End Pavement

There is nothing new under the sun. ;) Meet a non-poseur fixie messenger.

Said he was fourteen years old. Works until after one a.m. every night. He is precocious and not a little “tough.” Has been here at this office for only three months, but he already knows the Red Light District thoroughly and goes there constantly. He told me he often sleeps down at the Bay Line boat docks all night. Several times I saw his mother hanging around the office, but she seemed more concerned about getting his pay envelope than anything else.

(Via Shorpy, the 100-Year-Old Photo Blog)

Very thought-provoking essay over at Bike Commute Tips — “Bicycling against car culture” — in which this amazing tidbit resides:

One of the challenges is, of course, the hegemonic dominance of the automobile in American culture. The U.S. automobile industry spends $17 billion each year on advertising–by comparison, almost double what the federal government spends on transit ($9 billion)–to promote the supposed ego-satisfaction benefits of their product.

From afar, you see big changes happening in places like London, San Francisco, and elsewhere. Is there any chance for a car-cultural revolution in the entire US, or will they keep it going as long as the oil holds out?

Check out the bicycle “crop duster” in use over in a Beijing softball field complex. :)

More on the story at Murray Cook’s Field Blog, as pointed to earlier on Trolley Dodger.

Redlands, California, has been leading a local effort to repurpose and reclaim greenbelt areas, including the Orange Blossom Rail Trail Project. In yesterday’s Redlands Daily Facts, there was a story about some organized community outings called “Trails at 10.”

“Hikers, cyclists hit the trail Saturday morning”

Hikers, cyclists and public officials gathered Saturday morning to kick off a group of events intended to get the community excited about the city’s hiking trails.

“Trails at 10″ is a series of outings sponsored by the Redlands Conservancy and the Orange Blossom Rail Trail Project that gives residents a chance to experience the trails of Redlands firsthand. This year’s first “Trails at 10″ event took place Saturday, when hikers and cyclists enjoyed the Santa Ana River Trail.

The “Emerald Necklace” mentioned in the story refers to the idea of encircling the city in greenbelts. They are also talking about the possibility of hooking the trails up with the Metrolink system, which will be pushed out to Redlands someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. ;)

A story in the Press Enterprise has a tidbit on progress of the Santa Ana River Trail (SART) at the eastern end of the San Bernardino Valley: “San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Actions — 4-11-07″:

The board agreed to solicit bids to complete the last phase of the Santa Ana River Trail from California Street in Redlands to the Seven Oaks Dam near Highland.

The project, estimated at $600,000, will connect to a trail system that follows the river’s course through Riverside and Orange counties, eventually reaching Huntington Beach.

Previously on End Pavement:

• First SART explorations
• First SART explorations (photos)

Elsewhere:

• Official SART planning page
• Santa Ana River Trail | Celsius1414

Kent over at Kent’s Bike Blog recently posted on his find of a great ride on the cheap, in “Twenty Dollar Bike”.

Today, he continued the story as the bike evolves: “The $20 Bike Gets Coroplast Fenders and Baskets”.

I want to keep this project on a very low budget, and so far the main cost has been a couple of bucks worth of zip-ties. I scrounged the baskets and the coroplast campaign signs are free once the elections have passed. Adding the Princeton Tec EOS pretty much doubled the value of the bike but it’s such a damn nice little light and I do a lot of night riding.

Looking good, and I like the budget so far! :)