hillary dixon rust

I don't know if he'll bother to come check the site but...

While I was on Palos Verdes Blvd South today I met a guy named Chris on a super rad Specialized Tarmac (SL?) which is road cyclist code for super rad bike. I pedaled my ass off and caught up to him just so I could get a look at his bike and we ended up talking for about 5 minutes while we rode. 


He was on his daily loop and had plans to stop by a church his friend is remodeling. When we parted ways we shook hands and I suggested he check out the site since I am making a documentary about cycling. It would be easier with business cards (I'm sure they'll be here soon) but I got my full name out before he made his turn so hopefully he'll be reading this...that would be weird.

Well the reason I mention it is because it's the 1st time I've actually gotten up the nerve to tell someone about the doc/site that is just a random stranger. Everyone else, even the people I don't really know I at least know a little. Well whatever.


Chris, if you're reading this, thanks for the conversation and thanks for stopping by the site.  


ride report http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3272567weeblylink_new_window


Chirp,
hillary 

I love to ride for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is that I get to think. 
It probably sounds silly but I can't really think most of the time unless I'm doing something. I'm not sure if I even want that to make sense.

My point is that I got out on the road today and something popped into my head. The thought has been banging around in my skull for a long time but today it seemed more urgent and important.

The idea is that maybe this capitalist, consumer driven, disposable society we live in isn't really the best way to live. I mean, we all basically live like James Dean. Fast, loose and out of control. But some people don't even see this as a problem. They don't see it as something that needs solving. They either aren't aware, or don't care about the consequences of living life in this manner. Well, look at ol' jimmy now.

I think of things like disposable razors and it hurts my brain. The thought of developing a product that at its core makes it necessary to make more of the product seems insane. But we as a society have embraced this and now apply it to just about everything we own. We plan on getting a newer version of whatever it is we've bought just as soon as we possibly can. The example I use will not only prove my point but it will make me look awesome at the same time.

EX: I was coming down Melrose on my way home from my bike ride and I saw Blackberry (the phone) on the street next to a Jeep Cherokee that was parked outside of a Pet Clinic (the sign didn't say veterinarian). I stopped, circled back and picked it up. The phone had a scuff on it but the screen was intact and it was obviously still working because it started ringing in my hand. I opened the door to the Pet Clinic and there were 3 ladies sitting inside all holding onto their dogs. I held up the phone and said "This was on the street next to the Jeep parked out front." Immediately a lady dressed up in Juicy sweats and with a bit too much Botox jumped up and said "Oh my gosh thank you! It must have fallen out of my lap.". She looked at it, saw the scuff and then said "Well now I have to get a new phone."

Now, I'm not saying that it's completely horrible to get new things. I got stuck behind a guy today in an old VW Beetle that  had been extremely well maintained but in the end the engine just isn't nearly as efficient as a newer one would be and I'm sure that cute lil' bug has belched out more than it's share of poison by now. Solution? Get a newer car that pollutes less and keep it for another 15-20 years. 

I read a true story one time in Discover Magazine about a company that had developed a way to make scalpels and razor blades (and a ton of other highly useful things) that lasted up to 25 years without ever becoming dull or needing to be replaced. They shop their inventions around and were repeatedly turned down by manufacturers because they had a limited number of sales they could make. Meaning, once they sold one of their products the customer was set for life, thus they lost a customer. It seems to me that I would love to never have to buy another razor but I guess I'm crazy. It also occurs to me that there would almost always be more customers because new people are born everyday. But I guess a razor factory that has to wait for people to grow up and need razors wouldn't get much use... 

So the way I apply this to myself and the documentary is that if I had my way and the series was a success it would essentially make itself obsolete. Which I see as a good thing in a whole bunch of ways. Mostly because I love to start new projects and I already have a few that I want to do after the documentaries are finished. 

Chirp,
hillary

I thought it was going to be really hard to find things to do for the documentary that fit my general idea of what the whole is supposed to be about. But once I set out on my researching spree I've come to find that there are a million things that fit. Which is great but now I'm realizing that it might be harder to pick the "right" things to do.

It's not all about cycling.

While it's true that in a sense, this site is about all things biking, but there's really more to it than that and I hope to do a better job of exploring that. I'll start now.

One night fairly recently I was at a party sitting by the pool having a conversation with some friends. The topics of the night were much like the "mighty duel" between Wesley and Inigo in  The Princess Bride. They ranged all over and were as much like battles as pleasant conversation can be. Oh to be opinionated.  

