike, you can carry a lot more plants and help a lot more people in one go. You drop the plants off at the addresses they give you - so it is 100% social distanced all the way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what I ask you today, the readers, is to <a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/donate" target="_blank">make a donation to Valley Verde.</a> I personally know the feeling that comes when a big fundraising event doesn't take place for a nonprofit and it is not a good feeling. So <a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/donate" target="_blank">make a donation to Valley Verde</a>, then share <a href="https://www.valleyverde.org/" target="_blank">the Valley Verde donation page</a> online. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next - if you have a bike that can carry plants that you can ride safely, live close enough to ride to Valley Verde, are free on May 9, then sign up to deliver seedlings. If you want to read something better written - and with more detail and fewer spelling errors - here's <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/2020/04/spreading-health-through-bikes-and-seedlings/" target="_blank">the Valley Verde post by Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition executive director Shiloh Ballard.</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's all for now. <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2020/04/mynonprofits-and-other-ways-to-live.html" target="_blank">Please check out the list of the nonprofits I have on #MyNonprofit list</a> and take the #MyNonprofits challenge: give a little money to one nonprofit a day, ever day for seven days or more, and each time nominate a friend to do the same. COVID-19 is taking away a lot from us now but let's make sure it doesn't take even more from the less fortunate among ourselves later. Thanks for reading, thanks for riding (alone), and thanks for taking the #MyNonprofits challenge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">*if it is the <a href="https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive" target="_blank">American Red Cross</a> - blood if you prefer. <a href="https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive" target="_blank">Make an appointment to give blood online here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">**I swear, every time I am in the grocery store I notice what someone is carrying in their baskets or trolleys and think "If the coronavirus doesn't kill you, that junk you plan to eat will." Don't get me started on the people who pull down their masks when they get outside to smoke a cigarette.</span><br />
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<br />Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-18426703368998777992020-04-06T10:54:00.003-04:002020-04-07T08:36:59.652-04:00#MyNonprofits and Other Ways to Live Through a Pandemic <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1aJ9CpMRFbc/XokVWYEGXBI/AAAAAAAAh0s/_m0NjRfpAQUA4OGHUfHmnSTq6uDDB7xcwCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1aJ9CpMRFbc/XokVWYEGXBI/AAAAAAAAh0s/_m0NjRfpAQUA4OGHUfHmnSTq6uDDB7xcwCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3375.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was supposed to get together with a friend for coffee. I was supposed to take a train and use a folding bike to get to work. I was supposed to watch the San Jose artist <a href="http://www.cellista.net/" target="_blank">Cellista</a> tweet joyously about her March 27th concert in LA. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was supposed to go to yoga class. I was supposed to get a tart at Pastelaria with a colleague. I was supposed to fly to Italy in May with my <a href="http://www.bikefriday.com/" target="_blank">Bike Friday</a> in checked luggage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The coronavirus has taken a lot from us - much more than I just listed here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm still better off than most. Way better. I can do my job from home. I'm not furloughed. I don't have a greedy landlord to contend with or rent increases to worry about. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I also don't have a stack of paper coffee filters on the back of my toilet - not yet, anyway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I do have is a bike - well, a couple, actually - and ride it regularly and alone - like I did in the time before. Only now cars that I once had to beg for three feet of space are suddenly giving me six - and frames from the opening sequence of 'I am Legend' sneak into my ride from time to time. This was Friday afternoon in San Jose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the same ride I headed toward <a href="https://btcwellness.org/" target="_blank">Be the Change Yoga and Wellness</a>. The doors were shut, the place was dark. But there was a sign on the door letting patrons know that they were offering classes on Zoom. I've taken some. They were some of the first people I met <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2015/05/nine-mornings-to-california-morning-1.html" target="_blank">when I moved to San Jose five years ago</a> and yoga helped me through a very difficult adjustment period to California. It's helping me again, right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You already know I'm going to tell you how much biking is helping - and it is. It's also a bit of a spirit-lifter that bike shops are deemed 'essential' business. Remember Vera - the great mechanic at the mobile bike shop <a href="https://www.velofix.com/" target="_blank">Velofix</a>? She's still at work, and you can book her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like anyone else who is still working out of the house - be kind, be patient and tip generously. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Latest downtown San Jose mural by Bay Area artist <a href="https://www.gemellosmurals.com/" target="_blank">Lila Gemellos </a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let me offer something more concrete than a few abstracts - here today I am giving you an activity. Something to keep you occupied, feeling empowered and encouraged. It's called #MyNonprofits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's how it works: every day, for seven days or more, donate to a different nonprofit that has touched your life in some way, and share the donation link on social media and encourage your friends to not only donate, but join in on #MyNonprofits too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Donate any amount - it's up to you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's it. That's the post. That's what I want you to do. Eight years or so of entertaining you for free on DIYBIKING.COM and I want you to pass the time by donating to and talking about nonprofits every day for seven days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is easy. Each day under shelter in place, after all, feels like it goes by in a blur but every week feels a month. Now is the time to introduce good habits. So take a little time to think and start donating to seven nonprofits in seven days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are mine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Be the Change Yoga and Wellness</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2016 was easily the worst year of my life and finding time for a class at <a href="https://btcwellness.org/" target="_blank">Be the Change Yoga & Wellness</a>, no matter how chaotic, lonely, or unhappy I felt, was always time well spent. As I said, they are offering classes online with Zoom so in chaotic, lonely and unhappy times it's a good way to feel connected and feel healthy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/NjYzMjM=" target="_blank">Donate to Be the Change Yoga & Wellness here</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Good Karma Bikes</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Within weeks of arriving in San Jose in 2015, I was doing part-time freelancing for faraway clients so I began some part-time volunteering for <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/" target="_blank">Good Karma Bikes</a> as a mechanic and a little social media managing. They take bikes in as donations, fix them, and gift some bikes and free repairs to the homeless and have other programs - including <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/programs.html" target="_blank">Women's Night</a> (run by Vera!).They had to scale back their operations a lot in the wake of COVID-19 and could use some help. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/donate.html" target="_blank">Donate to Good Karma Bikes here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Second Harvest of Silicon Valley</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Second Harvest of Silicon Valley helps an incredible number of people in the Bay Area each year - food created 30 million meals just last year. Traditional food drives, like the ones done by <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2016/11/cranksgiving-san-jose-2016-and-other.html" target="_blank">Cranksgiving San Jose</a>, are cancelled right now but you can still <a href="https://www.shfb.org/give-help/other-ways-to-help/fundraisers-and-food-drives/" target="_blank">do a virtual food drive</a>. However, due to the blood-curdling number of layoffs the work Second Harvest of Silicon Valley does has grown more important than ever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://give.shfb.org/donatenow" target="_blank">Donate to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>YWCA Silicon Valley</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Quick backstory: a long time ago I helped a friend move out of the house of a domestic abuser. Just a few years ago I did a freelance assignment for a talented friend who hired me to make a series of charts about the impact of domestic violence in one U.S. state. It was incredibly grim work but it made me realize how horrifying and massive this problem is, so I started doing <a href="https://ywca-sv.org/walk-a-mile-in-her-shoes/" target="_blank">Walk a Mile</a> with <a href="https://ywca-sv.org/" target="_blank">YWCA Silicon Valley</a> I kept the size twelve wedges I wore last year thinking I'd use them again this year (and try to get the guys i my own workplace to participate too) but at this point who knows if and when registration for Walk a Mile will open. Eliminating racism and helping women leave domestic violence can't wait. