Now I have a laundry list of excuses but none of them get to root of the problem and they all feel rather hollow. So rather than list the excuses, I’m going to just lay out a fact. I can’t blog HUNGRY!

This is just a fact of nature. It’s not that my posts are worse, riddled with spelling/grammatical errors (that’s just the norm anyway) or anything like that. I just plain can’t bring myself to write on an empty stomach. I come up with all these great ideas but can’t motivate to write one sentence. It’s a problem because I seem to be hungry all the time.

In order to honor the “Carfreebrad Ethos” to maintain honesty the best I can, here’s the real ride that wiped us out on Saturday. I’ll leave it up to you whether I blatantly lied to make us appear to be real badass or just mistakenly almost doubled the ride.

This past weekend I spent a great few days in upstate NY just a few miles down the road from the site of the original Woodstock.  This area is a great and ripe with long winding country roads with CRAZY hills.  Naturally, the only thing to do is bring the road bike and carve out at least one full day to head out into the country.  With that attitude, the GF and I went out on Saturday.  It was a great ride and tons of fun, until it wasn’t.  I’m not too proud to admit that we bit off more than we could chew.  Luckily, the crew we were with are great people, fellow cyclists and happily came to pick us up about 2 miles short of home base.  Normally, I’d be embarrassed I didn’t push through and get it done but I’ve ridden that 2 mile stretch before and it’s the hardest climb I’ve ever done on my bike, it’s one of those stretched of road that you get tired driving up it!

Huge thank you’s are in order to Tori and Joel for coming to pick us up and to Stu and Ester for making it all possible.  Layne,  Meg, Rick, Kayla, Max, Will, Jack,  Nora for a great Memorial Day weekend and most importantly to Maura for putting up with me and my antics.  I’ve spent a number of these holidays at the house with this crew and no matter how many dogs, kids, random friends and/or wild animals we add to the equation, it’s always SO MUCH FUN!

Insane Russian Attack Bike is Powered by Chainsaw | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building.

In this series, I will document building an electric cargo bike, including tons of pictures, instructions, and tips, so others can do the same, improve on what I did, and learn from my mistakes. Click past to read the prologue, and look forward to starting the build and the continuation of this series.

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Last week, while thinking about buying a car, I came across a better idea. My desire for a car mostly stemmed from the desire of having a vehicle I could travel around Daytona Beach in, for going to the beach, friends places, and, most importantly, the grocery store. A car was an expensive investment for such a limited range of needs. Enter the Xtracycle. After researching ways to carry groceries on your bike, ranging from bike racks and panniers to massive trailers and buckets, I found the company that started the cargo bike craze years ago, and decided to use one of their products to upgrade my own bike into a grocery-friendly one. I am currently waiting to get it in the mail, so that I begin the daunting task of replacing my rear wheel with that entire contraption. Should be fun, especially for someone with no experience doing anything with bikes. I’m sure I will figure it out.

Now, before even thinking about this whole cargo bike idea, I wanted to build a go-kart. I was thinking about all the things I could do this summer, and that seemed the coolest. My parents weren’t to keen on the idea, and so I scrapped it (for now) and decided to motorize my bike instead. I looked at gas motors, from Honda’s to cheap Chinese knock-offs, then at electric ones. Not having any recurring cost, as well as stealth motorization, was more appealing than the loud, dirty contraptions that most people throw on their bikes. I came across many designs, and decided on the Clean Republic Hilltopper. This hub motor and wheel replace your current front wheel, and, when hooked up to a battery (I went with the lead acid one, but will upgrade to lithium in the future) can propel your bike to speeds of 15mph with no rider input, with a range of ten miles. If you add in a little personal effort, the speed and range climb considerably. This seemed like a fun project. At the same time, I started thinking about cars, and, well, you can see where this is going. I decided to turn my two separate projects into one. I’m building an electric cargo bike, the perfect economical short-range vehicle.

My goal is to document the entire build process, from start to finish, here. I’ve already installed a new seat and front light on the bike (a minimal but welcome upgrade). I’ve yet to receive everything else, which includes the FreeRadical Classic, Hilltopper, front wheel fender and rear light. Once I get it all, I begin the build, as well as the next part of this series. Comment if you’d like, and I look forward to talking to you again. Over and out.

So all you get is that my chain got stuck so I took my road bike today.  It turned out to be great.  Love my road bike and need to take it out for dedicated, non commuting, rides more and ASAP!

