Oh, Yeah... I Still Have a Blog

Today, I woke up remembering that I have a blog that has been neglected. Rest assured, my inattention is (mostly) unintentional. Thank goodness this space isn't a small child or animal. My goal over the next few weeks is to actually work on a couple of posts. There are just some things that have been lingering in my mind or that I've wanted to share, but as usual, life has taken on too much of my attention and having an opportunity to simply think for more than a few minutes is rare.

*Image from Etsy... It's a currently available palette knife painting, if you're interested.

Locally, we've also been blessed with an actual, for real, autumn season (I'm not sure I've seen this more than one other time during our near-14 years in Colorado). We've seen no snow - at least not here on the range below the mountains, and even rain has been scarce. It's a strange feeling to experience 80F degree days at the end of October because usually snow begins quite early, and almost always at this juncture we've seen the white powder glistening on our roads and roofs more than once. Snowboarders are off crying in a corner, but I've found it quite enjoyable - and necessary - for some things I've needed to get done outdoors. I'm hoping it hangs on just a bit longer so that I can complete the necessary tasks and then the boarders can have their pow pow. 

Anyway, I did want to put up a quick request; well, actually, I have two. 

First, I don't care to get political here in this space, but I just want to remind everyone in the U.S. to go and vote this election. I am highly concerned about this one in particular as it has to be one of the most disconcerting I've witnessed in my lifetime, but for those who like to constantly state that "your vote doesn't count," I would just like to say that people have fought hard to have the ability to vote and there are many individuals across the world who would welcome the opportunity to have his/her voice heard in an election. So, take a few minutes to learn about local ballot measures, and certainly take more than a few minutes to learn about the presidential candidates, and then cast your vote.

The second request is also in regard to voting, and this one will really take just a few seconds of your time. In fact, it will take longer to read the paragraphs below this than to offer your vote.

Locally, there is an organization that assists the homeless on our streets. They provide varying sorts of assistance from helping with temporary housing, clothing, and so on. I have a friend who also recently started a program to give bicycles to those on the streets. She gets community members and businesses to donate used mountain bikes or parts and then has other volunteers assemble and tune the bikes. The organization then locates individuals who can use the bikes for transportation and sets them up with lights, locks and so on.

This organization (H.O.P.E. - Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement) is currently in the running to receive a $7,000 grant from First Western Trust. They are in the finalist stage, but they need votes in order to win the grant, and they have some catching up to do in numbers. If you would be so kind as to take a second and click here, you can help them reach their goal of getting some assistance to support their new sheltering service.

You can vote once per day every day until November 10, so if you vote today, you can go back and vote again tomorrow and so on, and you can also help by getting friends and family to take a moment to go and cast a vote for HOPE. It doesn't matter where you are in the world - every vote really does count.

*Image from HOPE. You can vote by clicking here and selecting HOPE

When you arrive on the voting page, it will ask you to enter your name and email address (I have not received any spam from this - I believe it's just to ensure that no one is voting multiple times in a day). Then, just scroll the page and look for HOPE (it's a purple logo, like the one shown above) and mark the box. You may get a pop-up asking for your phone number, but you don't need to enter anything in that box for your vote to count.

I appreciate you taking the time to help this worthwhile organization! I'd also love to hear how autumn riding is going for everyone out there, so, let's chat in the comments when you have time.

Pedal the Plains: Vote for Me, Please

Just a quick Friday post to ask for some assistance from all of you fabulous readers out in web land. I have entered into a contest for Pedal the Plains, a 3-day ride that takes place on the plains of Colorado. In order to get to the next stage of the competition, I have to get the most votes for my photograph. This is where you all come in to help me out.

*Image from Pedal the Plains

Voting is taking place on Facebook here. All you (and/or your friends/family/neighbors/enemies/etc) need to do is go to the page, look for the photo entitled "Steeling a Ride" and either "like" or comment on the photo. That's it. Easy peezy! You can also vote on Twitter or Instagram by using #steeling AND @pedaltheplains.

The contest is to find someone (referred to as a "Plain Pedaler") who will document the ride while on the journey with other participants. If you can take a few moments to vote, I would greatly appreciate it. Voting will take place until August 1. Thanks in advance for you vote... and Happy FRIDAY! Get out and enjoy the ride, my two-wheeled friends.

Voting Time! Paying it Forward Po Campo Giveaway

UPDATE: I have been informed that some Internet Explorer users are unable to see the poll listed in this post. There are five entries up for vote, so if you do not see the poll, please feel free to leave your vote in comments and it will still be counted. The choices are:  Cecily, Leila, Amy, Michele and Nanda (three stories listed here, and two as prior posts). You are free to vote anonymously as well. Thanks.
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It's time to vote for your favorite entry in the Paying it Forward Po Campo giveaway! Because I couldn't decide among these entries, I've decided to leave it up to the voting public (or I suppose, visitors to the blog). You can vote for more than one entry, should you choose. If you haven't already, please take the time to read each of the stories (none are long, and each were quite concise in their tale, so it's a quick read). Voting will be counted through Saturday, August 20, 2011 - so spread the word and definitely vote for your favorite story.


Cecily's story:

"Last summer, I was riding home on the slight uphill to my apartment. I was merrily granny gearing along when I came upon some shattered glass. As I swerved to try to avoid it, my chain came off the chain ring.