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://ywca-sv.org/donate-to-ywca-silicon-valley/" target="_blank">Donate to YWCA Silicon Valley here </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>San Jose Spotlight</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/" target="_blank">San Jose Spotlight</a> is just over a year old and they are the reason I knew <a href="https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-nurses-plead-for-supplies-as-more-first-responders-fall-sick-with-coronavirus/" target="_blank">where to take two unopened boxes of five N-95 masks</a> so nurses could have them instead of my garage. That's one small reason they're important.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My career has been shaped by journalism - my first job was reporting for an industry newsletter and my third career was about being a book publishing expert at Simba Information where I was interviewed by journalists a couple hundred times and learned the importance of journalists who are experts in their beats. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even before COVID-19 journalists and journalism has been subject to the wrath of vulture capitalism and just plain neglect. Reporters who are still in the game and genuinely trying to do what's best for their communities deserve praise and the publications they work for deserve money. If you live in the Bay Area, you'll want to <a href="https://twitter.com/SJSpotlight" target="_blank">follow San Jose Spotlight on Twitter</a> and get to know their reporters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://checkout.fundjournalism.org/memberform?org_id=sanjosespotlight" target="_blank">Donate to San Jose Spotlight here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Lick Observatory</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A year ago next week, I decided, on a whim and a 21 year old Bike Friday, to ride up to <a href="https://www.ucolick.org/main/visit/info.html" target="_blank">Lick Observatory</a>. It was a 62 mile trip that impaired my ability to walk, stand, or sit comfortably for days but it was ultimately spiritual and uplifting. I wrote about that trip <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/06/a-view-of-lick-observavatory.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Due to COVID-19, Lick Observatory only has the robotic telescopes in operation and the technical labs on UC Santa Cruz campus are closed - which is a shame, because <a href="http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_6e880d2a-769c-11ea-8b25-2753d1e3fc3c.html" target="_blank">with fewer cars on the road air is clearer</a> (imagine that). You can help the staff and help the science today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.ucolick.org/main/support/folo.html" target="_blank">Donate to Lick Observatory Here</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In April of 2015, when I was still flying back and forth between CA and CT, I went on a group ride </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">the </span><a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition</a> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">organized through Willow Glen. I felt like the new kid on their first day of school introducing myself, but I had a lot of fun on the ride, and quickly learned the SVBC does a lot more than that. Advocacy, education and outreach - not to mention the fact that if there is an intersection in the Bay Area that is suddenly safer for bicycles than it was before, chances are excellent the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition had something to do with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They just postponed Bike to Work Day to <a href="https://bikesiliconvalley.org/btwd/" target="_blank">September 24th</a> but they are keeping up with ways to have us pedal together even as we have to ride apart - the hashtag campaign they rolled our recently is #JoyRideSV where you post photos of different solo rides you've done under the SIP order.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/bf16c91e-5e25-434c-ab77-2e1fda65aa98" target="_blank">Donate to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Veggielution</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://veggielution.org/" target="_blank">Veggielution</a> is a working farm on the east side of San Jose - tucked under the 101 and 280/680 interchange. Growing vegetables in the shade of a maze of overpasses is a great use of the land. The last time I was there I bought tomatoes and peppers, which I made into a homemade sauce I ate over pasta. But this place is more than a location to buy good food - they have a lot of education and community programs, including serving food on site (the tacos are amazing) and provide a place to meet and make friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://veggielution.org/donate" target="_blank">Donate to Veggielution here </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Highways Performing Arts Center</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://highwaysperformance.org/" target="_blank">Highway Performance Space</a> is a performing arts center in Los Angeles. I know nothing whatsover about them other than that is where <a href="http://www.cellista.net/" target="_blank">Cellista</a> was supposed to perform Transfigurations on March 27th. Even though my track record of being in the same area code as Cellista when she does do a show has been terrible, I am looking forward to this concert being rescheduled. Hope you, as you come up with your #MyNonprofits list, remember performing arts centers during this time of social distancing - even though the arts are essential. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://highwaysperformance.org/product/donations/" target="_blank">Donate to Highways here</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bike New York</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">While living in Connecticut, I knew what day the first Sunday in May was: the Five Boro Bike Tour: a ride of over 30,000 people in car-free New York City streets organized by the nonprofit <a href="https://www.bike.nyc/" target="_blank">Bike New York</a>, which teaches people how to ride and does advocacy and education work. The last FBBT I did was in 2014 - and at the time I had no idea I would be moving <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2015/05/nine-mornings-to-california-morning-1.html" target="_blank">from Connecticut to California</a> during <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2015/04/dear-new-york-city-thanks-for-five-boro.html" target="_blank">the 2015 event</a>. The 2020 Five Boro Bike Tour is cancelled and event cancellations for nonprofits are hard - let's help them out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.bike.nyc/donate/" target="_blank">Donate to Bike New York here</a> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHsbocS4qHA/XovrIbDQ7rI/AAAAAAAAh_o/QTd-obZUoLEKPz6HLBQrQ0EtojofvC9oACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/18035-1793-021f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1536" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHsbocS4qHA/XovrIbDQ7rI/AAAAAAAAh_o/QTd-obZUoLEKPz6HLBQrQ0EtojofvC9oACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/18035-1793-021f.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on my recumbent at the 2007 Five Boro Bike Tour (photo by Brightroom)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Community Cycles of California</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.communitycyclesca.org/" target="_blank">Community Cycles of California</a> is a young bike-based nonprofit in San Jose (if you look really closely you can see me at <a href="https://mailchi.mp/5b75d8029149/2019-a-year-in-review?e=2d4e1cfe12" target="_blank">the ribbon-cutting of their headquarters</a> and shop last year). They take donated bikes and refurbish, administer repair centers in affordable housing developments and are getting a vocational training program started. They just opened a new retail location on Santa Clara Street - and on the day of the Measure E rally on Leap Day I rode my cargo bike to downtown to attend the rally and 'panic bought' a folding bike at Community Cycles on my way back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Their shop closed two weeks later due to the COVID-19 SIP order - but just today <a href="https://mailchi.mp/7d52fe5e0e75/special-hours-duringshelter-in-place?e=8cc27b420b" target="_blank">Community Cycles announced a few changes in operations</a> so they can still help people safely during the pandemic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3117760" target="_blank">Donate to Community Cycles of California here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Silicon Valley Community Foundation / Silicon Valley Strong Fund</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Silicon Valley Strong Fund was created a few days into the Shelter in Place order when it was clear a lot of people in the Bay Area would need financial help. The fund launched with $11 million and several individuals and organizations made donations. Even still, the fund had over 4,400 applicants in three days and the waiting list for aid just keeps