The Chub has returned!!!!!!!!!

Que the music, roll out the carpet, the Chub has returned. This hub embodies my initial love of track bikes and I was devastated when I could no longer find them. Thanks to the Hive my dreams of owning this masterpiece have come true. Now don't get me wrong I was riding track bikes before I discovered the chub hub in 2002(?) however after I discovered it I had my perfect track bike built in my mind. Schwinn Le tour frame with standard crank and stem, chub hub in the rear what ever in the front, brooks saddle and handle bar tape with reversed nitto mustache bars, I know not very specific or fancy but hey it was my dream, don't like it make your own.These hubs used to be hand made in a garage in Boston, if I remember they ran about 200 dollars, at the time they might as well have been 2,000 i was broke living on couches and in parks dreaming of affording Taco Bell let alone a new hub. Once I got back on my feet and was able to finally buy one they disappeared along with my hopes of ever owning one. When I say disappear I mean disappeared the website was gone with no post no any thing I couldn't even find anyone saying "goodbye chub" or "this is what happened". I still do not know the whole story I just know that they are back. What makes the hubs so great, one might ask. Well, they are designed to take peak spoke tension down 70 percent which transfers the energy of your pedal stroke more evenly through the whole wheel instead of being one sided like a lot of hubs are. Basically this makes for one of the most efficient transfers of pedal to power meaning less waisted energy and more riding. As soon as i saw the add in Urbanvelo I gave the guys over at the Hive a call they told me it would be a week or two until the first shipment was in and that no I could not preorder so I will sit and wait patiently for the time that I can claim my little piece of bicycle nirvana. I would suggest any one who loves there track bike or who is just learning, to check these guys out these hubs are way awesome, not to mention sexy. Good luck and make it a good ride.
zac

Taking the steps

So I said we met a wonderful lady who enjoys riding her bike like 4 weeks ago and I got to thinking about some things she had asked us.  One of the questions we get from other like minded people who have apparently thought about this much more than I is 'Did you practice or just go cold turkey?' The answer is we Practiced!  Zac and I spent a year trying not to use our vehicle.  We were blessed enough to have Zac work close to home in March of '07. He was so excited to ride his bike to work.  You should have seen him.  It was like the first day your mom says you can ride to school on your own, and you feel like you own the world. It was great.  Of course we had to outfit his bike with the proper equipment.  We had to buy a back rack and some bungees to hold his lunch box and proper pedals so he could wear his boots.  Minimal costs in comparison to driving.  At the time we were living with this wonderful older woman named Afton.  I was prego and was basically helping her full time, so I didn't need to drive hardly at all.  Zac and I fixed up an old bike trailer to be our grocery cart and it worked great.  All the people in our old neighborhood asked us if we were going to take Afton in it.  We never did.  But she would always smile when she saw us get our bikes out.  The only time we used the car for 3 months was to take Afton to church.  We went 3 months on less than a tank of gas.  Zac was so proud of me. I did have to use the car a couple of times though.  I was so sick when I was prego and Zac and I would have lunch together on Friday's so sometimes I cheated and went to Wendy's and drove to give him lunch.  Bahh I was so sick! Any way we practiced alot.  When we moved to Idaho we were very blessed, the town we lived in had a great bus system so we would ride it into town for anything we needed, laundry, groceries, movies, dinner.  We did still use the car quite often because I had a babysitting job that was quite far and the bus didn't go that far. Before we moved back to Provo we knew how close things were we felt we had practiced enough.  We also prayed about the decision to get rid of the car.  It was kinda scary. We had a small daughter and making sure she is safe is a BIG  deal. But in the end we felt we made the right decision and we haven't looked back since!

So these are the steps we took.  

 1.  Try to have a job close to home.  5 miles on a bike is Not  that far.  It usually takes about 30 min. if you don't have to many hills (and are in better shape than me ;)

 2.Try a trip to the closest market. Take your kids or whatever and just go get a popsicle! Get two and you can have one as a reward when you get home!

3. Get the proper gear.  Being car dependant means your bike is your car. Packing your bike for trips means lighter, smaller and more efficient. Take only what you need and make sure you have proper equipment in case of flats!

4.Bike paths and wide shoulders are our friends.  Riding the road is important.  You obey the law and it is safer in intersections.  Take proper precautions and wear a helmet and safety gear! 

5. You don't have to be car-less to be car free! 

6. Public transportation is our friend.  It does not make you 2nd class and if the buses look sketchy rally for better upkeep!

7. The best advice I can give is really to set goals and to reach them.  Just a little at a time.  Also try to find someone to do it with.  I always find that more enjoyable!

Happy Riding!

-Krysta

Oil prices?

