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Bike People
Oct. 24th, 2011 11:22 amI had dinner with the aforementioned bike people last night. There's so much to say. First of all, what a gracious move by the couple who invited myself and a few other newcomers over for dinner. Our hosts are mathematicians at the university - one has just begun a postdoc position there, while the other is teaching a boatload of classes as a lecturer (though it's clear she should really have senior lecturer status). They're therefore more familiar with the ins and outs and trials and tribulations associated with working at this university, and confirmed my suspicions that administrative procedures here are antiquated.
They also garden, and so I learned a few important things. Unlike central Arizona, this area experiences regular freezes in the winter. While that's great from an insect control standpoint, it also means I'll have to plan on dragging the tomato, basil, and eggplant plants inside. And the lemon tree. I think I'll invest in a set of full-spectrum lights for the garage. This might seem silly, but at the same time, a person can get a great jump-start on the spring growing season with just a bit of additional work. I especially want to get a good tomato crop going, based on how hard it has been to find decent tomatoes here (boy do I miss the heirloom tomatoes from the Tempe Farmer's Market).
I wound up bringing over a jar of fig jam to give to the hosts, and so of course I then found out that they have a fig tree in their backyard. Even better, though, I learned that they're willing to share figs during fig season, hurrah! It will be interesting to see if I can track down other fruit exchange sources. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the year that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
scrottie and I were able to make marmalade, apricot/peach jam, and fig preserves, and then were able to return some of the bounty to the fruit providers, giving each provider some preserves from one of the other providers' trees. And I know many of you enjoyed the benefits of that little enterprise as well. My current jam supply is slowly dwindling, so I won't have much to share in the near future.
I'm still not completely certain about what inter-city riding will be like. At the Tour de Fat, I visited the Austin Cycling booth and picked up a bit of propaganda, including a list of their bike safety and education courses. They have a specific course for teaching people how to ride on the Loop 360 and other wide-shouldered highways. At dinner I learned that this course could be due to the fact that there have been some cyclist deaths along these segments. I mostly just want to get a sense of whether or not I'm missing anything major, after what I've learned and experienced previously. I also learned that Texas is one of those rebel states that still does not have a safe passing law on the books. There are local ordinances, sure, but those won't help outside of the city. Texas, I am shaking my head at you and your ridiculous, backwards politics (they have also tried and failed to ban texting while driving, thanks to a veto from a certain gubernator trying to win the Republican presidential nomination).
Other than all of that, we spent some time discussing the interpersonal politics that have affected what the local bike advocates have been able to get done. Drama, drama, drama. Sigh. It again makes me grateful for everything that TBAG has been able to get done. TBAG has so few fuddy-duddies, and so many people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do something instead of sitting around talking and complaining or debating technicalities of trivial laws. I'm so proud to have been a member of the TBAG board in that respect, and I am grateful to realize I can take the skills I learned through TBAG and apply them to advocacy efforts here. It sounds like the first step here will be getting myself over to Bryan City Council meetings, standing up and speaking out in favor of alternative transportation. I don't expect the job to be fancy or rewarding, but I know I can make a difference and help build community out here.
They also garden, and so I learned a few important things. Unlike central Arizona, this area experiences regular freezes in the winter. While that's great from an insect control standpoint, it also means I'll have to plan on dragging the tomato, basil, and eggplant plants inside. And the lemon tree. I think I'll invest in a set of full-spectrum lights for the garage. This might seem silly, but at the same time, a person can get a great jump-start on the spring growing season with just a bit of additional work. I especially want to get a good tomato crop going, based on how hard it has been to find decent tomatoes here (boy do I miss the heirloom tomatoes from the Tempe Farmer's Market).
I wound up bringing over a jar of fig jam to give to the hosts, and so of course I then found out that they have a fig tree in their backyard. Even better, though, I learned that they're willing to share figs during fig season, hurrah! It will be interesting to see if I can track down other fruit exchange sources. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the year that
scrottie and I were able to make marmalade, apricot/peach jam, and fig preserves, and then were able to return some of the bounty to the fruit providers, giving each provider some preserves from one of the other providers' trees. And I know many of you enjoyed the benefits of that little enterprise as well. My current jam supply is slowly dwindling, so I won't have much to share in the near future.I'm still not completely certain about what inter-city riding will be like. At the Tour de Fat, I visited the Austin Cycling booth and picked up a bit of propaganda, including a list of their bike safety and education courses. They have a specific course for teaching people how to ride on the Loop 360 and other wide-shouldered highways. At dinner I learned that this course could be due to the fact that there have been some cyclist deaths along these segments. I mostly just want to get a sense of whether or not I'm missing anything major, after what I've learned and experienced previously. I also learned that Texas is one of those rebel states that still does not have a safe passing law on the books. There are local ordinances, sure, but those won't help outside of the city. Texas, I am shaking my head at you and your ridiculous, backwards politics (they have also tried and failed to ban texting while driving, thanks to a veto from a certain gubernator trying to win the Republican presidential nomination).
Other than all of that, we spent some time discussing the interpersonal politics that have affected what the local bike advocates have been able to get done. Drama, drama, drama. Sigh. It again makes me grateful for everything that TBAG has been able to get done. TBAG has so few fuddy-duddies, and so many people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do something instead of sitting around talking and complaining or debating technicalities of trivial laws. I'm so proud to have been a member of the TBAG board in that respect, and I am grateful to realize I can take the skills I learned through TBAG and apply them to advocacy efforts here. It sounds like the first step here will be getting myself over to Bryan City Council meetings, standing up and speaking out in favor of alternative transportation. I don't expect the job to be fancy or rewarding, but I know I can make a difference and help build community out here.
