Biking and Garden Boxes

The Consequences of our Actions

2012-02-04T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today's harvest, but potatoes were planted last spring

I posted in the past about my delightful winter potatoes. I last planted potatoes in the spring, but apparently missed a few when harvesting, which then generated more potatoes in a fantastic perpetual potato cycle. Seems as if the consequence of being a poorly-skilled potato harvester leads to nice consequences of new potatoes.

As I performed my other Saturday chores today, however, I thought about how my big project of the day resulted from a different set of consequences, which can also be tracked back to my actions.

About four years ago, we drove to a shelter with the intention of bringing home a kitten, only to find out on arrival that there were no kittens. Apparently, kittens follow some kind of a semiannual birthing cycle, and we were off cycle. In a cage, however, there was a friendly cat, estimated to be less than a year old, with big eyes and a hopeful look who was, according to a tag on her cage, on some kind of medical hold.

We asked the shelter personnel about her, and learned that she was found abandoned with a broken pelvis, probably a victim of a car accident. The shelter personnel were pleased that we were interested in her, and offered her for immediate release if we wanted her. We, of course, took her home.

Top 'O the morning to ya

The first few months were great. Tansy adapted to our house quickly, and won favor in my wife's heart as her amenable disposition permitted such awesome things as donning leprechaun hats at St. Patrick's Day (Wife's unmarried name is Murphy, incidentally.)

Maybe 18 months after the adoption, however, trouble struck. Our house needed some painting and some other improvements, and we connected with another soul with a friendly disposition and a hopeful look. A man named Jose Morales was doing some other work in the neighborhood. We were quickly won over by his confidence and willingness to please, and struck a deal for painting the house, and then laying flooring, and then redoing the stair treads and landing (shown below).

Working with Jose was a bit trying. His "crew" consisting of himself and two others would regularly not show up for work, his workmanship was a little off, and he'd often have to borrow a tool from me. Jose's charm, honesty, and passion to please made up for his organizational shortcomings, however, and the work did managed to progress on a good although unsteady pace.

Jose also tended to underbid all of the work. As we progressed into different phases of the project, he'd provide a quotation, I'd say I need competing quote, and he'd steadily knock his price down until I'd just give up and let him do the work. He'd conclude these sessions with, "I'll make you very happy, Mr. Ryan", and he'd really mean it.

One of these pricing sessions included the baseboard, and as it turns out he bid the cheapest baseboard type, which is prefinished pressboard. I wasn't all that happy with the choice, and could have renegotiated, but in the end, I agreed to go with the pressboard even though it is cheap and definitely not intended for areas that can get wet. "How could it get wet?", I thought.

Well, guess what...the disturbance in the household set off some psychotic reaction in the cat, and, next thing you know (as the house is finished and looking brand-new), she's peeing on the baseboards.

For a couple of years now, we're in another perpetual cycle like the potato cycle, but it's perpetual pee. Cat's favorite place is the corner of the landing below.

Landing after baseboard was removed

What happens when pressboard sits in a pool of cat pee and cleaner

After just two years of this, I have to replace the molding, and do so today, and I think about consequences. We brought a traumatized cat home, then remodeled the house while including cheap baseboard, which traumatized the cat, which ruined the baseboards, wrapping up everything in a neat little cat-bow (of a pet costume). Even though she really doesn't look traumatized.

She's really not that fat!

Look Ma, No Shifters

2012-01-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

New-ish mountain bike is in the shop having the front shock rebuilt, so wife and I did an easy ride to the beach.

Artsy Photo

With Sun at my Back

Easy, except I had converted my old mountain bike to a single speed (using the existing big front gear), and the ride to the beach involves a one mile, 800 ft. decent and then ascent, with stretches regularly exceeding 15%.

I converted the bike in a bit of new-bike delirium, not even considering that I'd want the bike as a potential spare. I do like the set-up (single-speed + panniers) for quick trips to the store, but it's obviously no longer suited to make steep climbs.

I barely had the strength to make the climb, as I not only had to be out of the saddle, but also had to force the pedal down while using the handlebars as leverage as there was not enough mechanical advantage to pedal up the hill with my weight only. Yet, I made the climb without putting a foot down.

Success!

In the end, the experience was exhilarating. I'm definitely looking forward to having the new bike back, but I also proved to myself that I don't need an expensive bike to get out and pedal 20 miles and even do some serious climbing.

Six Things I Think I Think about Gardening (in January)

2012-01-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

With apologies to Sports Illustrated writer Peter King for stealing his format (and stealing his format without being all that insightful)

Bright Sunshiny Day

1) I despise my neighbor's trees -- I live in Ventura County, where millions of dollars of produce is grown during the winter supplying groceries to families all across the nation. And guess what...you never see a row of cypress trees next to the farm land. Imagine the great winter veggies I would have without those cursed trees!

I Can Get a Lunch out of This

2) Winter gardening is better than no gardening, however -- Even with the neighbor's trees, I'm still able to pick a few things about every other week. That's swiss chard, green onions, potatoes, and some tiny broccoli.

