Shek's Footprint

Home Depot has recycling containers. All kinds of sizes too! I bought a square section 30 L can for $12.00.

The city of Jacksonville would provide recycling buckets for free to its residents. They stopped that for some reason. When I moved to Riverside, I was excited to be able to recycle. People told me that I had to use brown paper bags. Even COJ would pick up waste for recycling only if it is in a marked blue bin or a brown paper bag.

I shop with a canvas bag. It seemed redundant to ask for a brown paper bag to throw away recyclables since not using is better than recycling. I started separating my recyclables from regular trash from day one in my new apartment. The first few loads were thrown with regular trash. I couldn’t find recycling bins anywhere. That till my friend spotted one at Home Depot while scouting for Bike Valet related stuff. I bought one today.

Recycling is the last stage in conservation of resources. The first is reducing consumption. I filled up my new blue bin with junk from the pseudo-recycling-trash-can. It was mostly full of dog food cans, some plastic soda bottles and two beer bottles. The plastic soda bottles are what my friend consumes when he spends time here. I mostly buy fresh produce and very little packaged produce. That keeps my consumption low.

Have you looked inside your recycling bin lately? What can you do to reduce what goes into that bin?

There I was enjoying a simple home cooked dinner with my friend Elisabet and she drops a bomb on me. “My friend and I are riding our bikes to Gianesville. Would you like to come?”

The first subjective thought was a resounding “Yes!” The objective engineer in me promptly took over and started analyzing this offer.

• I have not been riding regularly.
• Elisabet and her friend have been riding less than me. They work out though.
• We need someone on call either in Jacksonville or Gainesville or both in case something un-repairable breaks on the trip, namely a Plan B.
• It is 70 miles away. We are not even used to riding a third of that regularly.

Between Elisabet’s pleas of being spontaneous and my objective reasoning, I decided to sleep on it.

I have always wanted to tour. The three people whose tours encourage me are Ken Keifer, Russ Roca and Laura and The Stouts (who tour with two toddlers). I was skeptical about going on my first tour alone. This tour is an opportunity to have company and do a short trip. I also had some strong candidates for a Plan B.

Between the conflicting subjective and objective thought processes, I managed to find quality in this adventure. First thing the next morning, as early as it is allowed to send text messages, I replied,” Fcuk it! I am doing it”.

Desperate emails were sent to Russ Roca and Jack “Ghost Rider” Sweeney. Their tips are very much appreciated and summarized below the map.

We leave on Saturday morning, reach Gainesville by evening, rest, then leave the next morning and arrive in Jax the same day. This is the route that we have decided on.

View Jax to GNV by bike in a larger map

Some good advices:

• Take three spare tubes
• Make sure the valves on the tubes match the air pump
• Start with a big breakfast which will help you power through the first twenty miles
• Stop every ten miles to snack
• Eat apples, peanut butter
• Plan for a good lunch that you can look forward to
• Use padded mountain biking shorts

I am outfitting the Xtracycle with luggage. The heaviest items are food and water. This is my packing list:

Medical: sun block Tylenol Antacid napkins after-shave (disinfectant for cuts) bandage

Gear: 1 padded mountain biking shorts (wash and dry upon reaching) 4 t shirts 1 long pants 2 compression underwear 1 pair of boxers rain jacket safety glasses (for riding in the rain or in the dark) sunglasses iPhone iPhone charger extra batteries for headlight and tail light rag cycling cap Dr. Bronners liquid soap (good for washing face, hands, hair, plates, clothes etc) paper map (in case technology fails)

Tools: duct tape swiss knife 2 adjustable wrenches 13 mm wrench bike pump 3 tubes Nylon rope

Food: 3 bottles of water museli cheese (Brie) trail mix roast beef sandwiches sweet potato chips Hot/Cold insulated bag (folds flat and lighter than a cooler) Spoon

I plan to buy a cup of yoghurt and blueberries to eat with muesli Sunday morning before riding back. This I will do once I reach Gainesville.

I will try to post pictures on this blog as we go through our journey.

A tax is something that one is compelled to pay to be able to live a problem free life. We pay taxes to the government who spend it on schools, roads and public safety. Sometimes we resist with tea parties to the extra dollar they they raise in taxes. Once that paycheck hits our banks after a methodical deduction of taxes, we pay our rent or mortgage on our home that puts a roof over our heads and protects us from elements. We pay for utilities and for basic groceries to feed us and keep us nourished. These are means of existence. We absolutely can not survive without food and shelter. These are necessities.

In order to pay for these basic necessities, we have devised a system of compensation for work or service that creates a product that other people want to buy. We go to work everyday, get paid, pay our taxes and so on. Sometimes, we have money left over that we try to save for a rainy day or retirement, take a vacation, sponsor our hobbies or just plain consumerism. These are indulgences.

A car is something we buy to commute in a safe and protected way, though the safety of commuting in a car is questionable. When you are made to buy a car due to the design of the city’s infrastructure, the car becomes a necessity. It is not a cheap necessity either. A brand new car kept for 10 years with insurance and gas will cost over $200 a month, usually more than utilities to power your home. That is $2,400 a year. Most people do not keep their car for 10 years. For the first five years, that car costs over $500 a month or $6,000 a year. This car puts us in a random environment of traffic, made random by the presence of other drivers. Random = increased risk of an accident.

Mass transit, though costs extra tax revenue, and in turn the payment of extra taxes take the human element out of the commuting equation resulting in a safer method of commuting. The absence of mass transit or an effective mass transit will compel people to have to spend on a car. Such is the case with the City of Jacksonville. They provide an infrequent bus service with insufficient routes to conquer the vase expanse of the city. They also insult us with a skyway system that starts at a parking lot in the middle of nowhere and takes you to a convention center with ample on site parking, a college and a few other businesses. It does not even take you to the sports arenas.

Therefore, the citizens of Jacksonville FL, mostly republican, pay the car tax because it is a necessity, a need, not a want any more. No one protests at a tea party.

The struggling citizen who work hard to make a living are left behind to fend for themselves. They have to chose between a budget for either gas, car payments and insurance or quality food to feed their children. They choose the high-fructose corn syrup laden preservative infused cheap foods. They would like to pay premium for food not car but they don’t have a choice. They are not given a choice. Who cares about them anyway?

Some people understand the severity of this issue and protest on a very popular website namely metrojacksonville.com. I wish to protest by not owning a car. I moved recently to a walkable part of the city that put me out of bicycling range to work but I did not buy a car. If I was to pay a tax and had the choice to decide how much to pay I will try to pay the least. I wanted my mode of transportation to be reliable and requiring low maintenance. I bought the cheapest motorcycle in the market for $3,000. The insurance on that cycle is $20 a month. It gives me about 70 miles per gallon. The monthly cost on the motorcycle is $100, including depreciation. This is my protest to the city. This is my protest against the car tax.