It is amazing how perceptions of distance can differ between modes of transportation. One of the reasons I mostly stopped mountain biking years ago was the unfavorable comparison of total time dedicated to a ride and the actual ride time spent riding. The closest off road spot is a frustrating 25 minute or so drive [...]
I first read Proficient Motorcycling by David L Hough back in college when a motorcycle-owning friend recommended reading it before buying a motorcycle. Proficient Motorcycling immediately made it on my short list of recommended books. When I first posted my list of Books Everyone Should Read I wrote: This is the book on safe motorcycle [...]
Since the weather has been so warm and dry this year, the fair-weather bicyclists and motorcyclists are already out. That means it’s a good time to post a link to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s For Car Drivers website, and my own page on Safe driving around bicycles. It is also a good time to recommend [...]
In the past few weeks since gas has passed $3.40 per gallon, misunderstandings of what drives gasoline prices have once again become prominent. This has included a resurgence of the old supply-side myth with an emphasis on the source of the oil. Since this is a presidential election year, the opposing candidates have used and [...]
Yesterday was a good example of why it is important to always clean your car’s windshield completely before driving. I didn’t see the accident take place, but a car that was parked on the street was pushed about fifty feet down the road, onto the grass, and into a tree. This caused quite a bit [...]
For some reason Indiana doesn’t have an explicit law defining a minimum safe passing separation for cars and bikes passing each other. One law was almost passed a couple years ago, but ended up not being enacted. This needs to be addressed. Why is this important? The current law uses a subjective definition of safe [...]
Now that the slippery season is here, it’s time for a friendly reminder to drivers: Respect pedestrians and cyclists In addition to the general caution required of all drivers at all times, please remember to avoid splashing those of us on foot or bicycle. There is usually enough space on the road to move over [...]
Yesterday I mentioned that a car met the goal in the Vetter Fuel Challenge. This 100 mpg car is the MAX, a very small diesel car created by Jack McCornack. I was skimming his development blog and saw a good summary of the 1970s oil crises: Back in the ’70s, we experienced what I’ve been [...]
I’ve been following Craig Vetter’s motorcycle fuel economy projects for a couple years, and just noticed that he posted impressive new results. His goal is to create a vehicle that can safely and comfortably carry four bags of groceries on the highway on a windy day, and still get over 100 miles per gallon. In [...]
I just found Fuelly, and I immediately thought “Why didn’t I create this website?” Fuelly looks like a nice simple (and easy to write) site that allows users to track their fuel economy. It uses this data to generate histograms of mileage for any model of car with a sufficient number of entries. Of course, [...]