One Just Never Knows

3) The surprises can be delightful in the winter -- Tough to see everything here, but I'm showing a potato plant in the nearer box, and some green onions in the farther box. The potatoes were planted in the spring, and harvested, but I apparently left a few potatoes, which, guess what, turned into more potatoes in a wonderful cycle of infinite potato production. Regarding the green onions, those were also planted in the spring, but were overtaken and forgotten by my zucchini growing zeal. Once the zucchini vine died off...voila!...green onions!

Hmmmm

4) The anticipation (and planning) in winter is intoxicating -- I have been digging lilies out of this side bed for months now. Although there are some sunshine issues on top of what I note above, I'm still thinking I could get another productive bed in there.

How Much is THIS Worth?

5) Veggie growing doesn't save me money, but it does -- Although I don't keep meticulous records...OK, so I don't keep any records at all, I cannot imagine that my total harvest in groceries per year equals what I end up spending in soil amendments, tools, flats of plants (when my seeds are not working out), and raised bed materials. However, my hobby results in food that I really enjoy eating, and that eating supplants some of my indulgences like going out for lunch too often or eating Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese. I would imagine that it will also save me some cholesterol medication in the future, also.

Mom with Cake Balls

6) Shared Experiences with Mom -- I think that most guys, when they get to their late 40's, kind of run out of things to discuss with their mom, unless they are either into water aerobics or quilting. Imagine my surprise and delight, to find out that mom knows gardening. I guess I should have known, as mom grew up on a farm that supplemented their diet with fresh-grown veggies, and as we were always rototilling up lawn for gardens as a child, but still, when mom pointed out what was eating my broccoli (cabbage moths) and that I didn't have enough corn planted (four stalks) to effectively grow corn, it was like I had a whole world of discussion topics open to me. Thanks to the garden for opening a line of great conversations with mom!

More Winter Gardening

2011-11-30T16:46:00.001-08:00

Although I guess it's really still fall...

I was pleased to still get a number of zucchini on 11/19 (and then picked a couple more a week later below). My summer squash effort (late planting from seeds started in a container) was pathetic.

November 19 harvest

I made one pumpkin pie from the two pumpkins I picked. I empty out the seeds, cut up the pumpkin, and microwave it for 20 minutes to get the filling. Suppose it took about two hours to make the pie.

Pumpkin pie and filling from garden pumpkins

Had three cups of filling left over, and used it to make pumpkin soup.

Pumpkin Soup and November 26 Harvest

Winter Gardening Underway

2011-10-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Nearly November, but still picking some tomatoes. May be a couple more, but this pretty much finishes the garden.

Will even have a couple more zucchini, and should be able to at lease make one more soup.

(Apparently I didn't take much of a picture)...bought some new plants at Nordic Nursery (broccoli, winter tomatoes, green onions, and spinach). This picture poorly portrays the broccoli and green onions.)

This is my failure of a pumpkin growing effort his year. The three pumpkin harvest is my worst ever, and worse, the vine continues to tease me with new fruit. I should just pull the whole thing, but I remain hopeful for a miracle, I guess.

Spinach.

Have some beets started from seed that are barely poking through the soil.

And, yes, I really like broccoli, and planted a few more in the west bed.

Fighting the Good Fight

2011-10-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

One would think that not much in this world could be more benign than my hobbies of bike commuting and gardening. Particularly regarding bike commuting, I obviously keep one car off the road and that car's associated pollution and congestion.

But, taking a depressing read through our local weekly newspaper makes me realize that biking is far from benign, at least when it comes to discussing addition of bike lanes.

Connie from Thousand Oaks:

"Every day, I observe bicyclists violating both rules for vehicles and pedestrians as they seem to want the rights of both simultaneously and the responsibilities of neither."

"If Thousand Oaks insists on continuing to add bicycle lanes, then they must also enforce traditional rules of the road for bicyclists and ticket them for: riding on sidewalks, riding in pedestrian walkways, riding against the light, failing to stop, riding the wrong direction in bike lanes, etc., etc.

All actions I see bicyclists do on a daily basis throughout Thousand Oaks.

No one wants an accident, and I have had enough heartstopping near misses that I drive in terror of bicyclists in this town."

"Daily basis"? "Drive in terror"? Really?

Rick from Thousand Oaks

"Look at the other bike lanes that already exist within the city, where many times these bike riders are four to five abreast riding on the auto section of the road (outside the path) and causing cars to swerve to miss them.

Also, many are not stopping at stop signs or red lights. Many think they do not have to abide by the traffic laws.

I have had several near collisions with some of these riders because they were not paying any attention to the other traffic around them."

Although I'm glad Rick isn't terrified of cyclists like Connie, I am wondering how he is having so many near collisions in a town where only .9% of commute trips are being made by cyclists (I discuss the dearth of bike commuters in a previous blog post.)

There are more letters objecting to bike lanes, but just one more from Michael from Thousand Oaks

"It’s my guess that this push for a bike lane on Lynn Road is being spurred on by elitists in the cycling community who are putting their own selfish interests ahead of public safety and/or have politicians and commissioners in their pockets."

Whew...that's me, the selfish elitist with politicians in my pocket.