growing. On Saturday, <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/our-community-responds/2265688/" target="_blank">NBC Bay Area ran a telethon</a> for aid and received over $250,000 in donations. The number of government, business and nonprofit entities that are giving time, money and infrastructure are numerous, and if you want to help give money, time or both you can visit <a href="http://www.siliconvalleystrong.org/">www.SiliconValleyStrong.org</a>. Visit it a lot, and I am convinced if we ask ourselves 'what can I do to help?' enough times, our minds will give the answer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=OBcMT4Xk7J3jx0bLjzCx4PnG438vn93TuhuqkFKQWXosUSSTs9fbMDPB3mClzZDZczIso0&country.x=US&locale.x=US" target="_blank">Donate to the Silicon Valley Strong Fund here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's what I've got - and now that I look at this list, I see more than seven and I see reason to add more. For instance, the Stanford Blood Center needs donations and if I, a needle-fearing child trapped in an adult's body, can <a href="https://stanfordbloodcenter.org/faq-on-novel-coronavirus-and-blood-donation/" target="_blank">visit the Stanford Blood Center and make an appointment to give blood</a>, you can too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope you give to these and take the #MyNonprofits hashtag and support any nonprofits who have touched your life in some way. I mentioned earlier how much the coronavirus has taken from us but please remember: it isn't done taking. The antidote to taking is to give. And to paraphrase a line from Ed Harris in Apollo 13: as we all grieve the things we are supposed to do but can't: It's not about what we are supposed to do, it's about what we <i>can</i> do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading about #MyNonprofits and for telling the world about yours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-86538235280501054392020-02-25T00:50:00.004-05:002020-02-25T00:52:44.642-05:00Biking and Homelessness in San Jose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">San Jose looks different when you ride a bike through it. For starters, you're moving a lot slower. Both hands are occupied on your handlebars so you're not looking at a phone like a lot of drivers are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You feel the temperature changes on your skin. Climate control consists of pulling the zipper on your jacket higher or lower - or even removing it entirely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can hear different things than you can in a car since - with the exception of those who rudely carry a bluetooth speaker for all to hear on non Bike Party occassions - you're not carrying a seven-speaker stereo with a subwoofer under the dashboard. The rusty drivetrain of the slow beach cruiser with the bent rear wheel will make you wince. The roar of tires from a truck better suited for a Fury Road sequel than the streets of the 10th largest city in the country will make you frown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The slow speed and open visibility of a bicycle - and the fact you're not in a small, wheeled living room going 50 miles an hour - means you get to see parts of the city others miss. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes on Monterrey Road there are homeless tents set between the street and the train tracks. Last October I saw a network of tents taped together. In front there were pieces of plywood sticking out of the ground and a mannequin's leg coming out of a mound of dirt in front.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They had decorated for Halloween.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On a bike path that runs underneath the maze of freeway interchanges encampments are always visible. One of the tents I've seen the last couple of months bears a striking resemblance to the huge, green one my family I and would use when camping when I was a kid. Now it's someone's home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It won't last. Sometimes the encampments - we're talking twenty or so tents - will vanish only to reappear elsewhere. Often that elsewhere is somewhere else along a bike path. I can't imagine they'd get away with setting up a tent on a residential street - you know, where cars go. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've smelled food cooking on these rides by the encampments. I stood completely still watching someone on one side of a trail hit a golf ball and someone on the other side pushing a grimy bicycle through some bushes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Early one morning, while silently pedaling, I saw a young woman get out of a tent while folding something in her arms. As I got closer I realized it was a barista's apron and she was on her way to work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That tip jar at the coffee shop isn't there for show. Use it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few summers ago I did a free yoga class in St. James Park. I'd see a chatty and friendly woman there sometimes. I guessed her age at about fifty. Once I noticed a strange scar on her forearm and asked her how she got it. She matter-of-factly told me she had been bitten by a rat while sleeping in her tent by the Coyote Creek Trail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later, when a friend at Be the Change Yoga & Wellness told me this woman's bike had been stolen, I donated a replacement. I got her cell phone number and told her I wanted to give her a bike. When I asked her where I could bring it, she gave me a very specific window of time since, as she told me, she needed to take a shower at a shelter and there was only a certain time she had time to take a shower. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was thinking about her again this very morning. I rode my bike to the light rail station to head toward downtown San Jose. I sometimes run into a homeless woman from Gilroy by the train's bike racks. She was a bit down and was complaining that while she had the previous week off from the San Jose school where she works she didn't get to do any of the things on her "to do" list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Like what?" I asked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Take a shower," she answered, sadly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A region that can invent an app that allows you to turn up your thermostat while you're still in bed shouldn't also have people who can't take a shower whenever they want.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yet here we are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">An affordable housing bond measure in San Jose failed almost a year and a half ago. For two years running, SB50, the bill that would have made it easier to build homes near transit, failed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2017, a report came out that said half of millennials wanted to leave Silicon Valley because of the cost of housing and the time spent in traffic. <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2017/03/missing-point-again-on-why-half-of.html" target="_blank">I pointed out - correctly - that housing and traffic are not separate issues.</a> Today a report came out that said even more residents <a href="https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/02/24/leaving-bay-area-47-percent-survey-discontent-housing-crisis-traffic/" target="_blank">want to leave</a> than to stay in San Jose . Homelessness, which <a href="https://www.sccgov.org/sites/opa/newsroom/Documents/2019%20Homeless%20Census%20News%20Release.pdf" target="_blank">spiked 42% last year</a>, was cited as a reason. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Homelessness is a complicated problem that needs a lot of solutions - some of which involve funding. The question I have for those opposed to Measure E - the ballot measure that would help decrease homelessness and build housing in San Jose - is the following: <i>do</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i> you think this is all just happening on TV? </i>Did you think years of telling people to build-more-homes-just-not-here was a winning, long term strategy for a thriving city? How long do you think it will be before conventions worth millions of dollars stop coming here because the city has picked up a label nobody is comfortable with? Before businesses stop relocating here? Before jobs move elsewhere? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I won't get into the weeds of what Measure E is - I'll leave it to <a href="https://www.affordablesj.com/" target="_blank">the experts</a> but I can tell you it is a tax of 2% or less that comes from the sale of houses that sell for $2 million or more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Resistance to Measure E takes two forms: one is the 1980s battle cry of "No new taxes!" I'd be happy to sit with anyone making that claim - I'm guessing it is mostly those who pay half as much in property taxes than I do for a house worth twice as much as mine - which happens a lot in California. You want to talk fairness or tell <i>me</i> 'enough is enough' with taxation? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The other response is the money goes into the general fund and we can't control what a future city council might do with the money. I'm much more worried about the money my city (and yours) is paying for car infrastructure that can't afford to be maintained than I am about that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The city can't be afraid of imaginary problems that might happen in the future. It has to deal with the real problems of today. Decades of NIMBYism and car-based city planning got us where we are. Measure E is step in the right direction, and it is a step we can take on March 3 in San Jose if we vote yes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's all I feel about writing now. Please vote Yes on Measure E in San Jose. I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">f you want to look into the eyes of a homeless person and tell them they should keep sleeping in a tent so you can feel a tiny bit better about your personal worth, let me know - I can help make that happen. In the meantime, drive slower and bike more. You might notice the city you live in. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading and thanks for voting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-72689485666234191372020-02-14T10:14:00.002-05:002020-02-14T11:20:28.034-05:00Velofix in Silicon Valley: The Bike Shop That Comes to You<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vera Arais, working in a Velofix van </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most of what I learned about bicycles is by taking apart old ones bolt by bolt - a practice I began in Stamford, Connecticut over ten years ago. I learned when <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2011/03/building-mountain-bike-step-1.html" target="_blank">I made my own mountain bike in 2011</a>, <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2016/03/building-my-california-cargo-bike.html" target="_blank">a California Cargo Bike in 2016</a> and, most recently, <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/12/the-making-of-back-to-future-road-bike.html" target="_blank">a Back to the Future themed road bike</a> in 2019. I've written about what I've gotten right (and wrong) here on this blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I hit a wall with my learning - and you never want to do that when you're passionate about something. I knew there was more to know but I just wasn't sure what any of it was. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I did something smart: I asked <a href="http://www.velofix.com/" target="_blank">Velofix</a> to come to my house and work on my Back to the Future bike.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now you're probably thinking to yourself: "Isn't that Vera, the leader of <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/programs.html" target="_blank">Women's Night at Good Karma Bikes</a>?" and I am thinking "Yes, it is Vera, and while she now works full time at Velofix she still runs Women's Night for Good Karma Bikes."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had never heard of Velofix before she began working there - possibly because I don't watch Dragon's Tank or Shark's Den or one of those other reality-based funding shows on TV. The short story is: the Velofix people must have put on a good show, because they got some funding for their concept: a bike shop that comes to you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The premise does have a solid foundation. Driving - especially in the Bay Area - is annoying and outdated zoning rules put businesses far from homes. What if you don't want to lash your bike to your car, drive somewhere, park the car, wheel the bike inside, explain what's wrong, leave, and drive back again another day?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.velofix.com/services/" target="_blank">Velofix services</a> range from about $65 to the neighborhood of a 'spa day' like treatment for your ride of about $500 - even more if you order a la mode* or your bike is laden with the latest gear and tech. Since my Back to the Future bike was cobbled together with mostly older parts I had picked up over the years, I knew I wouldn't max out my Visa card with a 'Silver' package purchase. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first thing, though, was I got to go inside the van that Vera parked in front of my house. It was a rare moment of pure workshop envy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Velofix should charge money just to tour the van. Everything that should go in a shop six or seven times the size was found in this van - and it was put away in such a way that it just...worked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Magnets above the workbench, a <a href="http://www.parktool.com/" target="_blank">Park Tool</a> workstand mounted on one wall, led lights. And foam in the drawers so each was like a horizontal tool board made out of Nerf.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was just an amazing place that radiated confidence and wrench skill. If Vera herself was a bike shop, this is the form she would take. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">She had read my post about <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/12/the-making-of-back-to-future-road-bike.html" target="_blank">building my Back to the Future bike</a> and was familiar with a few of the, ahem, design quirks which include brake and derailleur cables that run the length of the frame so as to look more like the Delorean. She set the bike on the Park Tool workstand and went at it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Clients of Velofix can watch the mechanic work. Vera even offered me a cup of coffee because there is a coffee machine right there in the van. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes. <i>A coffee machine.</i> I don't even have a coffee machine in my shop. Why had that not occurred to me? I was learning more already. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There's also a well-curated supply of items for sale in the van - either just to buy or to add to your bike if a certain component was broken. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've been friends with Vera for a while and always knew she was a much better wrench than me but this was my first time being with her when she's in Work Mode - and I genuinely saw what an effective teacher she is. It made me glad she could not only allow clients to watch her while she worked - including, of course, little kids who will benefit from having bikes demystified right in front of their eyes - but also that she was still teaching Women's Night at <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/" target="_blank">Good Karma Bikes</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's also an important thing that separates bikes from cars - knowing the service you are getting and having it deconstructed right in front of you. After all, we have all been there with our motor vehicles: dropping it off for a service and getting the dreaded I-Have-Some-Bad-News/I-Am-Holding-Your-Car-Hostage phone calls in the middle of the day from the mechanic asking you to greenlight the installation and/or removal of a part you never heard of (I relayed a <a href="https://patch.com/connecticut/stamford/the-noise-the-best-reason-to-bike-to-work-next-week" target="_blank">true story of trying to fix "The Noise"</a> on my car a few years ago).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But back to the Velofix van: while Vera was finishing up tuning the rear derailleur, she asked if I had built the bike with all SRAM or all Shimano components. I admitted I was stumped, and it was then she casually imparted some wisdom that felt like a cartoon light bulb went on just over my head. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>When you build a bike, it is best to build with either all SRAM or all Shimano components. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This was one of those it's-so-simple-it's-brilliant breakthroughs. I had been Wall-E-ing builds for years - taking anything out of metal recycling bins or other items I could scrounge and afford and it never occurred to me that there could be a difference in how everything works together. A shifter with the little clicky things** carries the derailleur cable only so far, and the gears on the cassette may be imperceptibly closer or further apart than others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I went into my shop and looked at my California Cargo Bike and the <a href="https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/product/bike-friday-tandem-twosday-folding-travel-bike" target="_blank">Bike Friday Tandem</a> that I restored last year for a <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/05/carmel-by-tandem-how-to-hack-bike.html" target="_blank">ride in Carmel-by-the-Sea</a>. Both hadn't given me a lot of grief in terms of how well they shifted and I realized that might have something to do with the fact I just happened to cobble both together with all Shimano components. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's like when you make a list of all of your favorite X-files episodes and discover that they were all written by the same writer.*** I returned to the van to attempt to soak up some more wisdom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vera wrapped up her work and relinquished my Back to the Future bike. The next morning I rode it to Morgan Hill and back - managing just over 23 miles in an hour and a half - which is apparently pretty good for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sorry: I'm still kinda new at this Strava thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've booked additional appointments with Velofix since - but the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">only thing I didn't like is there isn't a way to definitively ask for a Velofix mechanic by name. Right now, if you book <a href="https://www.velofix.com/locations/silicon-valley/services/" target="_blank">Velofix in Silicon Valley</a>, Vera will probably be the person who shows up even though someone from Velofix's corporate office assured me that every mechanic is equally talented. That may be true but the thing is - and I'm relatively sure I'm not alone on this - relationships with good bike mechanics are like relationships with a good hairdresser or barber. