I added a new class to the adult ed syllabus -- Bicycle mechanics and repair -- a follow-up course to the basic maintenance class I teach. 4 weekends, 4 hours each, basically open shop for whatever a student might like to do or learn. Build up and adjust an internet-purchased bike; tear down and rebuild an older bike; wheel building; frame prep; suspension tuning/repair -- whatever the student wants to do.

Unfortunately, zero students signed up. Maybe due to the four-saturday afternoon commitment? Who knows. Anyone, one student contacted me for further details, and I arranged for her to do the class outside of the adult ed structure, at the shop. We did a big tune on her newer road bike; next Sat, she will be bringing in her older road bike for a complete overhaul and rebuild. She asked how much it would cost, since we're doing this solo and at the shop and was pleasantly surprised when I said it was free.

Turns out, she's on the town council next town over and we got to talking about advocacy. There's a specific road which is being upgraded to include sidewalks and she is concerned that there still won't be enough room for bikes on the rather narrow back road. I mentioned Complete Streets spec to her, which she had not heard about, and said I would be happy to attend any public hearings on the matter if she would keep me informed.

What have I done? Well, last summer I was on a bike ride to a nearby town, turned down main street and saw what looked like some strange animal in the middle of the street, walking upright. I got closer to see it was a small child, probably not much older than a year & a half, wandering around in the street. I looked around, but not seeing any adult nearby, pulled over and got the child out of the street. I have a couple of young children, so I was trying to ask this child his name & where he lived but he was too young to answer me. So I called the police and stayed with the child until the officer arrived, luckily the child was carrying a cell phone with him. The officer took one look at the phone and knew who the child belonged to, was a house right across the street. The officer took the child and I went on my way.

About 20 minutes later I was riding back by in the opposite direction and the officer was just leaving. I didn't speak to him after so I don't know if he made a report or what.

This stupid tree probably cost me 3 miles... The point was chest high, and could have hurt someone. I pulled out my Fiskars folding saw (part of my EDC equipment), and spent half an hour cutting it... Just as I was about to finish, the trail maintenance crew arrived. I finally got through it. They tried to cut it (in a smaller diameter point) and the chainsaw they used bogged down (they dulled their chain in trying to cut it).
Man, I hurt...
TMFTM 147.4


Creekside Trail B4nAfter



Tree VS Fiskars Saw

Since I started this thread, I've:
Graduated university
Taught in China for 8 1/2 years
Come back to the US
Bought a new camera yesterday...

I'm BACK Baby!!!

Oh... Here's a link to my Senior Capstone project...

https://ecapdx.weebly.com/rogue-agent-of-change.html

Weapons of Choice... Pruning on the way

13” tree saw found in road with broken handle, new handle made from polyethylene

I use a tree saw that I found in the road. Had to make a new handle but it’s still sharp.

My (non folding saw - as seen in the previous photo) was found sitting on top of an electrical box by the side of a road. I watched it for a week to see if the owner would claim it. After a week, I figured it was safe to add it to my collection of found items. The pruning sheers were found on the side of a freeway.

I found my old Sr. Capstone project is still online...

https://ecapdx.weebly.com/rogue-agen...EUa6wz-bTwftkQ

Amazing what a little red paint can do...



Finally managed to flag the patch of gravel that flatted me and F'd up my front wheel last month. Hopefully it'll help prevent someone else from having a similar experience.

That was very good of you; yellow is more visible, especially in low light.

The only advocacy I've done today was to attend the Humboldt Trails Council's Advocacy Committee (Zoom) meeting, seeing as I'm a member of both.

Tomorrow I'd be attending the city's Transportation Safety Committee meeting, but all six staff are busy {sigh}.

Wednesday the TSC's sub-committee (me and Genevive) will meet at a coffee shop to discuss a paid parking plan for the city. I'm still not clear why; they should just make the plaza (the city center) car-free.

Saturday I'll be attending the city's walking tour of a future project area; one part's a highway interchange that's a nightmare to walk or ride on, the other is an odd road on the edge of town that's 1/2 residential and 1/2 light industrial, and ends in a highway onramp.

On NextDoor I'm constantly advocating for bikes, pedestrians, and safe streets over speed, particularly when the drivers get whiny about new bike lanes and bulbouts. They get really defensive.

One of the few advantages of being unemployed.

I wasn't planning on being out that far. So, I used what I had onboard.

Chalk dust in water Fast drying

I think of myself as a practitioner, not an advocate, as I'm not trying to tell others "the answer" to an issue but instead find the best solution using my knowledge and experience and help implement it.

That being said, at the moment I'm in a meeting at the National Academies in DC on improving roadside design guidance to better address bicyclists, pedestrians, and micromobility users, while meeting the safety needs of all road users.

I better get back to paying attention in the meeting...

Veni, vidi, vici (I came... I saw... I conquered...)
Or is it
Veni, *SECARE*, vici...
My Mandarin is much better than my Latin.



You do it just like you'd eat an elephant... One bit at a time...

So you bring gardening tools with you on your rides? Bravo! I often wish I had them, but I never think to do it.

Well... Pruning tools, not gardening tools so much..

Sometimes I'll add equipment for special rides, but the saw is part of my EDC.