We finally settled on what we were currently reading, which is normally pretty safe because we normally never read the same books at the same time and thus can never really debate the subjects. I had been reading a book that was partially about a group of people that "set out to save the world". It doesn't really matter but the book is nonfiction.

My friend immediately laid into me with "What does that even mean? You can't "save the world.". Do you mean "save the human race"? It can't be done. That's not a goal. That's just something people say. What are these people really doing?"

Sounds like a nice night huh? Well that's the way we like it. I explained the "saving the world" idea in a bit more detail but no one was having it. For example, they didn't see how studying traffic patterns to alleviate congestion made any difference. Heck, maybe I don't either, but I want to. And  my friend's comments did make me think. 

What am I doing to save the world? What am I doing to make it better for everyone? Is there something I can do that will support me that can also benefit a larger group? How can I do what I love and get my own selfish goals and  make that good for everyone? 
 
So, I made this site to support my idea for a documentary about exploring the US by bicycle. But why do I want to do that? Why not go by Smart Car or train? Well, I love riding bikes and have always wanted to do a cross country ride. I remember as a kid wondering if it would be possible to make it from my house to the beach without getting on the expressway. Later I did quite a bit of traveling by car across the country but it never felt quite right. It was always more about where we were headed and how soon we were gonna get there.

As much as I want to just get away and ride on the open road and not think of responsibilities or work or money or food, I just can't seem to do it. Even if I had the money to jump up and leave I wouldn't. I decided there had to be a way to make my selfish act of exploring the world in a way I love good for everyone. 

I've been working in Reality TV for a while and I've met and traveled with some amazing people like Emerson Jaco who I've become good friends with. On top of that, my best friend Zack Mctee (http://www.zackmctee.comweeblylink_new_window) owns and knows how to operate a really awesome Canon 5D Mark II camera that shoots high quality video and takes amazing still photos.  We all think it would be cool to meander across the country and make enough money to live and also to make something awesome to share with the world.  We also know that we are more than capable of doing it.

But it's more than the traveling and feeling of freedom for me. It's also a way for me to become a better person. You see, I am almost constantly confused by people and the way they do things and their reasons for doing those things in the first place. I dislike being confused. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you "hillary hates everybody.". Which in a sense is true because everyone confuses me, but in reality I am in love with all people and their individuality. What I really dislike about people, myself included, is our constant irrational and illogical behavior and I want to be less confused by getting to the bottom of this behavior.

Here's a quick example of what I mean - 

Are Cheeto's good for you? I think we can all agree that unless you are literally starving that Cheeto's are not good for you. So then the follow up question most people would ask is "Why do you eat them if you know they are bad for you?". Which is a very good question and one I would like to know the answer to but the question I really want to have answered is "Why does someone (a company) make Cheeto's?". 

I'm not going to try to answer that in this post. I will almost certainly explore the idea soon but for now I want to focus on why I want to make the documentary. 

So here I am, wanting to make something that people like, but that is not only not harmful to them, but actually good for them! And good for me. The only way I can think to do that is to meet real people one on one and have conversations with them about their motives and what drives them and hopefully connect with them in a meaningful way. If we can do that and make it entertaining to watch and get people thinking differently and bigger and in a more communal sense then I think I'd be happy with that.

I want to meet artists, musicians, people that run successful "Mom & Pop" businesses, urban gardeners, people that make their own clothes, regular farmers, people that make their own soap, urban planners, hunters, environmentalists, and you. I would love to meet you. Who ever you are and what ever you do and think and want and need, I want to meet you. Let's meet up and save the world. 

Chirp,
hillary  

But George Hincapie is really really awesome. 


http://www.aridewithgeorge.com/weeblylink_new_window



Really truly awesome. I even think this is an amazing documentary for people that aren't into cycling at all. 


Chirp,
hillary

It's been raining for over 24 hours straight in Los Angeles. I know in a lot of places this is a normal occurrence that is of little note but here...


It sounds cliche but I cannot remember the last time it rained here before Monday. It causes everyone and everything to go into a state of disturbance. It's like a stone being thrown into a pond. You may not even see or hear the stone break the surface, but the ripples come regardless. 


The first thing you notice is that everyone talks about it. It starts off with "Well we sure do need it." and "I LOVE RAIN!" and quickly switches into "Oh come on! Still!?" 