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other than that, I have no quarrel. My Back to the Future themed road bike works better than ever and if you're ever stumped on a build or a fix, <a href="https://www.velofix.com/" target="_blank">visit Velofix and have a bike shop come to you</a>. If it's Vera who knocks on your door, be nice to her and listen - you'll definitely learn something. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* I meant 'a la carte' but wanted to make sure you were paying attention. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">** I still have a dreadful cycling vocabulary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*** yeah, it's Vince Gilligan (who went on to create 'Breaking Bad'</span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-58389375680131170162019-12-28T18:57:00.001-05:002019-12-28T19:09:11.989-05:00San Jose, 2031<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Detective Mercer shoved the door of the apartment open. It swung wide before a magnetic catch on the wall held it in place. The overhead lights went on automatically.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Her partner, Steven Summers, peered inside with his hand on his hip beside his pistol. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mr. Benner. San Jose police. Are you home?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No answer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer turned over her right shoulder to the building supervisor - an older man in his sixties who was standing unnecessarily close to her. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can go now, thanks,” she said. “We’ll lock the door when we leave.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You need the key to lock it,” he said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer turned and took the key from the super’s hand - seeming to surprise him with her aggressiveness. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks. We’ll bring it by when we’re done here. You can go.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her hardened look - practiced since graduating from the city’s police academy fifteen years earlier - told the super it was non-negotiable. He nodded uneasily and slunk away down the hall. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mr. Benner,” she said again, stepping inside the apartment. “Are you home?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers followed her inside, keeping his hand by his hip. The apartment was still, quiet, and clean.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How long did you say he was missing?” Mercer asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A week.” Summers replied.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at a bookmarked page on the apartment’s app. “It’s only one bedroom and one bath,” she said, nodding toward the closed door that was closest to Summers. He stepped toward it and pushed it open. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A spotless bathroom.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You don’t think he’s dead in there, do you?” Summers asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If he were, we’d have smelled him out here.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pushed the bedroom door open. The bedroom was empty, and the huge, made bed stood in the middle of the room. The side closest to them had the sheets and comforter rumpled and tossed to one side, while the other was empty. He was definitely living alone, Mercer thought. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And, nothing.” Summers said. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Closet,” said Mercer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer turned as her young partner opened the closet door. Inside was a life-sized mannequin - a trim blond woman dressed in a maid’s outfit. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Welcome home, Robert,” a female voice said huskily. “Tell me what you want me to do.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers slammed the closet door. Mercer smirked. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As far as sex dolls go, that’s one of the better ones I’ve seen,” she said. “Probably the most valuable thing the guy owns.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Should we interrogate it?” Summers asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She just stared at him. “No.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers changed the subject. “Well, uh, this backs up what the people at his office said. He lived alone. Didn’t have a partner.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What else did they say about him?” she asked, looking at some of the assorted items on Mr. Benner’s dresser.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Quiet. Hard worker. Favored the Mexican place across the street. Got to work at 8:00 on the dot every day and left at 5:15 every night.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s specific.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well most of the cars there are on the D-Hive system, so they leave the office in shifts to try to mitigate traffic. It doesn’t really work, but that’s what it is.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What is D-Hive?” she asked, thankful her younger partner was at least more plugged in to the Silicon Valley tech scene than herself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s mostly for self-driving car parking,” Summers said. “It helps put as many cars into one place as possible. The car would drop you off at a certain time, and then the empty car scoots over to a parking space, and it would get blocked in by every car that came in after it. Then the cars would leave the packed garage in shifts and pick each person up. That would allow -”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wait a minute,” Mercer asked, holding her hand up. “That programmer guy, he said he’d leave the office each day at 5:15?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How long does it take to drive from Menlo Park to San Jose? In rush hour traffic?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“An hour, usually. Why?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer looked at her watch. It was ten minutes past six.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She led Summers from the apartment and closed the door behind her. The super was still in the hall about twenty feet away, watching them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer walked toward him with loud steps. “Hey, where’s tenant parking?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In the garage in the basement.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do the tenants have assigned spaces?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, but his car wasn’t there. I told you his car wasn’t…”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Take us to the garage, now.” She said, striding down the hall with Summers in tow. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A moment later the three were in an elevator. The super’s thumbprint unlocked the floor with the parking garage, and in a few seconds they were in the dimly lit garage that was packed with cars.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mr. Benner’s space is over here,” the super said. “He paid extra for an automatic charging station.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What space?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“604. Same number as his apartment. But like I told you, he’s not here.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The three moved through the garage as Mercer looked at the cars. All were parked within just a few inches of each other.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you on the D-Hive system or whatever its called?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Of course. Our tenants expect it.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before long they made it to the far wall of the garage. Sleek electric cars - all attached to a charging cord - were parked in a perfect row save for a missing space with ‘604’ stenciled in flaking paint on the asphalt. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I told you, he isn’t here,” the super said, while Mercer stood in the parking space to look around. A Porsche stood on one side and a beat-up Tesla sat on the other. It didn’t seem possible another car would fit between them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What kind of car does Mr. Bennet own?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The super turned his eyes up as if searching a memory. “Uh...I think its a Series 5 Sybertruck. It’s…”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Dark silver?” Mercer asked.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah. How did you know?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer pointed as she stepped out of the parking space. A large truck was rolling toward them with headlights illuminating the garage. It was a dark silver Sybertruck, moving in complete silence. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Standing back, the super, Summers and Mercer watched as the pickup glided by them. In the glare of the side windows they could make out someone sitting in the driver’s seat. Standing further from the space, in a group, they watched the truck turn, stop, and slowly back up into the tiny parking space - missing the Porsche and the old Tesla by inches - before the headlights snapped off.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A gentle whirring sound was heard as the motorized charging cable snaked out of a port on the wall and plugged automatically into the electric pickup. A pulsing blue light on the vehicle’s dashboard showed the truck was ‘asleep’ while it was charging.