Link roundup

Bikes
Re:Cycling- Bike Activists Use Trash To Prove That Bike Lanes Work

Green Gift Guides
Good
TreeHugger
Inhabitat

Science and the Environment
How Climate Change Will Ruin Texas Football 

Women
Will Obama Abandon Women for Bishops?

Architecture and Design
Biomimicry in Architecture by Michael Pawlyn (Book Review) 
Funny, Star Wars-Inspired DIY Project Makes Laundry Easy 
UNICEF's Clever LEGO-Inspired Bricks Provide Food, Water and Shelter to Disaster Victims
Bridges are for People: Inhabited Bridges Could Help Pay For Infrastructure

Politics
Former sheriff Pat Sullivan jailed and accused of trying to trade meth for sex
Are Gays and Divorce Destroying the Welfare States?

But ... why?
Dunkin Donut Inspired Turkey: The TurDunkin 

Just Fucking Cool
My affair with Mexican slang

Portage

The post I was too busy drinking to write last week ... ah, Thanksgiving.

As we all know at this point, I ride a kickass set of wheels. The Schwinn Madison is a beaut (hell, at the Tweed Ride, I met a few twin bikes!) She rides like a dream and she's damn easy on the eyes, the red frame and white accents are a gorgeous combo and there's something deliciously old school about the way she's put together. J'adore.

People keep telling me to get a basket that suits her. Right now I'm toting a basic black (free) milk crate on my rear rack, and that seems to disappoint people. They suggest I find a nice wooden box, something suitably vintage to fit the overall aesthetic. Or maybe I should buy a nice soft box, one of those zippery things with pockets. I definitely see where they're coming from, a bike as awesome as Sidney deserves an awesome basket.

But quite frankly, I think my milk crate is awesome.

See that? My milk crate held my usual purse, a (very) full overnight bag (pjs, running clothes,—and shoes!—and a nice Thanksgiving dress) and ingredients for the hors d'oeuvre (yes, I did look up the spelling) I was making for before lunch. All of that crammed very nicely, and very securely, into that basic black milk crate. Boo ya.

Also, that thing hanging off the back? That's an awesome, 90s-tastic fanny pack. With my name written on it in glitter paint. It holds all my bike tools and spare tubes. Because a) I have fantastic friends and b) it works just as well as one of those pricey under-the-seat bags.

Ahh, fall has finally arrived in Texas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, yall.

This year, I have to say I'm thankful for my bike. More accurately, I suppose, I'm grateful for all bikes. It was just this past March that I ducked into my parents' garage and plucked out old Bertha, a clunker of a mountain bike they'd purchased at Target some time in the 90s. Three flats and one serious repair later, I was rolling.

And really, that bike has changed me. For the better.

Riding a bike has given me the freedom I didn't know I was missing. Riding a bike put me in touch with a smile I didn't know I had. Riding a bike introduced me to the people I didn't know could live in Dallas. To my people, the people a little more like me. Riding a bike has broken me out of my corporate hole and, simply put, made me a happier person.

So, thank you world, for introducing me to the two-wheeling wonder that is a bicycle. And for making me a kid again.

And I'm grateful for you, dear readers, and all of your lovely comments, support and inspiration. Happy Thanksgiving, yall.

This post was brought to you by a full turkey lunch and several glasses of wine.

Link Dump

Biking
Improve It: City Biking. Lessons for Toronto
Sharing time: Tracking 'sharrows' on city streets
New Idea for Sharing Urban Roads? Sidewalks Removed From Busy London Street Forces Drivers to Slow

Politics
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Newt Gingrich
'Super Committee' Gives Up On US Debt
Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News
It's Not That We Couldn't Make This Up We Just With We Had To: Rush Limbaugh Calls Michelle Obama 'Uppity'
By the numbers: The myth of 'job-killing' regulations
Michele Bachmann: 'I Haven't Had a Gaffe'

Science and the Environment
Karl Rove's latest anti-EPA ad is so bad it's been pulled from the air
Restoring Rivers Could Help Cool Cities
Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News
Obama: Climate Change Cannot Be Denied
Behold: The 20 Dirtiest, Most Polluted Cities in America
Obama Proposes New Emissions Standards on Eve of U.N. Meeting

Women
A Crisis In Our Military
The Other 99%

Just Fucking Cool
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the RPatz (no one hates Twilight more than this guy)
Crosby Returns to the Pens Lineup (yes, this is fucking cool)
Fox News Viewers Know Less Than People Who Don't Watch Any News
DIY: Hanging Glass Globes
Six Seasons and a Movie: The Stages of 'Community' Grief on the Internet
Build a Mini Rocket Stove From Upcycled Tin Cans

:(

I do apologize for the lack of updates. I feel like I've (at least briefly) run out of steam. So, at least for this week, I'm going to take a little bit of a break—unless something terribly exciting happens, so that is most likely doubtful. Thanksgiving has already begun over here and the food is weighing me down a bit.

Happy Turkey Day, folks.

I really hate that "Baby It's Cold Outside" song

(And click here to see why)

Beside the point. The fact is that after a brief cool spell, which warmed back up nicely for the Tweed Ride, winter is upon us (again).



But, apparently not for long. Check that, Sunday!

This screencap was taken a little bit later this morning, but when I took off this morning my phone told me it was 39°. Pretty impressive, I believe. Now, I remember when I was a Girl Scout, there was a "Polar Bear" badge that you supposedly only received if you went on a camping trip while it was below freezing (and I not-so-fondly remember shivering through a few 40° weekends). I'm going to follow the same standards here, so, not quite Polar Bear status yet. But I'll keep yall posted.

But I think I've got it figured out. This morning? Boots. Knee-high socks. Tights. Long shorts. Long-sleeved dry-wick. Sweater. Scarf. Fleece zip-up. Hat. Gloves. I might dive in and buy some better gloves—mine are the freebies from the National Marathon—but I was feeling pretty good. Probably wool socks next time, my toes did get a little frigid.

And with the time change, right around the point I think I'll probably freeze to death, the sun hits! Which is wonderful. And now that I have borderline-mastered the "Look ma! No hands!" routine, I can warm up my freezing digits with ease.

Still have an extra layer for when it gets even colder, too. Full-length running tights. Has anyone made a full-length running onesie? Suppose it would need a handy butt-flap, though. But I'd be all over a running onesie. Definitely.

So it looks like I'll be cycling through this winter. And that after 4 years of Pittsburgh, I will probably finally break down and buy me some long underwear. Until there's ice and snow on the road, at least, because that will probably send me scuttling for the warmth and protection of a steel box.