All of this is being generated by the City's recent initiatives to take state and federal money to build additional bike lanes. Something that is not only objectionable to readers, but is actually objectionable to the newspaper itself:

"But some critics see the indiscriminate creation of bike lanes as increasing the likelihood of an accident by encouraging cyclists to ride next to traffic on fast-moving streets rather than off-road or in more residential areas.

There are studies that support this opinion as well.

We think the key here is for the city to create bike lanes in moderation—where they’re really needed—not on every stretch of road that becomes available or every time funding is offered.

Similar to solar panels, bike lanes look great on paper and are popular among politicians looking to add “environmentally conscious” to their resume, but in practice they aren’t always the best option. For solar, the problem is often cost; for bike lanes, it’s the stress they cause drivers."

If anything is indiscriminate, it's this newspapers' inclusion of unnamed studies and a solar panel comparison in an article about transportation planning.

I did respond to the editorial, incidentally:

(One final note, the paper actually shortened and, I believe, dumbed down my response...I hate how the first paragraph, in particular, reads.)

I guess it wasn't all...more harvest!

2011-10-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

I posted last week that harvests were over, yet I was very pleasantly surprised that I was still able to get quite a few veggies out of the garden yesterday, and make three helpings of soup (one for Saturday, two for upcoming work week).

The onions have been a real source of delight for me. I picked up dried cuttings (I guess that is what they would be called) from Home Depot, planted them back in April, and they produced bountifully. I believe that this is the last of them.

I'm Especially Proud of the Onions

Last of the Zucchini, I Think

Supplemental Harvest

Farewell, 2011 summer, I'll miss you

2011-10-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well...that's all folks...summer 2011 is pretty much a wrap.

Harvests actually started in early August, but I posted some of the pics already, and even, I think, posted the first picture below. I started with that picture to show the recent progression of picked vegetables, however.

I don't know what I was doing on September 03, so that picture is missing, but the pics I did take tell a nice story of how the zucchini production peaked in late August, tomatoes and onions in mid September, peppers in October, and my pathetic pumpkins in October.

Since I started really tracking production in August, I ate 15 meals from the garden. Figuring three meals per day for 60 days = 180 meals, I ate 8.3% of meals from the garden. Add that to the plum smoothies that I have every morning (from July's huge plum harvest), I can say that I had my own personal produce in 1/3 of my meals over the last two months.

At the bottom I demonstrate my most common meal, just a simple blended soup featuring pretty much whatever is picked that week. I also demonstrate what was my favorite way of consuming 64 ounces of processed garden tomatoes.

August 20

August 27

September 10

September 17

September 24

October 01

October 08

Soup Making

Sometimes I Peel the Tomatoes, but Not this Time

This was Last Week's Soup...had Saturday Lunch + Two Meals at Work

Greet Stuff for 1st Week of NFL Play!

Bike Commuting, Portland vs. My City

2011-10-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

As posted two weeks ago, I was in Portland on university business. While there, I dabbled in research towards my hobby of bicycle-commuting advocacy by taking a few pictures and observations, and by using a bike to commute to a couple of destinations (as described in that last blog posting).

My experience was consistent with Portland's reputation...Portland is clearly succeeding in getting people out of cars and onto bikes. Biking to work is clearly part of the transportation fabric of the city.

I contrast that to my on-going experience in my hometown of Thousand Oaks, CA, where during my bike commute I will typically see maybe four or five bike commuters on my five mile commute. Moreover, of that handful, I'd split them into two categories:

The service worker -- Latino male, lunch in a plastic grocery bag dangling from handlebars, tires probably poorly inflated, riding a cheap mountain bike.
The BIKER! commuter -- White male, spandex clad, riding a bike made for commuting.

I rarely see a sort of casual biker biking to work.

A few pictures from my Portland trip:

Downtown

More Downtown

Constant Traffic on Hawthorne Bridge

Women are a Common Sight

I compare this with some (bad) shots from my own commute:

Picture Perfect Day for Riding Home from Work on a Bike

Beautiful Day, Shady Bike Path

But Where are the Bikers

OK, There's One

The Rare Female

As evidenced by the pictures, there's good (but not great) biking infrastructure, there's great weather, the traffic is not intimidating, yet it's a biking ghost town.

(As a side note, on the day I was taking the Thousand Oaks pictures I was riding from my place of work to my daughter's high school for college night. The high school was a mess of parking, with cars overflowing the HS lot into the surrounding neighborhoods...in other words, it was a perfect day to bike to the high school, avoid the congestion, and bike past all the drivers that were hiking from their distant parking spaces. However, as far as I could see, I was the sole biker.)

So...what's the deal?