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer approached the truck and pointed a tiny but bright flashlight at the windshield. The beam cut across a bloated, rotting face belonging to the body that was sitting in the driver’s seat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ah, jeez!” moaned Summers as the super put a hand over his mouth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer got closer and leaned her tall frame over the hood as much as she could. The body was an adult male, wearing a maroon dress shirt and dark slacks. He was wearing a seatbelt. Beside him, on the passenger seat, was a black briefcase and a white bag.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Summers,” Mercer said. “Where did Benner’s co-workers say they had catered for lunch that day?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mo-le,” Summers said. “There was too much food so everyone was asked to, uh, take some home.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The beam of Mercer’s flashlight found the logo for Mo-le on the white paper bag. “Alright.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Get back.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An electronic voice from the car rang out. Mercer looked down.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Get back. You are too close.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A mild electric shock hit her shin through her pantleg. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The hell?” She backed away.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Must have a sentry mode,” Summers said. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, that’s Mr. Benner,” Mercer said. “No blood, no signs of trauma, no visible weapons and no sign of the vehicle being hit by a bullet . Probably died of natural causes on the way home from work.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers nodded uncomfortably. He had noticed death by natural causes had a strange way of striking people in their forties and thirties quite a lot over the last few years.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We need to get him out of there,” said Mercer to the super. “Do you have the key to the truck?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No. We have a parking compliance policy tied with eviction. People know better than to break any of the rules or risk losing their place.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer tightened her jaw. “Alright. “I’m going to have to get a tow truck down here and move that thing.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can’t do that,” the super said. “There isn’t enough room for a tow truck to manuever in here.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sir, this man died on the way back home from work last Thursday. Looks like a heart attack. The truck doesn’t know he’s dead, so it has been driving to and from an office in Menlo Park for eight days. Eight days with a rotting corpse in the driver’s seat. Eight days of people in their own cars sharing the road with a dead man and not noticing. We need to get him out of there. I suggest you contact all of the tenants whose cars are parked in this row and tell them to move them. Now.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She used the same tone with him that she had in the hall of the apartment. Looking as though he was trying to hold back on using the word “harumph!” the super walked away from Summers and Mercer, pointing a green laser at the row of cars from his cell phone. As it passed each one, contact and profile info of every vehicle’s owner came to his screen</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers stared. “Has he really been sitting there, dead, for eight days? And the truck has been driving him to work and driving him back, every day for a week and nobody has noticed?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmm-hmm. It happens. Self driving cars aren’t programmed to do anything if the occupants have any distress,” she said. “Once, I had a kid from Stanford punch his parent’s address in the car - they live in Portland, Oregon - and he blew his brains out on the way out of the parking lot. It was caught on the security camera. Twelve hours later, his autonomous car is in his parent’s driveway. He was getting back at them for something, it seemed. Also the big Marin Fire last year had these things drive through a cloud of toxic gas. When the fire department arrived, they found a fleet electric cars with dead bodies in them trying to drive on melted tires. Nothing to do but wait for the batteries to die.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The super returned. “Sorry, but six of the car owners aren’t going to give up their spaces.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come again?” Mercer asked, incredulously.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, we let some of the tenants rent out their parking spaces on SpaseNow, that app that helps you find parking?” the super said, “they got no place to move them to, so they’re stuck, I’m afraid.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A man has died, contact them again and make it happen.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The super again attempted to use his phone as Mercer turned to Summer. “You have one of these things,” she said, referring to the autonomous vehicle. “How do we get it out of here?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s not easy,” Summers said. “Most of the manufacturers make electric cars as safe as possible for the people who ride in them, and it’s nearly impossible to get an AV to open without permission from the driver. And since the driver is, well, dead…”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“...the driver can’t give permission,” Mercer finished.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s right, but that’s not what I was going to say,” said Summers. “The newer cars, when they think the driver is inside, basically turn into cages to keep anyone from breaking in. So because the owner is in it, and the truck thinks you want to break in, it will keep you or anyone from getting to it. Hence, the sentry mode.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The super returned a second time. “No can do. They won’t move them.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Can you unplug the truck so it won’t take a charge at least?”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, it’ll throw off the whole building.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer’s phone chirped. She recognized the tone and looked intently at the screen. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Look, we have to get him out of there. Do you know a locksmith?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re kidding, right?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mercer pocketed her phone. “Summers, we’re going. We have a triple homicide in Evergreen. Fresh case.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What? We’re just going to let this guy sit there?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We were brought in on missing persons,” she said. “We found the missing person. Beyond that, we have nothing to discuss. We’ll call the coroner and explain. Hopefully, he’ll have time to figure out how to get the body out of the truck, but as far as I’m concerned the guy can just stay there.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Summers was incredulous as he followed his partner out of the garage - not bothering to say goodbye to the super. “Look, at least let me call the manufacturer. They can find…”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That truck probably will drive that guy back and forth from work for several more days. Maybe even weeks or months. And I don’t care. Autonomous vehicles aren’t a crime. Three murdered people are. Let’s go.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Summers followed.</span></div>
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Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com127tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8295999310869779563.post-85320445624172861072019-12-09T09:03:00.000-05:002019-12-09T09:03:31.944-05:00The Making of a Back to the Future Road Bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sq6qiygd-JU/XdcFsnpIKZI/AAAAAAAAfyA/kmpge03ApEot5GyoIzVanUYdkQp6Nw80gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_0047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="750" height="620" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sq6qiygd-JU/XdcFsnpIKZI/AAAAAAAAfyA/kmpge03ApEot5GyoIzVanUYdkQp6Nw80gCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_0047.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">View of a shelf in my workshop. October 16, 2016</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During the lean times of intermittent freelancing and the even leaner times of unsuccessfully trying to turn a cargo bike passion into a paycheck, I was fixing junk bikes with junk parts. I deferred all kinds of maintenance. I patched tubes that should have been replaced and let tires wear down to levels that flirted with perilous. And once, upon finding a set of discarded, generic weightlifters gloves in the road, took them home and washed them because they were better than the cycling gloves I was wearing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I also would sometimes find a few items here and there that I kept for a future build: a road bike. Yes, my <a href="http://www.bikefriday.com/" target="_blank">Bike Friday New World Tourist</a> is a great bike that has been to over a dozen countries with me and up <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/06/a-view-of-lick-observavatory.html" target="_blank">to Lick Observatory and back</a>, but part of me wanted to use it for its intended purpose - a travel bike made for flying - and another part of me just wanted to build another bike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I took a small plastic tub, labeled it "Road Bike I Can't Afford to Build Yet" and began tossing things I'd find on sale at bike shops, items my cousin would gift me, and other accessories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This went on for almost three years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">About two-thirds into that span I began working part-time which soon turned into full time - and I finally reached the point I felt I could move on the road bike project a little more aggressively. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like, say, for instance...actually buying a frame. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkon3VApZck/XdSn5Lvff3I/AAAAAAAAfeo/sBu19uvCQmktGt7_zsDeWkKTHqlBCf1LwCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_8628.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkon3VApZck/XdSn5Lvff3I/AAAAAAAAfeo/sBu19uvCQmktGt7_zsDeWkKTHqlBCf1LwCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_8628.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wanted a titanium frame but didn't want to spend a lot of money. By this time, I had "money" but it was, and still is, in lowercase. I didn't have MONEY and I certainly didn't have "fat stacks" - and even if I did, my brain just won't allow me become one of those people who own bikes that cost more than the down payment of a small house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Luckily, I had my cousin come to help - just as he did years ago guiding me through <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2011/02/building-mountain-bike-origin-story.html" target="_blank">building a mountain bike</a> - recommended <a href="http://www.xacd.com.cn/product.asp?rootcl=1" target="_blank">XI'AN</a> in China. Even though the web site looks like something from the Geocities era, they looked like they knew their stuff. I emailed a query and connected with someone there named Porter. Several back-and-forth emails - including one with an attachment of what my bike would look like - took place before I finally made the plunge: a titanium frame and fork would arrive nearly two months after I ordered it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had it sent to me at work and it was even lighter than I had imagined. Since I take a bike and VTA to my job, I took it out of the oversize box it came in and brought it home home in a manner that would definitely be described as on-brand.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mLjsKTsUUI/XdSpkNQPhkI/AAAAAAAAfj8/0ZH6xEa2O_IlxaTuvy5AF9s7G2B1PDmFwCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_8629.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mLjsKTsUUI/XdSpkNQPhkI/AAAAAAAAfj8/0ZH6xEa2O_IlxaTuvy5AF9s7G2B1PDmFwCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_8629.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I brought it into my shop and unwrapped it. I had truly bought something special.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hA3_YLnZHns/XdSp4ysoAfI/AAAAAAAAfkM/0gUSGXU-2JkfxbJmm-y7_QlfhSaRHyQWACKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_8632.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hA3_YLnZHns/XdSp4ysoAfI/AAAAAAAAfkM/0gUSGXU-2JkfxbJmm-y7_QlfhSaRHyQWACKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_8632.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I knew what I wanted to make. I've seen road bikes move by me in a blur of indistinguishable lumps of colorful carbon fiber and decided to ride in a different direction: I wanted to make a theme bike - specifically a bike that carried the theme of one of my favorite movies of all time: <a href="https://www.backtothefuture.com/" target="_blank">Back to the Future</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes, I know I'm over forty but that's part of the point: we had 'theme bikes' when we were kids, remember? Dukes of Hazzard. Star Wars. Barbie. Knight Rider. Today you can even buy - much to my considerable dismay - a Kylo Ren-themed bike for a child.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kids have theme bikes now. We had theme bikes then. Why was that something we grew out of? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wasn't having it, so I set out to build a Back to the Future-themed road bike.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I figured with the titanium frame, I was already ahead. With the frame and the fork, it looked a lot like brushed stainless steel. I went with a color scheme that consisted mostly of gray and black and even found cables that looked like they'd fit the part. Before long, I needed a bigger tub.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even though I couldn't - and still can't - bring myself to spend an insane amount of money, I quickly saw how easy it was to go absolutely nuts with the 'Buy it Now' button on eBay. And there are very few parts that are not titanium, carbon fiber, or otherwise made from material that can be described as Incredibly Expensive. Titanium axles. Titanium bottom brackets. Titanium bottom bracket bolts. Titanium stems. Titanium seatposts. Titanium bottle cages. And <i>titanium bottle cage screws </i>can be yours for $6 a pair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The list goes on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now I did not buy everything I just described. But I bought just enough to make what I was building be considered a serious road bike - until it came to choosing wheels. Instead of dropping thousands I didn't have for some built from the same material as Wolverine's claws, I spent about $80 on a strong, 36 spoke set at <a href="http://www.goodkarmabikes.org/" target="_blank">Good Karma Bikes</a> - simply because I, as you know, like that place and they happened to carry a set of matching rims that were black and silver - similar to the wheels of the Delorean time machine. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MEAgCLveEwo/XdS3HnpB__I/AAAAAAAAfso/gEoZ7IF6004k1dczF3805pCq4AVJ4iAZACKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_8069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1600" height="540" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MEAgCLveEwo/XdS3HnpB__I/AAAAAAAAfso/gEoZ7IF6004k1dczF3805pCq4AVJ4iAZACKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_8069.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An HO scale model of the Delorean time machine (and a scuba diver - don't ask. It has something to do with a librarian friend of mine in Florida but beyond that I will add nothing.)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />I first tried to focus on the practical side of the build before getting to the decorative touches. For starters, I had to install a headset, which is something I've done quite a few times. Since <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2011/03/building-mountain-bike-step-3-consult.html" target="_blank">a croquet mallet</a> wasn't available, I pounded it in place with a rubber hammer, set in a sufficient number of headset spacers, and put on the stem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ahhh....no.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The titanium fork was very long - so much so that the number of headset spacers I needed would be a little on the out-of-control side. I texted this picture to my cousin in Connecticut. After a long wait - probably because he needed time to wipe the laugh-spittle off his phone - he told me to do what I knew I needed to do: I had to saw off the top of the titanium fork and make it shorter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This wasn't easy. Not the sawing part, it's just that I keep forgetting if it is measure-once-cut-twice or the other way around...and I was really nervous since there'd be no room for error. I figured out how to saw away enough to lower the height of the handlebars and still make it work for my body type and also do it once: what I did was I fastened on two old stems - one on top of the other - leaving just enough space for a hacksaw blade to pass through in a perfectly straight line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I finished, I filed it down to make it smooth. When I put it in place, the stem looked a lot less comical and the bike looked a lot safer. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2l_LWAh19bY/XdS5ZRbopRI/AAAAAAAAfu0/YdbGjTyeQGsw1BKeJ2-er9_Yv71YdqYsACKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_3234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2l_LWAh19bY/XdS5ZRbopRI/AAAAAAAAfu0/YdbGjTyeQGsw1BKeJ2-er9_Yv71YdqYsACKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_3234.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My cousin had given me a used set of carbon fiber handlebars years earlier to use on my then-untitled roadbike project, and I naturally took them with me when <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2015/05/nine-mornings-to-california-morning-1.html" target="_blank">I moved from Connecticut to California</a>. With these in place, I installed a set of modern brake and shift levers. That took a little time since the openings where you have to insert the cables are a lot harder to see on road handlebars than mountain bike ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">That also meant I wasn't using old school downtube shifters, as are found on older road bikes. The funny part was that my titanium frame came with mounting points for downtube shifters and I didn't even notice that when going back and forth with Porter (you can see them in the photo of the fork installed before I sawed it off).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I decided to do here was to wire-tie the rear brake and the derailleur cables to the downtube. My reasoning: Doc Brown's time machine had cables running the length of the car, and the gray cables I bought would look the part as well as perform an essential service.