Disappointment Over Tennessee Safe Passing

Posted on August 4, 2009 by patclem
This morning, someone posted a link to the HBC list. It's more or less an article, written by police officer Alex Teach, making a joke out of David Meek, a prominent bicyclist in Chattanooga who was run down by a truck.  What a horrible thing - a police officer, sworn to protect and serve, with an attitude of neglect towards one class of road users - the bicycle driver.  I always wondered why the police never wrote a ticket.  I wondered why the Grand Jury failed to press charges against Keep reading [...]
Posted in Bike Advocacy Thoughts | Comments Off on Disappointment Over Tennessee Safe Passing

Safe Bike Route for HWEN to Green Hills Mall Area

Posted on July 15, 2009 by patclem
I had a discussion with a non-bicycling friend several weeks ago about bicycling, Nashville bike facilities, and the feasibility of bicycling for something other than exercise.  She was adamant that bicycles are impractical, stopping short of "bicycles shouldn't be on the road."  And there are plenty of greenways and bike lanes that bicyclists should stick to, and stay off her roads.  Interestingly, her husband, a former bicyclist, seemed to agree with her.  At first Keep reading [...]
Posted in Bicycling | Comments Off on Safe Bike Route for HWEN to Green Hills Mall Area

Riding My Bike to Work

Posted on June 3, 2009 by patclem
A friend of mine sent me this cartoon.  I hope it's not gonna get me a cease and desist or something because of copyrights.  I'll take it off if someone has a problem I guess.  But, Pat = Jeff.Rode my bike to work today.  For as much as I spout off advocacy stuff, I don't practice what I preach nearly as often as I should.  I should ride my bike to work every day.  Took off at 6:30am this morning.  It's 12 miles towards the lousy side of town - Antioch.  I Keep reading [...]
Posted in A Better Place | Comments Off on Riding My Bike to Work

Taking a Walk

Posted on April 13, 2009 by patclem
Donna and I walked over to her sister's house on Saturday.  It's easily less than two miles, but the route travels across I-440 overpass and continues on 21st Avenue.  Along the way, we were nearly run over three times, one time I had to jump back because the driver was speeding through a corner, looking back at traffic, and didn't see me until I screamed at him.  It's amazing how drivers are oblivious to bicyclists and especially walkers.  Nashvillians believe that people that Keep reading [...]
Posted in A Better Place | Comments Off on Taking a Walk

Disappointed – Obama’s Dog Choice

Posted on April 13, 2009 by patclem
Oh, the great buzz around the new Water Dog in the Whitehouse! Oh, the new dog has that cute curly hair, he's non-allergenic. What a great thing for the girls! What a horrible sad day for shelter dogs, perhaps all dogs, everywhere in the USA. The Obama family is tremendously popular. Michelle wears some brand or outfit, thousands run right out looking to mimic her. The Obamas choose a purebred Portugese Water Dog? Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, head out hunting for one. What's Keep reading [...]
Posted in A Better Place | Comments Off on Disappointed – Obama’s Dog Choice

Donald Hall Foundation

Posted on April 2, 2009 by patclem
You may remember this story from the DNJ back in February. On 1/21/09, Donald Hall was a victim of a hit-and-run driver and left on the side of the road for six hours before someone found him. Donald rode his bike to work everyday in Lavergne, TN just outside of Nashville. Donald is paralyzed from the accident and was recently moved to the University of Michigan Hospital to be close to his family. http://www.wsmv.com/news/18786996/detail.htmlAfter reading this story, Sarah Lovett and I decided we Keep reading [...]
Posted in Bike Advocacy Thoughts | Comments Off on Donald Hall Foundation

Dawson "Dee Dee" Clements

Posted on March 10, 2009 by patclem
Dawson "Dee Dee" Clements???? - March 9, 2009We were spending Thanksgiving 2003 with Donna's folks in Smithville.  As usual, Boppy and I were out at the office in the barn with the door open, enjoying the cool air.  An old ratty black cat was milling around, squauking, purring and generally looking for attention.  She walked with a crippled limp, and was skin and bones.  When Donna came out to check on us she immediately took interest in this old ratty bony cat.After Keep reading [...]
Posted in Family Stuff | Comments Off on Dawson "Dee Dee" Clements

Green Fleet Messengers – new service!

Posted on January 6, 2009 by patclem
Austin Bauman, a cycling advocate in Nashville, is starting a new courier service on January 12. Looks like he's covering downtown, West End, 21st, Music Row and Green Hills. What a great way to reduce traffic congestion, be green and get a package across town fast! You can get more info from Austin at austin@greenfleetmessengers.com Keep reading [...]
Posted in Bicycling | Comments Off on Green Fleet Messengers – new service!

Strange but Interesting Electronics

Posted on January 5, 2009 by patclem

When browsing around for electronics information on Arduinos and other miscellaneous stuff, I found this guy.
http://screwdecaf.cx/forearm-ruler.html
He has some really interesting projects, but most of all I like that he’s a nerdy tinkerer at heart, has dreads and he does crazy stuff like tattoo’ing a ruler on his arm.  Come on, the dude is seriously nuts!

Posted in Electronics | Comments Off on Strange but Interesting Electronics

DIY Bicycle Light Update

Posted on January 5, 2009 by patclem
OK, so I finally finished my DIY LED bike light using the 3-LED Cree XR-E design from www.bikeled.org. I rode with it last Tuesday night on the Natchez Trace ride with some HBC members. In summary, it's impolitely bright. Running at 1000mA, it's very much like car headlights, and even brighter than some of the headlights of cars that passed us. Most of the time, I rode with it dimmed down to 500mA or 350mA modes. Other comments - I bought the Cree XR-E star boards from DealExtreme. The parts Keep reading [...]
Posted in Electronics | Comments Off on DIY Bicycle Light Update