To answer that question, I turn to every lazy blogger's aid Wikipedia, and also download Thousand Oaks' and Portland's Biking Master Plan documents. From those sources, I put together the following table:

	Portland	Thousand Oaks
Population	583,776	128,584
Area (Sq M)	145	54
Density (Pop./Sq M)	4,026	2,381
Median Income	$40,146	$96,120
% with 4 yr Degree	32.6%	42.2%
Miles of Bikeways	630	74
Miles Bikeways/Sq. Mile	4.34	1.37
% of Commuting by Bike	6.0%	0.9%
% of School Trips by Bike	40%	15%

Precipitation Days	152	35
Snow Days	4	-
Sunshine Hours	2,348	3,000+

Portland Advantages
Density
Bike Infrastructure

Thousand Oaks Advantages
Income
Higher Education*
Weather

*I considered higher education an advantage because of the preponderance of biotech workers in Thousand Oaks, and my knowledge that those employers have very bike-friendly stances towards commuting.

Looking at the table, it seems to me that with roughly one-half of the density, one-quarter of the bike trails per sq. mile, Thousand Oaks' weather, workplace, and income advantages should easily result in at least those proportions as applied to Portland's bike commuting percentage. However, my anecdotal observations (made over 11 years) and the actual statistics are that Thousand Oaks' has just one-eighth the percentage of bike commuters that Portland has. Quite simply, in my home town of great weather and high incomes, even though a fair amount of bike infrastructure has been installed, bike commuting is pretty insignificant.

When I went to Portland, I went with the assumption that the answer was going to be about the infrastructure. Green bike identification areas (one of which I photographed) are common. I also went through a couple of intersections that had stop light configurations designed specifically for the biker, one of which (if I recall correctly) stopped traffic in both directions for the bikers merging from a bike trail onto the streets.

However, I also observed many bikers biking in areas where there were no bike lanes, and certainly no fancy signals. At those locations, I came to the conclusion that Portlanders were biking because they've achieved a kind of critical mass in biking so that biking is an accepted part of transportation.

Meanwhile back here in Thousand Oaks, I recall all the conversations with individuals that I know that I happen to encounter either at work or at a nearby Trader Joe's that I quite often frequent on the way home from work. In those conversations, I hear genuine concern for my safety, with nearly every conversation concluding with, "be careful". It seems that my well-meaning coworkers and friends are genuinely concerned with the inherent safety of biking, which, to me, explains why few people are biking.

So, where to go from here? I think we do need more bike lanes and some fancy bike traffic signals in Thousand Oaks, and I think that biking planning cannot be an afterthought in transportation planning. However, I think (as kind of a cop out) that there are no easy answers, and that I just need to keep riding and speaking up when I can.

My Portland Biking Misadventures

2011-09-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

I consider myself a biking advocate. In my advocacy, I actually participate a bit politically, but mostly, I just try to be an example, and now, I write this blog.

I traveled to Portland this past week on university business; three days sitting (and shivering) in hotel conference rooms followed by visits to Reed College and University of Portland.

Portland is one of America's true success stories regarding biking commuting. According to Wikipedia, 8% of work commuting takes place by bicycle in Portland. So, I decide to make my trips to Reed and U of Portland (from the downtown Marriot) via bicycle. My plan (outside of my work responsibilities) is to make some observations, take some pictures, and write about the differences between my city of Thousand Oaks, CA, and Portland. My planned route would have taken me 20-25 miles.

I arrive on Sunday, and already excited about the bike trip, take a little look around. I find a bike rental place near the hotel, but find out they do not open until the time I'm to be at Reed.

I turn to Reddit (on-line community posting original content and interesting articles), which is also by far the biggest source of my fledgling blog traffic, and ask for advice on the page dedicated to Portland. Two very helpful individuals, finiteautomata and _McAngryPants_ provide me helpful information regarding appropriate places to rent bikes and ride, respectively.

Finiteautomata clearly knows bike rental places, and offers a number places and links to other sites regarding bike rental in Portland. One of the sites starts with, "Many visitors to Portland do as the Romans do, and rent bicycles to get around". So much for my idea being original.

One of the suggested places is called Portland Bike Station, which has hours that work for me. Finiteautomata mentions that the selection is "wonky", however.

Conference wraps up Wednesday afternoon, and I follow advice from _McAngryPants_ (who doesn't seem very angry, actually) and inquire if the Marriot will store a bike overnight. They answer yes, and armed with that information, I leave the hotel room (feeling pretty dorky).

I find Portland Bike Station easily, and learn immediately what the "wonky" description was about. The Portland Bike Station bikes look to be all abandoned bikes that have been refurbished and are now available for rent.

They have about four bikes with XL frames, however, and I select a Trek Mountain Bike conversion to street bike.

Portland Bike Station

I ride around a bit, and even cross one of the nearby bridges as I enjoy my biking freedom. I get off the bike at the other side, and delight in watching the dynamic bike commuting environment.

Hawthorne Bridge

From there, I head back to the hotel, and relish in checking my bike in at the bell station (thanks again, _McAngryPants_.)

Bell Desk, Downtown Marriot

7:15 AM the next morning, Thursday, I embark on my journey. I start with a stop at Voodoo Doughnuts Too. I'm not actually a big doughnut eater, but, my boss had told me that it was part of the Portland experience, so I think it goes nicely with my Portland biking experience.