Wow so I can't help but follow articles that talk about rising oil prices.  I know I really have no need because we don't have a car.  But I feel we still need to stay informed.  Oil prices have a significant effect on many things in our economy and I feel that sometimes many of us forget that our groceries and milk come from other places besides the shelf of a grocery store or even behind the grocery store.  You know they don't milk cows out back!  I was recently in a grocery store and a woman was protesting very loudly about the rising price of milk.  Remember that now Deisel trucks are paying 2x the amount they paid last summer! That is a huge increase.  Last year they paid $300 dollars per tank of gas now what is it at least $600! No wonder our food costs have gone up. Not to mention produce and other things.  I think it makes a person step back and really evaluate there part in a community. 

One thing that I have noticed recently is an abundance of gardens! I love seeing people just take a small plot of land in their yard and start a garden. Many of these gardens are no more than 10x15 or so.  But they are combating those high prices by becoming self sufficiant.  Kudos to all of you who have heeded the counsel of your leaders or who just plain love to garden!  

Anyway back to oil prices.  I found  a little blurg the other day about how many people were looking to find alternative ways to work. Even if you have a long/hot/dangerous commute, you can still car pool! Fun you get to have a conversation with someone besides the disc jockey.  Car pooling to the store is just as fun! Any who I recently saw some articiles that mention how many fewer miles America is driving this year (here).  It is an overwhelming number! Well to me anyway.  I know my husband and I cut our miles down considerably from last year.  We put 18,000 miles on our vehicle in a year! and that was without driving for 5 months! Needless to say we haven't seen our family much this year :( But you do what you can. Hopefully you all are thinking twice when taking a quick trip in the car. Let's all contribute to the lowering of Americas highway miles by buying local and supporting our friends.  

You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

Krysta

Hauling stuff with bikes

Zac and I really have come to love our bikes so much.  I am amazed everyday with what we can do.  I am very grateful for the wonders that have been built to make our bicycling lifestyle easier. Namely 2 items the xtracycle and the chariot.  I am not saying that you have to have these things specifically but the wonders that they have done for us are very numerous.  

Zac and the xtra and our bike trailer carrying Rens new book case.  ($10 yard sale find! Ya)

Laundry, grocery, Dale and Ren carrier.

Headboard and carseat carrier.

This was meant for tech stuff but that didn't pan out.  Still great set up for hauling small stuff.

 Plus bikes have opened up a lot of opportunities for us to meet new people. Saturday we hit up the Provo farmers market.  Which is wonderful and we get to meet like minded people. We met a really great lady and hopefully talked her into riding her bike more! She is already great about it, but still looking into going bike dependant.  It is always neat to meet other people who choose alternative methods other than cars.  It's fun to learn new things and share stories and ideas. We really have noticed a change in our attitudes I guess you could say.  We no longer are in a hurry.  I definitely don't have road rage anymore.  We get to enjoy not only one anothers company but we meet new people and we see new things everyday.  It's fabulous! I like having a sense of community, understanding and knowing your neighbors. It always opens opportunities to serve people and often times to share the gospel. Big bonuses in my book.  Sunday of course was Father's day.  A very wonderful day.  We rode the xtracycle to church with 2 paniers full of Father's day cookies.  It was so much fun.  Ren gets a kick out of having the wind blow on her face, and I love the reactions on peoples faces when they see me riding on the back of the bike.  Priceless! Anyway think about riding a bike! Try it you might like it, plus you can just do it for fun or excersize.  Just do it cuz it feels soooo good!

Krysta

It's easy! Just try it once!

We have some really wonderful friends. These 2 other couples only have one vehicle between each couple.  I am pleased to say that they are both using alternative transportation and only minimally using their cars.  This brings a smile to my face.  Every chance my husband and I have we try to get them on bikes.  The other day we needed some things from the store (only 3 blocks away) so I took my friend and the xtracycle to the store.  She was super nervous to ride because she hadn't been on a bike for years. She did fabulous! We hadn't even gone even a block and she turned to me and said "This is absolutely wonderful! I need to get a bike!". Chalk one up for another bicycle conversion.  Conversion isn't even the correct word because we were all in love with bikes when we were younger right?  Who didn't love the first time that there dad took their training wheels off! Think back.  A little bit farther. There it is. That wonderful moment.  Freeze and keep it right there in the front. Don't let it go. Now imagine having that feeling everyday, or even once a week! Oh absolutely wonderful.   Just makes me smile.  

Take the time.  Ride a bike.  Remember how good it feels! Just around the block or around the driveway! Take the kids along.  Share a smile!

