Montanaebiker’s Recent Comments

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  my house scores 71 but...

  We have everything in our small town within a mile so we scored high on the "walkability" however...a lot of jobs here are in the next town over, 8 to 10 miles away, so definitely something else to consider. My husband and I, and a lot of people we know, all live in one town and work in the other. It's the whole dilemma of the "regular folks" being driven out of the resort town by the millionaires, and the "regular folks" moving to the next town over, which has mills and plants, and driving out the "blue collar" workers. And making everyone drive farther to work. On Calculate how walkable your home is posted 2 years, 4 months ago 12 Responses

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  There are kits available...

  There are definitely electric bike conversion kits available, and they come with very good instructions, but if you dont' have a LITTLE bike knowledge you're going to have some difficulty putting it together the first time. Any local bike mechanic, even if he or she has never put together an electric bike, will be able to follow the directions - it would probably be a good idea if you already have a bike and want to get a conversion kit, to take everything to your local mechanic, and talk to them about putting it together. THEN once it's together and running, figure out how it works so you can do your own routine maintenance!

  One thing I haven't seen mentioned recently is helmets. EVERYONE SHOULD WEAR ONE! And I think that everyone I saw in BioD's video had one on. Don't worry about the spandex or the right socks or whatever, but you ABSOLUTELY should wear a helmet!! Even if you're the greatest bike rider in the world you still have to watch out for hte other guy, who's probably in a 3,000 lb hunk of steel travelling at a very high rate of speed!

  Here's another one for aspiring e-bikers - review the rules of the road that apply to you - especially if you're not usually a road biker.

  Finally, there's a really good comparison chart at the web site wildernessenergy.com that shows a large majority of the e-bikes and kits out there on the market now. It gives you a good idea of price variations and the difficulty of each installation. On Dumb and not so dumb questions answered posted 2 years, 5 months ago 51 Responses

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  a must read...

  This is an old one but a must read that I just started...so I don't know if it will be perceived as an "upper" or a "downer" - Jared Diamond's Collapse - How Societies Choose to Fail or Suceed, published first in December of 04. So far I'm finding it easier to read than Guns, Germs and Steel, which could be a little ...dry at times. And long. One of the things I'm finding fascinating about it is how ancient societies that "failed" could not see the warning signs that seem so blatent or transparent in retrospect...but Diamond is good at teasing apart complex reasons behind the collapse of specific groups of people. One little thing, like deforestation, coupled with a small change in climate, coupled with a warring neighbor...and you're doomed! Very very interesting...On Pick-me-up books needed posted 2 years, 5 months ago 7 Responses

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  Speaking of who's the real asshats...

  One thing I've always joked about as a waitress is that everyone should HAVE TO, at some point in their life, work in the service industry...to get a taste of what it's like to be treated disrespectfully by others. You really learn to be nice!

  And it's the same thing with mutual respect on the road or trails...everyone should have to see what it's like being a horseback rider and having a bike whiz by you and upset your horse, or being on a bike and having a car pass you on a tight corner (when there's a big straight stretch coming up...). You really learn to slow down a bit and give other users some space!

  Here in MT, on trails (I'm talking about dirt, in the woods type trails) bikers yeild to everyone - walkers and horseback riders. And I make sure to practice this every time when I'm biking because that mutual respect is what keeps our trails friendly for all users.

  It's much much different when you're a biker on the road, of course. But the lessons of respect still apply - if you're on a bike and going slow - pull out so a car can pass. And if you're in a car and approaching a biker, have a teeny bit of patience and wait until it's very clear that you can pass easily without endangering the biker's life! On Is your town? posted 2 years, 6 months ago 17 Responses

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  welllll....

  I live only minutes from Glacier, so this contest made me laugh, and of course made me want to cry!

  I think the "Bush Legacy" is hilarious, but we should keep in mind that while Bush has certainly done nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and really nothing that could even vaguely be construed as "environmentally friendly," it's each and every one of us who have contributed to this problem. So my suggestion is... Warm and Droughty National Park - Monument to Humankind.

  It's rather ironic that Glacier is part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park...what should we call that when there are no more glaciers? The International War on Nature Park?On Contest in need of Grist readers and their funny posted 2 years, 6 months ago 18 Responses