“Thunder Thighs” Strikes Again!

maintenance, you need a great bike mechanic friend.  I was just ridiculously lucky that my buddy Will turned out to be a bike wiz and super enthusiastic to help and/or talk bikes.  I don’t bring much to these conversations but I enjoy the hell out of listening.

Today was just another example of how important he is/has been/will be to my maintaining the CarFree lifestyle.  Beyond things like my random flat and loose brake cables, which I’m pretty sure I could fix but lack some special tools and it would take me 10 times longer, snapping a crank calls for this very specific skill set.  Apparently, cyclists don’t snap cranks on a regular basis and add the fact that I’m riding a 30-year-old custom single speed Shogun(it’s a frame brand name, I think?) so I can’t just pick up a replacement part.

Having Will as a friend allowed me to shoot him a text, swing by his place and before I knew it I had a functioning bike again! So seriously, as soon as you start or before you ditch your car for your bike, GET A WILL IN YOUR LIFE!

The straw that broke the bikers back was when my pedal went ahead a BROKE off as I tried to get through a treacherous rotary in Worcester.  If you’re driving around Worcester, keep an eye out for my peddle as it’s being kicked around the rotary by Union Station.

I guess all these runs and squats are paying off.  Seriously, how much thunder must be in these thighs to snap a pedal right off.  Tune in tomorrow when I rip telephone books in half!

Sometimes when this type of situation crashes over me, I get into the Freight Farms Evangelical Presentation zone and black out everything else.  The best way to describe it is through the majesty of Will Ferrell. 

I saw a sign for this outside but it wasn’t until I had ridden past it about a thousand times that it finally stuck. And now it’s really happening!

First, I had SO MUCH fun on Friday at Wheaton College brainstorming in the Computer Science Automation Lab playing with a variety of hardware, software, monitoring and automation components.  It was the kind of session that only hunger could interrupt!

Second, Tough Mudder Challenge was great!  10 miles up, down and all around Mt.Snow is pretty grueling in itself then add in all the obstacles that do a tremendous job of finding at least one if not many of your fears/weaknesses and exploit them.  Thanks to the best team I could’ve imagined, everyone finished without any major injuries.

Third, we have confirmed the date of delivery for the Worcester Freight Farm unit for this week.  Details will be released shortly!

Fourth, my summer plans will be determined(partially) today as I find out if Freight Farms has made it to the next round of MassChallenge!

Ok, that’s it.  I can’t elaborate or think about the rest of the little things going on right now!  The best part of it all is that it’s 65 degrees and sunny and I can’t wait to cruise home across town and take the long way home!

And in case you want to route for this guy, there’s an emotional back story just to prove that this guys human and loved his dad.

I don’t want to/like to bitch and moan about the MBTA.  The fact remains that I don’t have a choice getting in and out of Boston and the commuter rail provides a mediocre service just over 50% of the time (which is pretty good for them).

But “If you don’t want people to ride anymore, just tell us.  Don’t continue to make it so inconvenient that we are forced to seek alternatives.”

The only means to buy tickets at the Worcester Union Station has been unable to take Debit or Credit Cards for an unofficial count of 5 weeks.  I’ve managed to work around it because I go all the way into South Station almost every time I ride but when I don’t or forget to buy extra tickets when I’m in town, I’m screwed.

There is no ATM within a half mile of the station except the private one in the lobby that charges everyone a huge fee.  And if one more helpful conductor/attendent on the train tells me it’s cheaper to buy your tickets at the station, I’m gonna’ lose it.

First and foremost, I don’t ever want to see a fellow rider injured.  I’ve been lucky in my career to avoid any real serious crashes but have felt the effect of even the minor ones.

On the other hand, I love a good crash video.  It’s just a sick little part of me (and probably part of you too), that makes me enjoy a crash video so much.  It’s why traffic everywhere slows down and 99% of people watch Nascar, the crashes.

On the apparent debate as to whether it’s a “real” sport, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.  We all know which side I’m on.  Maybe I’m just spitballing here but the Tour De Blog would likely put this debate to rest.  Not to mention a bunch of out of shape SOB’s who sit and write all day out on the open road for a quick 50 miler would be HILARIOUS.

» Cool Bike Rider Crash Barstool Sports: Boston.