Blueberry and chocolate doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts Too

From there, I find my way easily to Reed College, although during the ride (caution, foreshadowing ahead) I'm a little uncomfortable navigating with my Droid GPS in my pocket where I cannot see it, and a little uncomfortable riding without tire repair stuff. I arrive a good half-hour prior to my appointment.

Reed College

Reed College Bridge

Bike Parking at the cafeteria demonstrated just for fun. My rental bike is at a nearby fence.

Everything goes swimmingly at Reed College, and by 10:30 I'm all wrapped up. I am cautious about running my Droid out of batteries, (more foreshadowing) however, so I stop at a campus coffee shop, have a smoothie, and charge the Droid a bit.

At about 11:00 AM, I head out to University of Portland. I find my way relatively easily, working with a scrap of paper that I can pull out of my front pocket and hold in my hand. I do get disoriented around the Rose Garden, however, and end up on a street called Greeley, a street which _McAngryPants_ recommended be avoided because of fast truck traffic. As I ride along Greeley, I never feel unsafe, however, I do wish that I was on a calmer street.

As I close in on University of Portland, it sprinkles a bit, I have a new worry to add to navigation and lack of tire changing, but it quickly subsides and I'm at my destination.

Unscathed at University of Portland

I work as a university planner, and most of favorite campuses are catholic schools.

As with Reed, my visit completes without incident, and I'm soon ready to return after a late lunch and after again charging the Droid, this time to about 75%.

I head out with my scratched out directions hopefully leading me away from the aforementioned Greeley, and onto a calmer bike route. Very soon, I see a sign for a bike route to downtown, and I already plotting the peaceful conclusion to my story.

I do not go with the sign, however, in what turned out to be a boneheaded decision, as I think it's actually pushing me back onto Greeley and I think Portland's grid of streets and numerical avenues are straightforward enough that I can manage an alternative route. At this point I'm going north on Interstate, but I think I'm going east and heading towards the street I want to be on, which is called Vancouver.

I ride along way long enough that I should have figured out what was going on, as I do not hit Vancouver and I'm covering a lot of distance. However, I'm moving easily and suppose that I'm kind of tuned into the rhythm of cycling.

Soon, however, I'm completely jolted back to reality because, I realize I've maneuvered myself onto the on ramp, and even onto the actual 5 Freeway. Indeed, I'm now breaking a fundamental rule of cycling in SoCal, anyway, which is never ride a bike on the freeway.

So, I ride along a bit, contemplating whether to walk off the side of the freeway to a nearby road or to take the off ramp, and almost immediately the situation goes from bad to worse, as I begin to feel my back tire flatting out.

Now I have no choice but to get off the bike.

Don't fail me now!

I pull out the Droid to figure out where I am, and am quite surprised that after maybe 45 minutes of riding I'm actually over six miles from my hotel, and I'm farther than when I started.

( My ride of disorientation is here, incidentally)

My first thought is to find a bike shop within biking distance, but according to my Droid the closest shop is three miles in the wrong direction.

My second plan is to find a mass transit station, and according to my Droid there is one about a mile away. I crawl over the barricade pictured above, cut across a grassy clearing, and am on a regular street on my way to a bus station.

I walk the mile to the bus stop, and as bad things always come in threes, I cannot find anything that looks like a bus stop even though my Droid tells me I'm right on top of it. Now I'm only five miles away from downtown, so I decide to just keep walking, as worse case, I can cover the five miles in an hour and a half. (Incidentally, I know I could have called a cab, but that seemed like it would be cheating.)

Soon, however, I have a brand new worry as I know my Droid's battery is starting to get low. I figure I need to locate myself on a map (which I did bring, fortunately) for when the Droid's battery does run out. By this time I'm in a somewhat ramshackle residential neighborhood, and am definitely not in the dynamic community of bikers that I enjoyed so much previously.

So, I'm hunched over my map, and I notice out of my peripheral vision a car drive past me slowly, stop, and back up. I look over, and just like in the movies, I meet my guardian angel who of course is an older black man driving a polished white Ford Thunderbird from I suppose the mid-80's. He smiles at me, and asks if I need help.

I manage to resist the urge to shout hallelujah, toss the bike to the ground, and beg on my knees for ride, and merely ask for directions to a bus stop. He points down the street, and tells me that a bus going directly to downtown is only a half block away.

I thank him profusely, and, this time, find the bus stop easily (at this point I turn off the GPS program from the link above.)

From there, after struggling and needing help from a somewhat annoyed bus driver in securing the bike to the rack, ride to the stop in downtown Portland, and find my way to the Portland Bike Station. At the Portland Bike Station, they are very graceful, and inform me that they would have sent a car to my rescue. I talk to them a bit more, and will write more about them and what they are trying to do in a later Blog post.

At the hotel room, I figure out my navigational error, and reflect on the day.

At the beginning of my post, I say I'm a bike advocate (and I am), but even more than that I like to think that I advocate against pervasive thought in today's society that things like biking and strange neighborhoods and being in an unfamiliar city are inherently unsafe and that life should be conducted in the cocoons of cars and gated communities and guarded places of work.