Now, being a newbie, I was having a devil of a time trying to get the chain back on. Lots and lots of cyclists passed me by, but one guy who was on a road bike, in head to toe lycra, stopped to help me put my chain back on.


It was such a small thing, but it was meaningful, especially when you consider about ten other cyclists rode right past me, even though it was obvious I needed help."


Leila's story:
"A few months ago, I decided to take a little bike ride around my neighborhood. I hopped on my vintage 60s CCM Catalina only to find the front tire was totally flat. So I grabbed another bike and hit the road. Unfortunately my hem had torn and wrapped itself around my pedal arm, causing it to seize. I braked and tried to get off the bike but my foot was stuck and I ended up falling, really un-elegantly into the gutter. I wasn't hurt (unless you count pride!), but a car driver stopped and helped me get back on and made sure the traffic wasn't going to hit me while I was down. I thought it was a really nice gesture."


Amy's story:
"Last week, I got clipped by a car making a right turn into a parking garage. The car's rear end pushed me into a large traffic cone. It was my first time making physical contact with a car. In my shock, I didn't scream or hit the car. IT also happened at a relatively slow speed and when the car contacted my handlebars and my front brake arm (nto to mention my own arm!) there was a metallic clang of metal on metal. I instinctively turned my handlebars in the direction of the car and ended up pushed against a traffic cone. The car intended to continue without stopping, if it wasn't for another driver coming out of the garage who witnessed the accident. He proceeded to scream at her: "Hey you just hit that girl! [pause] You should at least say you're sorry." I only heard his side of the story since he was yelling. She didn't get out of her car or even roll down the window to apologize. When it became clear that she wasn't going to apologize, the other driver threw up his hands in exasperation: "Just go then!" He asked me several times if I was okay before we both took off on our separate ways. I really appreciated his help even though I wasn't injured and my bike wasn't damaged. I was in complete disbelief at getting swiped like that. I was so shaky when I got to my destination that a waiter there asked if I was alright. I would like to think the other driver thought she hit a traffic cone, but she had to pass me to make the right turn and didn't bother to check if she hit me. This was a case of a good driver/bad driver."


Thank you so much to all the participants! It's been fun to read your stories, and I look forward to sending off a lovely and functional pannier to one of you in the near future. Have a great week, and don't forget to vote.

Another Bicycle Rant is Apparently in Order

Yesterday, I went to vote by bicycle (as I hope others did as well). My polling place is a short 3.5 mile round trip from home, so it wasn't a big deal to ride over. However, when I arrived, I discovered that there are no bicycle racks anywhere in the vicinity. I was a little shocked (though I really shouldn't have been), because this location also doubles as our county offices. I'd honestly never ridden a bike to these buildings because I normally vote through the mail-in ballot process, and I mail in my car tag renewal. This year though, my absentee ballot didn't arrive, so I decided to just go in person.

The only location I could find to semi-secure my bike was a picnic bench on the back side of the building. "Whelp," I told myself, "I guess this'll have to do." I headed inside to vote, and waited in a very short line (completely different than the last time I physically went to vote, which took several hours). The volunteers at the polling location of course have no knowledge of where the nearest bike rack would be, nor why there isn't one simply put at the front of the building. But, I have to ask what is going on when any of the nearby places I visit never seem to have a bike rack. The Home Depot that is about 3/4 of a mile from home doesn't have a bike rack, the 7-11 also has no bike rack, Starbucks - nope, Checker Auto doesn't have one either, and on and on the list goes. There really aren't many places that close to home for me, but the few I might choose to visit make it incredibly difficult to go by bicycle because of the lack of bike racks.

I'm really starting to feel inspired by S of Simply Bike, and I may have to start my own letter writing campaign in this county to get a few racks installed. It just seems so ludicrous to go to a small shopping center, restaurant, or coffee shop and not have anywhere to lock up a bike. I'm on a rampage now, and perhaps this is all I needed to get me riled up. :o)

A Voting Reminder

In honor of our day to vote, I thought I'd post a little history of women's right to vote. It's a story of our mothers and grandmothers who lived less than 100 years ago, and though some may have seen this particular information in the past, I think it's an excellent reminder of how we need not take advantage of our rights, and honor those who paved the way in the past.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

Lucy Burns

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of  'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

Dora Lewis

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

Alice Paul

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. (see http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf)

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

Mrs. Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a sixty-day sentence

HBO put out a movie Iron Jawed Angels and it shows a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. It's shameful, but sometimes the reminder is needed.

Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown, New York

All these years later, voter registration is still so important. But the actual act of voting had become less personal, more rote. Frankly, voting often feels more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it is inconvenient.

Berthe Arnold, CSU graduate

What would those women think of the way we use, or don't use, our right to vote? All of us take it for  granted now, not just younger women, but all of us. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the HBO movie in their curriculum. It could be shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

Conferring over ratification [of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] at [National Woman's Party] headquarters, Jackson Pl [ace] [ Washington , D.C. ]. L-R Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right)

I'm sure it would be jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane, so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it would be inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk, Connecticut, serving a three-day sentence in a D.C. prison for carrying a banner that read: "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed."

History is being made!

I'll be riding my bicycle to the polling place today to make my voice heard, and I hope you'll do the same.