Ride In 2/14: Media Martyrs

I had a pre-9 AM work meeting, which I'm pretty sure is anti-constitutional (maybe just in France), so I left work no later than 7:30, which is no later than a half hour before I normally leave home. I encourage everyone to do this sometimes. It like putting on a new pair of socks: all the fun and comfort of socks, but with just a little bit of novelty and maybe a little bit of fuzz on your feet after you take them off, which in the case of new socks, will probably be a long time because as we all know, new socks are the best kind of socks and you'll want to savor (if that's the right word) their newness for as long as you can. When did this blog become all about socks? When hasn't it been?
In my neck of the woods (neither neck, nor woods), 7:30 is around the time that most dogs are walking their people and the parks and sidewalks were abuzz with apian activity. I even saw a guy walking two viszlas, which I assume is all he ever does, since vizslas are notorious for needing copious amounts of outdoor activities. This is not as true for shih tzus, another popular dog breed in my neighborhood, and might or might not be true for beagles and beagle mixes.

The chain in my (drive) train falls mainly the wane, or some such other Doolittleean nonsense (Eliza's aerial attack on Japan was thoroughly unexpected. "I have often walked down this street before/But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before/All at once am I Several stories high..." is totally different in that context.) I think before I derailed, what I was trying to say is that my chain continued skipping, especially on the gears that I had to this point been using most prior to installing the new chain. So, that will probably require some degree of mechanical intervention, perhaps by a mechanic. Nonetheless, I made it to work just fine. 

Still bicyclists out, but none going my way. Felt a little lonely, but no lonelier than usual, I guess. Actually, the emptiness of the roads combined with the earlier-ness of the trip made it seem somewhat special and different and worth feeling good about. As special as biking to the Pentagon for the very first time? You tell me. 

You ever notice that a lot of people have green bicycle frames? I think I saw at least 5 today. 

I'm surprised that the House of Representatives in all of its terribleness hasn't advanced the idea of a pre-tax subsidy for gas money for drivers. On one hand, this would probably be "stimulative" in that take-home pay would go up (I think) and that money could be spent elsewhere. However, I'm not sure that a pre-tax deduction for gas money wouldn't be the most terrible thing ever. Dear anyone in Congress who is reading this, it's all a dream and I totally didn't give you this idea. Oh crap. But what if you did it will flex fuel only? Then you could call it the flex fuel flex savings account. It would still be a terrible idea, but wouldn't it be kind of fun to say "flex fuel flex"? 

And while I'm writing about non-bike things, here's this post about streetcars from Greater Greater Washington. I don't know, guys. I sort of would prefer if we built our transportation systems around the idea of moving people rapidly, not just in order to reassess properties for tax purposes. I know that's only part of it and that theoretically the right kind of redevelopment might be spurred, making neighborhoods more walkable and less car-oriented, but I think that might be hard to remember when you're watching through the streetcar window an old lady pushing a walker outpace you because you're stuck in mixed traffic. But, smarter people than me know far more about this than I do, so I'll just stick with the biking and the My Fair Lady stuff. 

And while we're talking (who's talking?) about smarter people than me, the new JDAntos Bikeshare data analysis is out. It's, as usual, awesome. 

So, yeah, my bike commute was good and stuff. Peace out.