Cyclists are protected by—and obligated to adhere to—many laws. But while most of them mirror vehicle laws, it’s easy for some rules to get lost in translation because, let’s face it, bikes and automobiles aren’t exactly alike.

Add to it the fact that all 50 states have different laws pertaining to cyclists, and it’s easy to see how misinformation and ignorance can come into play as it pertains to the legal rights and responsibilities of cyclists.

Brush up on these key responsibilities outlined in this piece.  4 Bike Laws You May Not Know About | Active.com.

Life never seems to drop the hammer on you when you are well rested, feeling good, a happy GF at home and plenty of  cash in the bank.  Ever the opportunist, life always seem to come with repeated sucker punches when you can least handle it and then keeps coming at you.  The best part about living life is that we have no real choice but to keep moving forward.

On the bike, the wind is gonna’ gust to 30+ mph only on a day when you have come dangerously close to getting doored twice already on a Friday morning at the end of a really long week.  Much like life, you just have to keep moving forward and ignore that brand new cramp in your hamstring.

The good news about this realization is that when you have a real ball buster of a ride first thing in the morning, ti makes the rest of your day seem that much better or at least more tolerable.

Besides, it’s FRIDAY and life hasn’t decided to sucker punch me at this time so how bad could it be!

Just when my motivation bottomed out, my girlfriend offered me a ride for the 5th time and I just had to take it.

People have asked me a million times over the past year if I will take rides and I answer the same way each time. “Hell Yeah!”.  I’m not anti-car, I just choose not to have one and use my bike and feet as primary mode of transport.  Even though this has been my stance since day one of this lifestyle shift, I still feel guilty whenever I do take that ride to get somewhere it’s possible to bike to.

Don’t worry too much about me because on a morning like yesterday the guilt doesn’t last long when I sit down to take a final and I’m not soaked to the bone!

“In a lot of ways, we’re just like Copenhagen in terms of our layout,” Freedman told me Tuesday. “People think Copenhagen’s always been like it is, or they say, ‘Oh, that’s Europe,’ but 30 years ago, trying to cycle there was like it was in Boston four years ago.”

Boston’s share of commuters who cycle to work and school, which rose from 1 percent in 2000 to 2 percent by 2009, seems pitiful compared with the 35 percent of such commutes in Copenhagen in 2010. Butexperts say Boston and Cambridge, because of their density and the institutions in their midst, are primed for a major increase.

“A bicycle track down Massachusetts Avenue would be perfect, just perfect,” said urban planner John Pucher of Rutgers University. “It would connect Harvard and MIT to the universities in [Boston] and create this great corridor of people going back and forth on bicycles.”

The idea that Boston could someday in the near future be on par with Copenhagen is tremendously exciting.  I can’t echo enough many of the similarities between Boston and Copenhagen that this piece points out.  Beyond that, you can’t deny the energy and feel that a city that is SO bike friendly offers.  Vibrance is truly the correct word!

A vibrant Boston needs major avenues for bikes – Opinion – The Boston Globe.

Although I was unable to attend, this event is officially on the CarFreeBrad calendar for next year and I encourage everyone to join me.  Imagine a pristine route of barricaded closed off main roads for 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.  No need to worry about cars, traffic and all the other daily hazards.  Just you, your bike and bunch of other wingnuts that want to enjoy that open road with you!

Encourage all your non-cycling friends to ride. Our bottom line is the same — get more people cycling. The best way is the direct way.

You heard the “Bike Czar”!  It’s 80 degrees and sunny, you are out of excuses!

Read the full interview here- Happy Trails: An Exit Interview with Boston’s Bike Czar | ABC Blog.

It was a long day sitting trying to concentrate on methods to Green a Supply Chain.  I can’t lie, I was bit tired after a mini adventure with some fellow dual degree students the night before that may have involved happy hour and a couple of local watering holes.

The moral of the story is that by the time I got out of class at 4, I was exhausted! I had spent all day wanting to be able to go enjoy the day but by the time I could I had nothing left in the tank.  That is until I had to get on my bike and head across the city.  During the ride I realized that if I had a car, I would have definitely driven, gone home, probably hit the couch hard, all the while hating myself for not taking advantage of the gorgeous weather.  Being CarFree had forced me to be out in nature for 6 glorious miles and by the time I actually got home, I was reinvigorated with absolutely no self loathing because I took the long route home and was able to really soak in some of that great day.