People's driving patterns change rapidly and none of the changes make any more sense than how people were driving before the rain but now the roads are slick and it makes it even scarier to be out and about. Some people slow down to well below what is safe and others speed up even faster than they would normally drive to get around the slow pokes. The people that slow down a little (like say, to the  posted speed limit (which many would consider normal behavior for driving in the rain)) get trapped in a bizarre game of dodge the idiots. Which is almost exactly like driving in LA all the time anyway but somehow the rules have shifted even though the board looks the same. Like playing Scrabble in French but with the same old English board and letters. 


I went and saw a movie in an old theater last night with some friends and there was caution  tape wrapped around in a strange Bermuda type triangle on a large group of seats in the front section. We assumed it was some kind of construction or remodel issue. The movie started and the rain picked up and the water poured through the roof all over the seats that were taped off. The hole in the roof could have been there for months and no one would have known because there was never any water to come through. It was an interesting situation. How can you blame them for not repairing a hole they didn't know was there?


 I personally am still enjoying the rain. I went for a walk in it yesterday just because it seemed like a good thing to do. People in the Pacific Northwest jump out of bed when it's nice outside to make sure and take advantage of the few sunny days they get every year so why shouldn't I make sure and feel the rain on the rare occasion it decided to spit down? Plus this gives me good excuse to sit down and do some real research into the documentary. 


I've pretty much decided to try to seek out DIY types, urban farmers, environmentalists, and anyone pursuing sustainable living. Essentially people that live not on the edge of society really, but sort of on the edge of "the system". People that aren't waiting for the government to come along and solve the problems of clean water and food that's free of pesticides etc. People that are forming their own ways of making this country livable. Or at least something like that. Heck, maybe the only people I will meet will be selling worms on the side of the highway. That could be cool too though.


The weather is supposed to make a turn for the sunny by tomorrow and then it goes right back into high 70's and sunny until we all forget what rain is again. Hello Halloween!


Chirp,
hillary

This isn't an actual fight so I'm sorry if you're disappointed. 

What this is, is a very casual comparison between the cost and efficiency of riding a bike vs driving a car. I say "casual" because I haven't done any real research to find the facts I'm going to present. I googled a few things and used a calculator to do some rough math. I will say that I have tried to be as fair as possible and that I will continue to be. I will do my best to explain "fair" as I go along. In every case I basically gave the car the benefit of the doubt and the bike whatever the opposite of that is. 

The car I chose is the Toyota Prius. I'm using reported stats from Car & Driver (online) for the 2010 Prius except for the price where I chose to use the 2009 lowest possible estimated cost for a new one because it was cheaper. I chose to use the Prius because it is the most readily available and best known of the "environmentally friendly" cars.

The bike is imaginary. What I mean is that I'm making a "commuter bike" out of tons of different types of bikes to make it the most run-of-the-mill I possibly can. Not the lightest, not the most expensive. Maybe something along the lines of a Trek Portland http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/portland/portland/weeblylink_new_windowor Trek 520 http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/520/520/weeblylink_new_window but fully kitted out with everything you could possibly need for commuting including shoes, backpack, pedals (which aren't included on any bike from a bike shop these days) etc.

So, let the battle begin. 

Round 1.
The Prius weighs in at a surprisingly light (at least to me) 2,932 lbs. 
The Bike comes in (sans rider) at around 30 lbs. 

This means that if you assume that all the same materials are used in the same percentages, you could make about 97 bikes for every Prius. That's 97 people commuting everyday versus at most 4, if we assume the Prius owner is also a dedicated carpooler. 

Round 2.
For the lowest cost brand new 2009 Prius you'll find it listed at $22,000.
For the bike, with an entire world of commuting goodies, $3,000.

The average person could own an entire fleet of bikes for the cost of a new Prius. You could get a grocery bike, a bike to ride to work, a bike to ride in the rain, a mountain bike for trails, and a road racing bike and still come in under $22,000.

Round 3.
The 2010 Prius is said to get a combined (city and highway) 50 miles per gallon.
A bike gets an estimated 638 miles to the gallon.

A gallon of gas is roughly 30,000 calories. Estimates suggest that it takes a human 47 calories to pedal a bike 1 mile at 10 miles per hour. The Prius would consume about 56 gallons of gas to get to New York City from Los Angeles. The bike? About 5 gallons. 

Of course to be fair, The Prius can do it in about 43 hours of non-stop driving if we assume they are doing the speed limit. The record for the RAAM (Race Across America) Is something like 8 days and change and at that rate of speed you're burning a lot more than 47 calories a mile but you're still under 55 gallons.