The reality is that I biked and got lost and had to walk my bike a lot further than I would have liked (29 miles between the two), but I never felt even a bit unsafe. In fact, I even did something pretty stupid in not paying attention and ending up on the 5 Freeway, but, I obviously survived. (Of course, however, I guess there was that guardian angel guy looking out for me.)

Garden Update, 10 September 2011

2011-09-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Cool temperatures here after a brief heatwave. Looks like an early fall in SoCal, as the plum tree is losing its leaves.

Zucchini is wrapping up, tomatoes and onions still have plenty to produce, I'm hopeful for some beets, and I'm quite disappointed in my cucumbers and pumpkins (especially pumpkins, as the male blossom frat party is the party that never quits). I get the beginnings of female flowers, but, clearly intimidated by the overwhelming number of male blossoms, they never bloom, whither away, and take their little fruit with them.

I also continue to be plagued by leaf miners. Bought a miracle organic spray, which wasn't a miracle at all, and worked as well as my previous eradication attempts consisting of trying to ignore the leaf miners to death.

Am going to place a couple of leaves in a plastic bag and see what happens. Read that after a few days, black bugs come out. I am not really expecting to solve the issue, but I do want to see the black bugs.

Had a decent harvest today, I tried to be a little artsy with the photo, with little success.

Finally, for posterity, I'm going to rank the success of my growing efforts over the last two years. My ratings are:

0 - Plant died
1 - Plant grew, maybe a veggie or two
2 - Plant and veggie, but borderline worth the space in the garden.
3 - Good success
4 - Great success

Tomato - 4, always more tomatoes than we can eat.
Zucchini - 4, fortunately I like them.
Broccoli - 4, even after producing, the flowering stalks have served me well in bee attraction.
Kale - 4, although I am not the biggest kale fan.
Potatoes - 4, I need to try mounding
Sweet Peas - 4, and I love seeing them grow up my makeshift trellis.
Onions - 3, onions never grew to full size, although that was probably due to planting them to close together.
Cabbage - 3, see comments for kale.
Pumpkins - 3, last year was actually pretty good.
Yellow Squash - 2, never had a large production.
Peppers - 2, they sure are pretty, though.
Cucumbers - 1, maybe three cucumbers over two years.
Corn - 1, I know I don't have enough square footage to grow corn, but I gave it a try.
Watermelon - 1, although the three little watermelon were actually pretty tasty and kind of fun
Asparagus - 0, although I know it takes years (in year 1)
Beets - Too early to tell, probably planting out of season, but have four or five beet plants growing.

I don't mess with lettuce, as I'm not a big fan, and have avoided carrots and radishes as I don't really like them in my soup creations.

Is it too early to look forward to spring?

My Eight Anecdotes about Bike Commuting

2011-09-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

I've commuted by bicycle for 11 years. I started when we first moved to Thousand Oaks, CA in 2000.

When I commute, I have two options; a 5.0 mile ride via a 50 mph city street with no bike lane, and a 6.6 mile ride on a route that has bike lanes. Lately I've been taking the 5 mile route and riding a mountain bike on the sidewalk.

I typically commute by bike three times per week. My current pattern is to get a ride in the morning with a coworker who has a bike rack on his car (how lucky!) and bike home, but I have spent many years commuting both ways.

I have also had lapses in my discipline, the biggest lapse being over two years when a regular Tuesday breakfast meeting convinced me that I was just too busy and too important to be messing with the bike. Fortunately, a family member convinced me to join him in the Solvang Century in March 2008, and I returned to commuting to train for the Century.

Here are my anecdotes regarding commuting:

1) It Feels Lonely because it is Lonely: I believe that the current percentage of Californians that commute by bicycle make up 3% of the working population (heard this at a Ventura County transportation forum recently). Moreover, the numbers in that category mostly consist of individuals that have to bike either because of economic necessity or lack of a drivers' license.

2) Even "Enlightened" People Believe that the Road is for Cars (not Bikes): My university colleagues quite often will look at me with concern, and tell me to "be careful" like I'm getting ready to carry a vial of nitroglycerin across the room. The message that I receive is that they think that roads are really not for me (and my bike).

3) Driver's Right Turns are Dangerous: I've been very fortunate over the years. I've never been hit, and have only fallen three times (because of being clipped in on a road bike). I've even had relatively few close calls. My closest encounter was a woman who blew through a stop sign on a right hand turn right into my lane. I was lucky to be on a two lane road with no one in the inside lane, and was able to swerve over and avoid what would have been a certain t-bone. So, I have been lucky over the years, but I have also been beneficially neurotic. I carefully observe the drivers in cross traffic to see who is in the right-hand turn lane, and I make sure that I make eye contact with them. If they do not make eye contact with me, I slow down and slowly approach them until they do.

4) Driver's Right Turns Part B: I am not proud to say that I have exchanged un-pleasantries with a few drivers over the years. And almost all of those exchanges resulted from me being in a street that did not have a formal right turn lane, but that had enough room for a driver to scoot around a red-light stopped car and turn right, only to be blocked by yours truly. The drivers think that I shouldn't be there (even though there's really nowhere to go). I will say, I have learned, and have recently been more conscience of crossing over and getting in front of the first stopped driver, thus avoiding making another new friend.

