Charity and a Bicycle

I rarely give money to charities...not because I don't believe in it or want to, but because I rarely have enough for myself and my partner. What I do have, however, is:

TIME. 

Now, while planning Boulder's Disaster Relief Trials, and watching and learning from Transportland like a sponge, I have a few interim plans for cargo bikes in the People's Republic.

My bike & trailer at Naropa University donating some "free stuff".

Boulder Food Rescue:
Ever since meeting them at my first Boulder Transportation Connections meeting, I've been curious and anxious to participate. Doing morning and weekend runs with my trailer, rescuing food that would otherwise be thrown out, sounds like exactly the type of thing I've been looking for.

The Boulder Cruisers at the end of "Cranksgiving" last November. 

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless:
They have this list, which makes it incredibly simple for people wanting to donate in-kind (instead of money) items. So, I've decided that once a month, I'm going to pull my trailer along on our Boulder Thursday Night Cruiser Rides, gathering any donations I can get. Following the ride, I'm going to ride up Broadway, and drop off everything at the shelter for their use.

Picnics:
Okay, okay, I realize this isn't charity, but it is community-building, which I believe is just as important. The plan is to have some more picnics, inviting anyone with a bike and a few hours on a weekend to feast, play, and interact with the community. Cargo bikes and trailers provide the food, drink, games, tunes, and the bikes bring the people. The first big one is going to happen on the Nature Conservancy's "Picnic for the Earth" on Sunday, April 21st (the day before Earth Day).

So, maybe money isn't everything. Maybe time is money. Maybe time is more valuable than money. All I know, is Boulder needs this, and so do I.

My Earth Day, 2010

Happy Earthday! For those of you who read this, follow my Tweets, or have friended me on Facebook, you should know by now that I'm a treehugger. So, even though when I said, "Happy Earthday" to a customer, and they replied, "Oh! How old are you?", I put my best green footprint forward today.
When I first started commuting to work on my Trek FX 7.3 last August, I figured it would replace maybe 3 car trips per week. Over the past 2 months, I've driven to work three times, cycling the rest!

The one thing I haven't gotten comfortable doing yet, is cycling in foul weather, so when it started to downpour an hour before I was finished my shift, I glared at my phone, wondering if I'd chicken out and call my mom to pick me up. I paced in the breakroom for a few minutes before changing into my cycling jersey, and putting my phone into it's home on the bike (the under-seat bag). I rode. Not only did I ride, but I rode to Home Depot to recycle the dead CFL that was sitting in my 15 year old JanSport Bag.
I was worrying that finding a safe place to lock my bike up at Home Depot would be difficult. Not only was it pretty easy, but an associate even offered her assistance! (The gesture didn't go unnoticed, guys, thank you.)
I recycled the CFL, unlocked my bike, and continued to my last stop of the day.

While eating gourmet ice cream isn't environmentally friendly, doing some fundraising for the MS Foundation, and having fun with my new friends and teammates was just as important as me honing my treehugger lifestyle (such as it is). Again, finding something to secure my bike to worried me earlier, but managed to be a pretty easy task again.
While bike racks aren't widely available in Warrington/Warminster like they are in more bike-friendly cities, there are plenty of signs, poles, railings, and other immovable objects with which I could lock up against.







All-in-all, my EarthDay wasn't too eventful, really. While I would have loved to plant some trees, build composting bins, start a garden, or any of a million "green activities" I could have done to celebrate our planet, in the end, I did what I've been doing for awhile now. Now, back to tackling my "Boulder List".