Pay it Forward

One of my co-workers started riding her bike to work recently. I was impressed when she made this decision, particularly because she lives 19 miles from our office (about twice the distance I ride, one-way). Last week she told me that a friend of hers has also started riding her bike to her work. Her friend said, "I just wanted to let you know that you inspired me to do this." My co-worker said that she could not take the credit, because I had inspired HER to start riding to work. I was gratified to have had this effect, but I think the larger point is that our behavior can influence others in unexpected ways, even if we never hear about it.

Why I Love Fremont

So I'm riding my bike home from work tonight and I stop at the "mid-point" light on the hill (39th & Fremont). A pedestrian standing next to me is wearing head phones, looking at note cards, and muttering to himself in German. "Right on," I think, this guy is learning a new language in anticipation of some travel. Or maybe he's just at little different, but either way I don't really care because it was kind of neat to hear.

A few seconds later I'm pedaling against gravity once again and passing B.F. Day School. I hear bagpipes, bongo drums, and what sound like cymbals. My curiosity is definitely piqued at this point, so I stop and walk up the steps to the basketball court and see (surprise) a guy playing bagpipes, some other guys playing bongo drums, and a bunch of women belly dancing.

On Wednesday. At 7:23 pm.

Fremont rocks.

Dinosaur vs Mammal

I put the boy in the backpack after work yesterday and we walked to downtown Fremont to pick up a CD I had ordered from Sonic Boom. Afterwards, we were walking up Fremont Ave towards the playground at B.F. Day (he likes the swings) and we had to stop at the 39th/Fremont Way intersection. A fellow on a bicycle pulled up along side us, then a humongous Hummer (the new version; I think they call it H2?) pulled up along side him. I looked at the guy on the bike--probably in his early to mid 30s, and reasonably fit, as you would expect. Then I looked at the guy in the Hummer--about the same age, but clearly packing a few dozen extra pounds and some additional chins. I looked at the guy on the bike, and I said "Now here's a contrast for you: the most efficient form of transportation ever devised right next to what is probably the least efficient form of transportation ever devised." We shared a laugh, and then the light changed.

As it turns out, this anecdotal observation of mine that SUV drivers tend to be fat and non-drivers tend to be fit has been documented in a new study just released by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I find this very encouraging, because not only are the fossil-fuel guzzling behemoths that are clogging our roadways endangered by the inevitable exhaustion of oil, but the drivers are endangered by their own obesity. It is only a matter of time before these dinosaurs are gone.

Incidentally, Tom Toles has an excellent cartoon on the topic today as well.