5) Road Bikes are Great for Centuries, Not so Much for Commuting: Thousand Oaks is an affluent community that, for the most part, maintains its roads. However, I think all cities hate the right hand portion of the streets that has been relegated to bikers, and are determined either to tear them up for utility fixes, block them off for tree-trimming, are just cone them off for no apparent reason. Consequently, I feel far more comfortable going onto sidewalks, inner traffic lanes, or over construction on either my new mountain bike, or my old MTB hardtail.

6) Panniers vs. Backpack: I use both, and really don't mind the backpack as it's easier to pack my stuff in the morning. I use panniers when I'm planning to stop at the grocery store on the way home.

7) On to the Positive, #1, Bike Commuting is Remarkably Fast: I can make my little 5 mile commute in under 20 minutes, and can make the longer commute in under 25. Driving the shorter route takes about 15 minutes.

8) Positive #2, a Little Self-Enlightenment: Sometimes I sit at red lights and I watch all the drivers go past either going or coming home from work, and I can see in their faces how much they are hurrying, and how focused they are in getting to their destination, and how much just a momentary delay in their traffic pattern would upset them. It's at those moments that I know that by taking a little extra time on a commute so that I enjoy being outside and enjoy my bicycle is really far more empowering that rushing around in a car.

Goal Update

2011-09-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

1) Do not drive to work 3 days per week.
2) Limit driving on weekends
3) Eat one meal per week that is homegrown.

On week 4 of my goals (although have been bike commuting for years). In the warmth and daylight of late August, the goals are remarkably easy, although I also understand that breaking away from automobile dependency, in particular, would seem like an impossible task to most.

Anyway, here's last Saturday's soup. I follow the tomato basil soup recipe at allrecipes.com, but add zucchini.

I also played with the video camera function on the phone and am embedding this clip of me arriving home. I do understand that this is bad for the gate, and, perhaps bad for an unsuspecting cat hanging out on this side of the door, but what can I say?

It's a Thin Line between Advocacy and Mania

2011-08-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Spent the day Saturday attending different events for Cal Lutheran Orientation (a truly wonderful day staffed by truly wonderful people.) Because of the irregular schedule for individuals like myself, I drove the car, and used the car for errands between events.

So, there I was at my credit union and a couple of big box retailers driving the car short distances, looking for parking spaces so I don't have to walk too far, and feeling a bit of self-loathing for shunning my goal of not driving a car on the weekends.

Today, I made amends with my goals through biking to the post office, Home Depot, and by meeting up with my wife for lunch. Total trip was 5.3 miles and 41 minutes, and was easily biked.

The whole experience made me think about my reactions to recent TED (Technology, Education, Design) talk I ran across on the Reddit biking forum. A brilliant woman named Mia Birk (who served as a bicycle transportation coordinator for the City of Portland during their last-decade bike transformation) talks about that experience at http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxPortland-Mia-Birk-Peddaling .

Of course, I was inspired by what she had to say, especially as she discussed trying to get people to just leave their car at home for one trip per week.

Here's where the mania comes in...it just so happens that I will be in Portland in two weeks to attend a higher ed risk management conference. I am deliberately staying a couple of extra days to visit some peer institutions, and also plan to really take in the bike culture while there. So, I think, "wouldn't it be awesome to meet this woman and maybe show her a campus map at Cal Lutheran and get a couple of ideas to promote bike advocacy on campus and generally just let her know that I am a fan of her work?"

Google quickly reveals that she has a public Facebook page, and I think, "she wouldn't have a public Facebook page if she didn't WANT to be contacted". So, I sent her the following message:

My name is Ryan VanOmmeren. I am in charge of planning at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. I am also a long-time bicycle commuter and becoming more of an activist as a citizen of Thousand Oaks, CA.

I just happen to run across your TED talk, and I just happen to be traveling to Portland the week of 9/11 (university risk management, URMIA). While in Portland I had planned to make some observations regarding biking, and after I saw your TED talk, thought I'd inquire if I could stop by with a map of our campus and get your thoughts. I promise to at least buy your book in return I promise I will limit my visit to whatever time-frame you have available.

I am also going to attempt to friend you on Facebook, so you know I'm for real. I have a few bike related posts on the page, and I have a link to my fledgling blog where I identify my personal goals regarding bike advocacy. I am a huge believer in your thoughts regarding just making a couple trips per week by bike.

No word back as of now, and fortunately, no restraining order either.

How Much Backyard to Feed a Family of Four

2011-08-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ran across this great "infographic" (is that really a word?) on Reddit.com. Source is actually a solar power advocacy site, http://howsolarworks.1bog.org/

Bottom line is, assuming daughter goes off to college and we are only feeding two people, we would need 44,525 SF of land to have a chance at living off the land.

My three garden boxes total a whooping 120 SF, so according to this, I'd need 1,113 of my boxes for my wife and myself to be able to survive.

Returning to the original premise of the blog, one of my goals is to eat one meal per week from the garden. Again, working the proportions, this means that I would need 1,060 SF of land, and I'm short by a factor of about 10?

