Motorcycling (and Scooterin') Kossacks: Ride to Work Day Open Thread

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Sunday June 14, 2009 · 6:59 PM PDT

2009/06/14 · 18:59

TODAY is Ride To Work Day!

4 wheeled Kossacks, this is for you too... We 2 (and 3) wheeled Kossacks have been getting 40 miles per gallon without hybrid hassles for years. We can fit at least 4 of our bikes or scooters in the space wasted by one car. It takes one fifth the materials and energy to make a motorcycle or scooters as it does to make a car. And when we're not riding our two wheelers, we only need a large closet to park them instead of a garage. And while the folks trapped in cars are hearing about the environment on NPR, we're experiencing it- we two wheelers know all about global warming. So hop on over to the Ride to Work Day site, read the propaganda, then come back over and talk two (and three) wheelers- http://ridetowork.org

Update: Thanks for keeping the discussion going, I'm off for a ride on the Floyd B. Olson Memorial Highway... See you tonight!

MobilityGeek

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Thursday June 04, 2009 · 6:56 PM PDT

2009/06/04 · 18:56

I'm a gearhead, going by the handle "gearheadgrrrl" on various motorcycle and old truck forums. Gearheads usually don't write about minvans, preferring to wax poetic about the performance of our current fave motorcycle/car/etc. in virtual venues more gearhead populated than dailykos.com. But a near decade old minivan has stirred me to write.

I was coming back from southwest Florida to Minnesota last week, the boring flip side of a motorcyce ride down that included a 4 day get together where 600 of us ate 1900 pounds of chicken. I'd driven mom's 2000 Plymouth Voyager a couple times across town before, but never had to endure a minivan for 1800 miles. I stopped for gas after 50 miles, and quick math showed 23 MPG for a tankful that was consumed 80% in commuting around Naples and a couple months evaporation since I'd last filled the tank. The radio met my low expectations, but the handling was very un-trucklike and the seats reasonably comfy. I pulled of I-75 to shortcut through some better scenery on the 2 lanes...

MobilityGeek

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Tuesday June 02, 2009 · 7:28 PM PDT

2009/06/02 · 19:28

I've been following some of the diaries on the subject of Detroit's demise over the last few days. A common thread I've seen is complaints about the unreliability of american cars. Well, American auto manufacturers can and have done better- Ever look at the odometer of a big american truck? Rarely will you see less than 100,000 miles, and even 200,000 miles is considered barely broken in. Heck, the warranty often doesn't run out 'til 500,000 miles and maybe around a million miles an engine rebuild might be needed. But even at a million miles this ain't a week long pull the engine out of the car and tear it all apart rebuild- the diesel engines in big american trucks are designed to be rebuilt "in frame", with new rings, pistons, and liners slipped in from the top and bearings from the bottom. The electrical systems are the best available, with brushless alternators, circuit breakers instead of fuses, and LED lighting that lasts forever and is brighter for safety. At ports around the country, old american trucks are loaded for shipment around the world to buyers who prefer a used american truck to a new european or japanese truck- our american trucks have that great a reputation as the worlds most durable. Why can't we build cars like that?

MobilityGeek

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Wednesday March 25, 2009 · 5:47 PM PDT

2009/03/25 · 17:47

You'll note that I didn't name this "North Dakota flood" or Red River flood"- This thing is huge! Looking at a Weather Service flood prediction map, I see severe flooding forecast from the western Dakotas to Michigan, and as far south as Missouri. All over the place, and in places we never expected, flood waters are rising higher to record levels; levels above the highest levees if they have any. More below the fold...

MobilityGeek

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Monday March 09, 2009 · 7:10 PM PDT

2009/03/09 · 19:10

The airport is closed. Interstate 94 is closed in both directions. No travel is advised on any other road for over a hundred miles around. "No Travel Advised" is code up here for "we'd close the road, but we haven't got enough cops to spare". Schools, West Acres Mall, clinics, shops, factories, and for that matter just about everything is closed. But Amtrak came through for the Red River Valley with both the eastbound and westbound trains making all their scheduled stops in Fargo, Grand Forks, and across North Dakota and Minnesota. The westbound was 30 minutes late and the eastbound was 45 minutes late though... Even railroads have to slow down a bit to unstick frozen switches and sweep the snow off of signal lights so they can see them.

Welcome to the wild and wacky weather of the Red River Valley...

MobilityGeek

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Saturday March 07, 2009 · 5:33 PM PST

2009/03/07 · 17:33

Our world is in a state of panic... Afraid to make financial commitments beyond the "sell by" date of milk. Workers are being laid off in almost every industry partly because other workers fear they'll be laid off next and won't buy stuff and keep other workers working. What we have here is a vicious cycle!

Let's sit down and think for a minute- people are always going to need food, housing, transportation, etc.. But as long as panic plagues our economy, we're headed for a depression. That depression doesn't have to happen, and we Kossacks can help bring back prosperity. Over a million Kossacks visit this site every day, giving us billions of dollars in spending power... If we use it wisely. Those of you that are losing jobs have valid reasons for holding on to your purse strings and wallets. But many of us are retired and get a check every month, have safe jobs in stable industries, or are otherwise economicly secure... So with our $$$ we can help revive this economy. And for those of you not so fortunate, hang around- we need your input too!

RSS

Motorcycling (and Scooterin') Kossacks: Ride to Work Day Open Thread

Minivan Meditatations: How Chrysler Turned a Best Seller Into a Bankruptcy

Saving Detroit with big truck technology

Flood Thread #1

Blizzard thread 2: Amtrak makes it through!

Kossacks: Let's Stimulate The Economy!