Krysta 

For my sisters (otherwise I wouldn't normally do this)

1. What is his name? Zachary Aaron Whitmore
2. Who eats more? I think it's about the same (though you couldn't tell by our sizes).
3. Who said I love you first? I think I did but I can't remember.  Something about a Weezer song, 'El scorcho' I believe.
4. Who is taller? Zac by the perfect 'head tilt kiss' amount of inches.
5. Who is smarter? Zac has the most amazing memory so I think he has the leg up.  I once knew a lot but I have forgetting problems.
6. Who is more sensitive? Probably me. But he does his fair share.
7. Who does the laundry? Me and I don't mind.  He helps by reminding me to put the clean clothes away ;) once again forgetful problems.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does but it switches to whichever side is closest to Ren.
9. Who pays the bills? Me but there aren't many and most are direct deposits.
10. Who cooks more? I do but I hate it.  I am a boring cook.  If it tastes good I got the tips from Zac who is amazing but likes me to dote on him.
11. There was no 11....So I'll make it up.   Who can blow more bubble in their milk? Me cuz I'm an airhead. hehehe Amber cuz she put her mouth up to the air conditioning in the car. (member that kiddo) good times.
12. Who is more stubborn? (had to look up stubborn in the dictionary) Honestly I don't think we are stubborn. We talk a lot and plus it just causes unwanted contention.
13. Who is first to admit they are wrong? Probably me. I am horrible at staying mad.
14. Who is more clean? Me but only because he motivates me.
15. Who has more siblings? Me 4 sisters, Him 2 sisters 1 brother.
16. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We share them, Thats what a 'help-meet' means! We never do anything, and I mean anything without talking to each other. ie buy stuff, go to the bathroom, change our underwear, rent a movie, you get the picture.
17. What do you like to do together? EVERYTHING, seriously I really enjoy his company, plus I married him because he is adventurous meaning everything we do together is always meaningful and rewarding.
18. Who eats more sweets? He would never admit it, but we tie.  He can always go for a 'treaters' well except when he is 'detoxing'
19. Guilty pleasures? Um bikes, bikes, tech stuff, bikes, Wii, bikes,  um did I mention Bikes?
20. How did you meet? Longboarding. A kid from the singles ward told Zac I kept my longboard in my truck and Zac got my number.  (I was dating 2 other people at the time) Dating not 'Going out.' Dating: the ancient art of getting to know a person while enjoying a fun, wholesome and entertaining activity no affection required.
22. Who proposed? He did. It was so cute with his broken arm and his bicycle gear.  He put the ring in with the hardware for my new front basket on my bike and told me to put it on my bike and I found the ring. It was so wonderful.  Still have the basket. 
23. His best feature? I'm gonna go with heart, butt, smile, jaw, facial hair and eyes. In no particular order.
24. What is his greatest quality? His desire to be better.  It is really motivating and inspiring.
I tag your mom and don't forget the new number 11.

Missin' Idaho

So the big moved happened.  We have once again relocated to Provo Utah.  Somehow it isn't the same magical place it was when we first moved here over a year and a half ago. I can't say I have lived in many places but Idaho was definitely one of the best ones so far.  Plus a lot of magical things happened/are there.  

1. Karen was born

2. We sold (got rid of) our car

3. Amazing bike paths (Some clear all winter)

4. Amazing amazing beautiful scenery.  I mean it is not everyday you wake up and see elk less than a football field from your window or ride on the bike path to the ski lodge, or ride your bike and see 2 moose in the river only 30 ft from you (don't worry I was super careful around them), or have mountains on all sides of you less than a mile away.

5.  Have your husband work across the street so you get to see him for lunch and break (sigh).

You know this list could go on and on, but it doesn't mean I don't love Provo too.  It is a great place to live.  My husband and I really love college towns and enjoy the 'culture' that comes with them too.  One thing I do have to say about being back in the city is that it sure is loud.  I miss my bike paths that were far from the road, meaning less noise, dust and traffic danger.  I am still getting used to riding on the roads, and having to watch all directions of traffic, as well as watching all four points in an intersection (especially the right hand turning lane, those guys always miss the stop line.) But it is all good.  At least I can ride my bike around and there is minimal traffic in our neighborhood.  I think the whole 'no car' thing hasn't really set in yet.  I don't know if it ever will.  I mean my bike can get me anywhere I want to go, the mall (not that I really shop though), the grocery store, the hardware store, the craft store, the pet store, you catch my drift.  For short-long trips there is a great bus system and for family trip, car rentals are $40 bucks a day, you really can't beat that. In the month of April we rented 3 times and it still cost less than our monthly car payment and monthly gas bill.

We like our lifestyle more and more everyday. (Especially when we balance our checkbook)