However, the reality is I really am getting a meal a week. In fact, easily had three meals (with food leftover) this last week. I suppose I'm a little heady with this being primary harvest season, and I'm forgetting all the zero yield weekends in February, but still, if I get three meals per week during just eight weeks of primary harvest season, I'm obviously at 24 meals...not so far off from the 52 meals per week goal.

So, goal from here...track meals for a year.

Today's Biking

2011-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Biked space mountain this morning. Was joined by work-friend Nate, a very good rider who nearly made it through the entire ride without putting a foot down. Also had numerous spiders trying to have us join them.

Back to Veggies

2011-08-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Leading off with today's harvest:

Quite a few more zucchini ripening on the vine, I'm keeping my eyes out for unlocked porches.

Started some onions one week ago. No sign of germination, but I'm not yet concerned. Meanwhile, the broccoli I planted a few weeks ago is being EATEN! Replanting today.

Speaking of onions...this is the type of thing that just fascinates me. Planted onions in the spring that did pretty well. However, when the onions were just at about golf-ball size, we had crazy high winds that flattened and then killed the onion greens. After that process, because of my lack of discipline, I lost track of where the all of the onions were planted. Now, the onions are re-emerging (probably four months later) with new greens and restored growth.

Off from Veggies for a Second

2011-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Trying my hand at profundity:

Suppose you have a painting in your attic that was given to you years before. At the time the painting was given to you, you were told that the painting was done by a hobbyist, and is essentially worthless.

You decide to donate the painting to your church for a garage-sale fundraiser, and in the course of making the donation, you learn that the painting is not worthless, but is actually worth $100,000.

Do you still donate the painting? If you do, you are in the situation that you had planned to be in before, meaning you no longer have the painting.

I suppose most people, including myself, would not donate the painting, as our heads would be filled with thoughts of the great things that could be done with the $100,000 (which would all probably focus on the accumulation of material things). And what motive would I have for keeping the $100K? I am afraid that it would be deep dark greed.

Week of August 8th, Recap on Informal Goals

2011-08-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Informal Goals:

1) Grow at least one meal per week.
2) Not drive a car on weekends.
3) Not drive to work at least three times per week.

Goal 1 -- Had "Cream of Garden Harvest" soup three times last week, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

I loosely follow the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/cream-soup-base/detail.aspx

Recipe is especially great for using up the zucchini. (Was talking to some acquaintances Friday evening who classified zucchini as being "obnoxious").

Goal 2 -- Did not drive Saturday or Sunday. Rode single speed conversation (look, no gears...well, one gear in front on one in back) to nursery and movies. Wife is a great sport regarding the movie ride.

Goal 3 -- Off work Monday, rode bike home on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Thanks to neighbor, friend, and coworker Jay for transporting me and bike in every day.

Mountain Biking

2011-08-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Today's mountain bike ride...9 miles of what we call Space Mountain. This is my favorite trail, as it offers enough uphill to get a workout, enough technical challenge so that I can improve every ride, and it's within a mile or two from the house. Brush had been cleared from the trail since my last ride two weeks ago, which was a pleasant surprise. Time to the top, 36:42.

This is my ride partner coming around the last turn at the top.

August 12, Pumpkin Disappointment & Next Great Broccoli

2011-08-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

The raised beds I love. One in the foreground, two near the playhouse/shed. The beds were planted in Spring, 2010. Previous to the beds I grew tomatoes at some various patches around the house and had a little success with planting pumpkins among the ivy hillside seen just to the right.

Speaking of the pumpkins, they are my favorite thing overall to grow. I make pies (while boldly disregarding seed type between jack-o-lanterns and food pumpkins), and I have made a little soup. Overall, however, I simply like growing pumpkins.

This year, however, has been a bitter pumpkin disappointment. So far, two pumpkins on the vine total, and not a female blossom to be seen. Joke I'm telling family and friends is that I have a well-attended pumpkin fraternity party in the backyard.

Meanwhile, leaf miners are everywhere. They apparently can be controlled by an organic product called Spinosad. I am plotting my next move.

Meanwhile, I planted some broccoli seeds in preparation for winter. I am delighted that all the seeds have germinated, looking forward to getting these in the ground.

Finally, a shot of today's harvest. I've been picking all week, so it doesn't look like much. Had enough to make soup on Monday and Thursday, and gave away a few tomatoes and zucchini.

August 09, 2011 - Bike Post #1

2011-08-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

I resemble that remark!

Blog Started

2011-08-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

August 08, 2011 -- Day before my 48th birthday. Feeling a little old, but note how a hiker at Space Mountain asserted that I've got a long way to go before getting old the other day. Anyway, starting this with an inauspicious post regarding zucchini. Above zucchini are from same six-pack purchased at local Nursery (Alpine Nursery in Newbury Park) a few months back. Picked both, along with other zucchini and tomatoes on Friday.

The darker green, grocery-store quality zucchini was from a raised bed filled with bags of gardening soil. The other from a bed filled with a bulk mulch-native soil mix I purchased from Carlson's in Thousand Oaks. Believe the green comes from additional nitrogen in the soil.