Reason #33 to bike to work instead of driving: You are more likely to stop and feed the birds your leftover baked lays if you're on your bike versus in your car. I love to watch them flit around enjoying the feast of crumbs on the ground.

Me and My Bike

My bike is my new best friend.

Living only 100 miles from the worst man-made ecological disaster in the history of our country makes it very hard for me to deny the devastating impact my everyday choices have on the environment around me.

The time has come for me to face a truth I've always known: a 10-minute air-conditioned car ride to work is not worth the suffering of a single bird.

And so I will ride, not in my car, but on my bike, as much as I possibly can. I will do this for many reasons, the catalyst being my guilt for my contribution to the human demand for oil, which has resulted in the suffering and death of beautiful gulf coast wildlife and marshlands.

Other reasons include:

1) Exercise -- Biking in New Orleans will be one great way for me to stay fit (avoiding potholes on one's bike is great agility training).

2) Save Money -- Biking everywhere means not having to pay for parking, or parking tickets, and less money spent on gas.

3) Look cute -- Biking means more people can see what I'm wearing, so all the more reason to dress cute!

4) Appreciation -- Biking will be my time for positive meditation and sightseeing on a much more intimate level. Being on a bike brings me closer to the very fragile nature at risk of being destroyed. I am part of the world, so I want to feel it in my hair, on my skin, in the breath that I take. We are all connected, we just forget because we shut ourselves off from the rest of the world in our cars.

5) Inspiration -- the more i get on my bike, the more likely I am to inspire someone else to do the same.

6) Hope -- I choose biking over crying. I choose action over words. My choice is for hope that things will get better for the world, that people will realize their part in the unbalancing of the sensitive dynamic among living systems. Biking gives me hope for overcoming challenges; it is my only comfort right now.

There are many more reasons to bike, but these suffice for now. I am only just beginning my journey, and am patient for profound revelations over time.

I may also walk or take public transportation.

Signing off and gearing up,

Fozzie