There are few bike lanes between West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. So, as is my right, I occupied the entire lane on the far right of the fast-moving eastbound Pico Ave. Yeah, that’s the law folks. I get a lane.
Of course, to make a point, drivers get threatening when then have to momentarily change lanes to avoid a cyclist. The worst was when I almost clipped on purpose by one asshole with a BUSH CHENEY STICKER, like he was making a point. Another came too close and HONKED. Like it’s MY fault that there’s no bike lane on the shortest route to MY office.
Tomorrow, I ride with a message. I’m going to make up some patches, just magic marker and scrap cloth, the size of my backpack, and pin one on each morning, so people know WHY I bike to work.
Slogans like:
I’M NOT PAYING $3 A GALLON TO GET TO WORK TODAY
THIS BIKE DOESN’T SUPPORT THE TERRORISTS
(LIKE YOUR SUV DOES)
IF YOU WANT THIS LANE BACK
LOBBY FOR BIKE RIGHTS
I DIDN’T TRADE BLOOD FOR OIL TODAY
And so on, and so forth.
My commute to my Venice office was just to get minimum exercise.
My commute now is becoming a political statement.
By the way, ANYONE bitching about high gas prices should shut the hell up about it. Sorry folks. If you don’t like paying $3/gallon, START WORKING TO CHANGE IT. Lobby for better public transit. Tell your government representatives to use that $286B transportation fund to build monorails, not freeways. Take the bus or train, ride your bike, walk. My bike commute is 10 minutes longer each way than my car commute was, I don’t have to deal with parking, I get to lose weight, I’m reducing oil demand AND saving the world…not to mention the few dollars my baby Saturn might eat in gas.
And yes, I know many people have reasons to use cars, and need cars, and absolutely cannot get around it. But gas prices for them would come down if everyone ELSE worked a little harder.
And now, a quote:
Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that with gas above $2.50 a gallon in Texas, his constituents were complaining plenty about prices. But when he lists for people the possible short-term fixes — “price controls, mandatory carpooling, lowering speed limits — they say, ‘No, we’re not for that.’
“People would love to be paying about half what they’re paying for gasoline, but they’re not willing to subject themselves to the loss of personal freedom and convenience that that would require,” Barton said.
High gas prices are a sign that America has patterned its society around the wrong resource. Take the sign – and work for change.
Jillian's Blog 
Way to go, Jill! You are a constant inspiration.
Awww, thanks so much!
Really, I’m just putting my more obnoxious tendencies to good use here 😉
Good for you …. now some facts
Its great that you are riding your bike … GOOD FOR YOU
But i need to make some facts clear for ya….
1) before war = Iraq 2.5 Million per day …. after Iraq war started …. 2.2 billion
so its not really valid to make the statement “no blood for oil”
2)Lets talk about why this qoute from barton is so flawed:
a) price controls – HOW … Oil prices are based on GLOBAL demand
next time you are at the store tell the person at the counter that you have put “personal price controls” on the rpice of milk …. see how that works
b) Mandatory carpooling – I mean come on folks … hows that gonna work… you would spend more money in lost time and idling fuel
c) lowering speed limits – to what …. maybe he should learn how engines work …. your car burns more gas in the lower gear (more unused energy is realeased as heat)
3) putting more money into mass transportation will not change the culture of L.A. this is LALA land folks ….. very few peopleion LALA land have any grasp of reality
none the less this is still one of your best post … it had very little missinformation and is an example of what a blog should be … opinion..
Oh and for all you folks out there that will soon be spending $3.00 a gallon …….
My 99 Merc E300 Turbo Diesel is costing me 3.00 a gallon … Oh but wait … after you consider the effecency factor … i am down to about 2.30 per gallon ….. (and for you speed demons I am running a propane booster and soon will be playing with an electrocharger {electrochargers use a high tourge electric motor to help where diesels have extremely bad “off-the-line” performance AND it will also be classified as a hybrid so i get to take the tax break too}….
and all yall hippies will love this …. its BIODIESEL … so guess what my price will be this winter … yep 3.00 … oh and next summer … yep 3.00 …. and i get to store it at the house in 2 50 gallon drums because its not a hasmat product. And they deliver it to ya at the house …
Oh a few other benifits …. my engines “gas” also acts as a detergent … meaning less oilchanges
B100 burns at a MUCH lower temp …. much less energy wasted at idle
Soy based b100 has no smell … but if ya want you cna dump some perfume in there (waterbased only) and it will smell like whatever ya want
I am ex-texan … so the chances of me running a car with the garage door closed is high ….. B100 does not release anything that will kill me if I do
I could haul a large boat with the tourqe this thing puts out …. not sure that i ever would … but as a ex-texan … the urge is allways there
I can drink my fuel and not die …. i would be very sick … but not dead ….