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But when I attached the cable with the wire-ties, it blended in too much with the frame. So I added some accents - namely a red, a green, and a yellow wire I stripped from a decades-old phone cord. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You'll also notice the black rectangular object on the frame with a blue/green switch on it and the telephone wires attached. There's one on the other side too, and they're bolted to the downtube shifter mounts. These are Atlas brand HO scale track switches from a train set I had in the 1980s. In high school I wasn't popular, had few friends and didn't date much so I spent a lot of time building a little model town in my parent's basement. Very little of it survived (just some of the cars, mostly, that I still use today in some of my displays and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63rMmvLC3_0" target="_blank">animation</a>) but these switches did. They're now on the frame, and they are there to stay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Even though Part II is my least favorite of the trilogy, I liked the look of the Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor rising out of the back, so I bought a piece of white plastic hose at a hardware store and covered the seatpost with it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next, came the part I was most excited about.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jEvcAeb9v9I/XdS8dbAFnKI/AAAAAAAAfvQ/vabOuHFC8mAFd0IVdO9NCUBtymjWVJjJwCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jEvcAeb9v9I/XdS8dbAFnKI/AAAAAAAAfvQ/vabOuHFC8mAFd0IVdO9NCUBtymjWVJjJwCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_2714.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I collected clocks - lots of them - when I was in my early teens <i>because </i>of Back to the Future. Mostly yard sale finds, I loved the way they all sounded when they were all together and ticking at the same time. Almost all but a couple are gone now, but one that I kept was a tiny, broken alarm clock that had been made in Yugoslavia. The photo may be giving some poor collector a heart attack but, hear me out: a key moment at the end of Back to the Future part 1 was when Doc was giving Marty instructions as to the exact moment he should start the time machine. "When this alarm goes off you hit the gas!" he yells...before placing a tiny clock on the modern dashboard of the car. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I thought it was cool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I figured out how to add a clock to my road bike by hollowing out the old Forestville clock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next, I managed to locate a bicycle computer that would fit inside - which actually wasn't that hard to do since most bike computers are really quite small. A tip of the hat to <a href="https://www.offrampbikes.com/" target="_blank">The Off Ramp </a>in Santa Clara for having this <a href="https://www.sigmasport.com/en/produkte/fahrrad-computer" target="_blank">Sigma</a> computer on sale.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oaH_sRasA8w/XdS9-M6d-rI/AAAAAAAAfvk/xvUZaNEr5dILgVS2i2PdIlaIFaG1vwyRgCKgBGAsYHg/s1600/IMG_5141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oaH_sRasA8w/XdS9-M6d-rI/AAAAAAAAfvk/xvUZaNEr5dILgVS2i2PdIlaIFaG1vwyRgCKgBGAsYHg/s640/IMG_5141.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I did was I cut a piece of yellow foam PVC - leftover from my failed cargo bike business, just like I had used when I made the <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/05/trailer-made-how-to-build-alameda-bike.html" target="_blank">Alameda Bike Trailers</a> - into a circle where I attached the mount for the Sigma computer. This put the display in view of the clock's face - here's how the yellow piece of foam PVC looks without the computer on it. The screw in the middle is what holds it in place and attaches the entire assembly to a plastic reflector mount which I modified to angle the clock up towards me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The last thing I did was use some black rubber bands - you know, the kind that come with a Garmin GPS so you can put a mount on your handlebars? I used two to wrap the two top bells of the clock to the 'feet' of the clock to eliminate any chance the vibrations of the road could make the whole thing come apart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was very happy with the result. I reasoned I didn't need any of the functions but wanted the current speed and the distance - as of now, the total distance the bike has ridden since it came into existence. I reasoned <a href="http://www.strava.com/" target="_blank">Strava</a> could handle the rest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't abandon the idea of welding something for this bike - and ended up welding a very important piece: because of my decision to run the cables along the downtube I couldn't use a traditional bottom bracket cable guide for the front derailleur. Reasoning that the front derailleur would never work completely perfectly anyway* I welded a tiny mount with a little L-bracket and a steel cable stop - also from the failed cargo bike business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />I know it's not pretty to look at, but it's mounted under the bottom bracket where you can't see it anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another new item for me - even though you've seen it in a couple of the photos already - is a <a href="https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem" target="_blank">Redshift suspension stem</a>. I am a fan of suspension stems (my <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2014/08/building-city-bike-on-budget.html" target="_blank">city bike</a> has a cool one) and decided I'd like a little more comfort on my hands when riding. So far it's done the job well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I knew there was one more thing I needed for this bike: a flux capacitor. To be honest, I didn't even know that it needed one until I saw that ThinkGeek actually sold little decorative flux capacitors as car cell phone chargers a few years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cue the 'Buy it Now' button. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few weeks after placing the order, I got it in the mail and took it apart almost immediately. The black plug in the back was the first thing to go when I noticed that a simple nine volt battery was enough to make the flux capacitor...flux. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The on/off switch was a bit of a hassle though: For what I wanted to do it was not only awkward, but it was momentary on/off so it wouldn't work if you'd detach it from power. I discovered where the circuit is complete and soldered - with an iron bought decades ago from Radio Shack, God rest its soul - a tiny piece of red wire so it would always remain in the 'on' position. You can see it on the lower right side of the picture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">With that done, I set out to create a place to mount the flux capacitor. No better place than a plastic <a href="https://www.cagerocket.com/" target="_blank">Cage Rocket</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a big fan of the <a href="https://www.camelbak.com/" target="_blank">Camelbak</a>, I like the idea of using a frame bottle cage to carry something other than water. So I took a Cage Rocket case and sawed off a chunk of it the approximate size of the flux capacitor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I took a piece of plastic from the packaging the epoxy came in to fill the gap on the bottom of the flux capacitor so the Cage Rocket could still be used to store a spare tube and a few road bike specific tools, like a titanium tire lever**.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I carefully smeared epoxy to attach it firmly. I also used more very old parts from Radio Shack - like a push-button switch and a 9v battery mount - and soldered everything in place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And, on a Saturday morning, coming on the scene on the Raiders of the Lost Ark DVD when Marion wins a drinking contest in Nepal, I...had...this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The little red button is rated for 120 volts and it makes a satisfying click when you push it. If I wanted to cut down on some weight, I could remove the battery or even the entire Cage Rocket but why would I want to do that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So there you have it. Other cyclists are faster than me, stronger than me, have more money than me, have bigger followings on Strava, have better equipment, are better looking, and...where was I going with this? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh yeah: other cyclists may have all of these things but <i>I am the one with the Back to the Future bike</i>. I did that. From time to time, on a satisfying downhill, I can almost hear the music by <a href="https://twitter.com/silvestrimusic?lang=en" target="_blank">Alan Silvestri</a> and the words "Vaya con dios!" screamed by Christopher Lloyd while he fires a pistol in the air.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The bike works great. As of course I pointed out <a href="http://www.diybiking.com/2019/11/a-cycle-of-hope-in-bay-area.html" target="_blank">in the Cycle of Hope ride</a> the front derailleur is problematic, which is on-brand...but then again so is the rest of the bike. Hope you all can build something for you that sparks something in you - even - no, especially - if it takes a long time to spring into being. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">*since I was the one installing it. I have terrible luck with front derailleurs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">**those are real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09548278565339375449noreply@blogger.com68