Round 4.
Disclaimer - The amount of CO2 to produce/dispose of either of these has not been factored in.  
Prius produces an estimated 4 tons of CO2 per year. 
A bike produces zero. 

Everything I've read says cutting our CO2 emissions is a good thing. 

Round 5.
Average speed of a Prius in city driving conditions is about 20 mph. 
Average speed of a bike is about 10 mph if you're trying not to sweat.

What does it mean to take twice as long? Most people don't live that far from work. If you live in Los Angeles and you're riding in rush hour traffic on your 6 mile (average distance) commute I can assure you the difference won't be that much. It used to take me an hour and a half to go 13 miles in my car everyday. If your work is 30 miles away then it will take you a bit of a while and you'll have to restructure most of your life around your commute. 

Round 6.
The Prius had heating, air conditioning, and a roof. 
The bike has none of those.

If you're on a bike and it's hot you'll sweat. If it's cold you'll be chilly, and if it rains you'll get wet. The good news is that with all the extra gear you get with your $3,000  you'll find that a lot of very smart people have been thinking about how to alleviate these issues and they have done a pretty good job so far. The cold and rain are almost a non issue with the cycling specific coats, pants, hats etc. The heat...well, you can't ride naked but if you're a full time commuter you can always bring a change of clothes and a spritz of deodorant right?

Round 7. 
The cost of owning/maintaining a Prius over 100,000 miles & or 12 years is estimated at $8,000.
The cost of maintaining a bike used to the same extent is under $3,000.  

This area is sticky for me. I checked around A LOT and couldn't find any real average service costs for the Prius. Just averages as projected by dealers etc. Also, Most other car/driving facts are estimated from 150,000 miles or roughly 12,000 miles per year so I'm not sure why Toyota chose 100,000 miles or 12 years. Maybe there is evidence that Prius drivers actually drive less. $8,000 still seems awfully low  but...$3,000 to keep your bike tuned and fresh and ridable is including having someone else do the work. If you do the work the cost is less than half of that seeing as how your $150 tune ups once per year just got sacked. 

Round 8.
The Prius has a reported 72 cubic feet of cargo space.
The bike fully blasted out with front and back panniers and racks comes in way behind with like 10 cubic feet.

This sounds like an awful defeat, but think about a majority of your hauling needs? What do we use all that space for most of the time? Yup! Groceries! Now take into account that the largest refrigerators have about 30 cubic feet of space. When do you go to the store and buy enough food to fill up your entire refrigerator? If you've spent the full $22,000 and added a dedicated grocery bike with a nice front basket to your fleet then chances are you will never have to worry about having enough space to get everything home. 


Round 9.
The Prius can seat 5 adults.
The bike just one unless you get a tandem and then you get two.


The Prius wins this one hands down when it comes to family trips and say, getting your wife to the hospital when she's having a baby. But let's be serious, if you're this dedicated to cycling, your hippy wife is having the baby at home anyway so...The Prius is awesome if you find yourself constantly picking up hitch hikers or stray animals as well. 


Round 10. 
The Prius holds its value better than most cars.
The bike holds its value far better than the Prius.


Assuming that the Prius will depreciate in value at about the same rate as most other cars, in 20 years it will be worth about 1/20th of what it is worth when purchased new if it is in good condition. 20 year old Bicycles on the other can routinely be found for 1/2 of what they were originally sold for. And even if the bike isn't in great condition (which means it's cheaper if you're the buyer) you can spend $150 bucks on new parts and add in a little effort and it will be running like a champ again. 


Okay, that's all I've got for now. If everything goes the way I want for the documentary we will have a hybrid car of some sort as our  "chase" vehicle and we'll be doing a real world test of me on a bike vs a car. 


It's raining in Los Angeles. 


Chirp,
hillary 

I bought business cards so that when I'm out riding I can give them out to people that I meet. It probably sounds kind of cheesy but I have met tons of other cyclists while just cruising down the road and there's normally at least a little small talk. So I guess I figure it's better if I have a little something to give them instead of just telling them about my idea and then having them forget about it the moment we part ways.


Hopefully the cards will be here soon. I made them as simple as possible and I think I managed to get them on recycled paper. I got them from Moo.com the site was a tad on the confusing side for me but Sara made cards with them before and they are pretty cool.


Okay, it's rest day and I need to get to it.


Chirp,
hillary