I can smoke and fill my tank …(once again texans really need to consider that)
in the event that my fishfryer runs low on oil … I could in emergency cases use my B100 to deepfry something if i needed too (Kidding HEY TEXANS DON”T USE B100 for cooking … you will harm yourself as well as ruin a perfectly good fish fryer. B100 is enriched with lots of things that would make your food very nasty … as well it may actually catch on fire if boiled to high)
If I am ever in a car chase and need a james bond kind of get away … pulling the O2/Heat box and pouring the “gas” on the road would act as a oil slick system (spy hunter geeks would understand)
I am helping farmer joe … not abdul jahard igotabomb (once again .,…. just ebing funny)
Finnally I should note that the 2nd largest oil reserve is in CANADA …. Iraq is the 3rd …. maybe WE SHOULD have some blood for OIL *grin*
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
To 55. When you’re in the top gear anyway, it is more efficient to drive at a lower speed. I found last week that my car was about 15% more efficient over long distances on twisty roads where I had to drive 55 or below than it was for long distances on I-5 when I was driving 80.
It’s so efficient that it changes gas prices? That’s pretty amazing.
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
well this may be true if your car has no overdrive ….
Ok the last comment kind of helps me understand your first statement
Most diesels will get you 35 to 50 MPG …. so yes … it is cheaper …
and yes it is pretty amazing that folks don’t know that.
Oh … and Biodeisel is at a stable price … yeah that means the price doesn’t change (well i would assume it will over a long period of time to match inflation and all)
I was comparing the cost of B100 to the cost of 87 octane. There “effecency factors” are not 1/1 so i was helping folks who don’t understand that….
Forgot about LALA land ……
Oh one more point …. idling is very bad for a regular car …..
Diesel… not a bad thing….
Oh and i can Idle my Biodeisel ALL I WANT …. because I don’t need to feel guilty for putting crap in the air.
At least Barton told it like it is.
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
How is biodiesel created? Does that part of the process put crap in the air? Please supplement your analysis with sources.
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
Overdrive is just a different gear ratio that is efficient at high speeds. That doesn’t mean that overdrive makes driving 80 mph more efficient than driving 60 mph. What it might mean is that you never get into overdrive when you’re going 80 mph because the car’s engine might not be powerful enough to turn at that gear ratio.
Getting 50 MPG doesn’t make the gallon of gas cheaper, you just use less of it.
Your car puts crap in the air when it idles just like any other car, just not as much as a regular diesel engine. There are cars that do not idle at all, which people can legitimately feel guilt-free about.
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
Also, so as to not just be arguing in‘s blog comments without commenting on the original post:
Scary stories like that are why I am staring at my bike laying in pieces on my living room floor instead of riding it to school in the mornings. The idea of biking in LA freaks me out. It was scary enough for me in Seattle, where drivers are generally courteous to everybody. Good for you for standing up to those bastards, just be careful!
Yeah. When it comes to actually making a sacrifice…people would rather complain than try to change things.
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
So many replies … i will keep them short:
Well there is a bit of CO 2 put in the air but in the production phase … no not to much. Well i think there are some recovered byproduts as well .. ya know soap making stuff…
How to make B100
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
And no I won’t supplement anything … read it for yourself
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
Mike, you’re replying to comments in my journal on a Friday at 10pm. DO YOU NOT HAVE ANYWHERE BETTER TO BE???
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
Overdrive is 1 over direct drive … meaning a >1/1 ratio ….
Engine tourqe has nothing to do with how many gears you have …
Moving on past your other comment … UHHMMM OK dude whatever …
not even going to argue that with you …. beside if your going to get that technical … its not gas ….
its that whole apples to oranges thing ….
BUTTOM LINE …. you GET more MPG with diesel … I once did the numbers but i supect that I need to redo the numbers now … need to recheck some things to see how we have been doing with the last tune.
OH and those cars that can idle guilt free …. look up what it takes to make an LiO battery pack…. oh wait how about NMHi
now thats pollution
Re: Good for you …. now some facts
nope … just got home from the shop actually …
hey wait … don’t YOU hsve anywhere better to be…
Ok i must go entertain the wife or my pelt will be hanging in a hall in china somewhere and my nether regions will be some impotent mans tea