Biking Pork

I read here about a piece of pork that got into this $700b bailout bill. The pork is a bill which offers corporations a $20/commuter/month tax credit per cycling employee. While I agree in principle with the result, I have to say I'm not impressed that a senator switched his support of the bailout because of this earmark. Some might call this compromise in action, but I tend to see it as a selfish hold-out for a pet interest. Can I get an Amen, anyone?

Here's the relevant snippet of H.R. 1424  (in full here):

"To provide authority for the Federal Government to purchase and insure certain types of troubled assets for the purposes of providing stability to and preventing disruption in the economy... (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)"

...

SEC. 211. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.

(a) In General- Paragraph (1) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(D) Any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.'.
(b) Limitation on Exclusion- Paragraph (2) of section 132(f) is amended by striking `and' at the end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting `, and', and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
`(C) the applicable annual limitation in the case of any qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement.'.
(c) Definitions- Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(F) DEFINITIONS RELATED TO BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT-
`(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term `qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement' means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee's residence and place of employment.
`(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term `applicable annual limitation' means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.
`(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term `qualified bicycle commuting month' means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee--
`(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee's residence and place of employment, and
`(II) does not receive any benefit described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).'.
(d) Constructive Receipt of Benefit- Paragraph (4) of section 132(f) is amended by inserting `(other than a qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement)' after `qualified transportation fringe'.
(e) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008.

Try as I might, I could not locate the section 132(f) referred to in this final copy. I suppose that's why they hire full time staff, to sort through the tangled wording of such bills. Anyway, shouldn't a bill to provide a tax incentive for bicycle commuting be voted on as a bill to promote bicycle commuting? Here's a short list of some of the other gems tucked away into this one:

• renewable energy credits
• tax credit for fuels used by the steel industry
• clean coal technology investment credit
• CO2 sequestration tax credit
• biofuels tax credits
• plug-in electric vehicle credit
• tax deduction for energy efficient buildings
• tax deductions for domestic hydrocarbon production
• railroad track maintenance
• indian employment tax credit
• duty suspension for wool products and wool research fund
• Sec 401 "permanent authority for undercover operations" !!!
• Sec 503 "exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children"

These are but a few of the many many many tag-ons to this bill. I think we're getting a heck of a lot more than we've bargained for on this one...

Shizknit

I kind of dig this blog I found called "She Knits Shizknits". She's into biking, knitting (surprise), spinning her own yarn, and general geekiness. Anyway, lots of interesting Xtracycle experience is posted there. Xtracycle is becoming quite the rage in the biking blogosphere these days...

Why??!!

Why is it so stinking easy to get distracted while working on paper manuscripts? They're both due next Wednesday, and I really don't have any time to waste...

At all.

Too Hot

I am here to testify that even if one grows up in Texas, it does not guarantee a love of hot weather. For seven and a half years, I lived on the east coast, two and half years in Boston, and five in upstate South Carolina. In both of those places, September is a month of respite, of enjoying the coolness of fragrant Autumn breezes from the north, of the gorgeous colors of deciduous trees. Then, for some strange reason, I moved back to Austin, where a 10 degree dip in the temperature only barely gets us out of the 90's. Augh!

We got a brief little hiatus after Ike hit, but it's beginning to feel a lot like summer again. For the last week and a half, I have enjoyed not sweating profusely while biking home in the afternoons. In the graph above, it's usually at the max temperature that I make my ride home, and today was well into the 90's again. To think that a week ago I was actually a little cold on my morning ride!

The weatherman says we should have a slow, steady decline in temps for the rest of the week, but after having lived elsewhere and realized that this is not normal, I'm getting impatient for those Autumn breezes. After graduation, it's Northward Ho! Anywhere with four seasons!

It's time for a new seat

Alas, my faithful and intimate companion is close to retirement. I speak of my bike seat, which has served me well for many years. It took me a while to find just the right one, and I have a few old seats in my shed which did not pass muster before, inevitably leading to numbness and later to soreness on account of being too soft. Many recreational seats are marketed for their padding, but after more than a few miles, all that squishy padding ends up acting like a tourniquet on some pretty important arteries. I will say no more.So, the question arises of what to replace with. I'm thinking of two options, and they represent two quite different approaches. The first is less expensive, will not last as long, but would probably be OK for several years more. The critical feature is the cut-out, as shown in the $40 example below:

The other option appeals to the pay-for-quality buy-it-to-last-forever side of me, which is the fabled Brooks saddle:
You have to read the website and look at a couple of pages of Google search on "Brooks Saddle" to understand just how truly special it is. It is in fact a stretched leather upper that breaks in over a month or two and becomes personalized to one's own particular shape. There are plenty of stories of people riding the same saddle for 50 years and more. Apparently, after it's broken in, it more or less disappears from underneath you and you don't notice it any more. The only catch for me at present, and the reason that I hesitate, is the usual $80+ price tag. It is ill-advised to buy one used since it may have broken in on someone else's bottom...

So, that's the dilemma. I'll post a photo of the new saddle once I've decided.

Escalade Hybrid ??!!

Will somebody please explain this vehicle to me? I just don't understand the buyer who would fall for this automotive equivalent of the triple-cheeseburger, chocolate shake, biggie fries, with a diet coke. Conspicuous but conscientious consumption?! Is such a thing possible? There is a close second in absurdity in the Escalade EXT luxo-sport-truck.

I think the owner is trying to say, "I have style and am very high class, but I want you to think that I can do useful things with my truck or escape to the great outdoors, but I can't possibly afford to scratch the $1000 white-diamond tri-coat paint." I'm a cowboy, but I'm an urbanite? Does this make sense to anyone? If you get the marketing dynamic, please post and help us all out...

This is no small part of the reason I felt I had to leave the automotive world I was in, but more on that later.

Igor Kenk, Gold Medal Bike Thief

The police have apprehended Toronto's and possibly the worlds most accomplished bike thief. Igor Kenk (don't you just love mug-shots?) was found with 2,865 bicycles in his possession, all of them stolen. He was also found with a fair stash of crack, cocaine, and marijuana. Apparently, he had them all organized by make and style and was purportedly waiting for the Oil Crash or a spike in commodities prices to come so that he could sell or melt them. Kenk's nominal job was running a used-bike shop (wonder where he got his stock), and was something of a sideways philanthropist since he hired local transients and mental out-patients to nab, maintain, and organize his bikes. During public viewings of the stash, around 1/4 of the bikes have been claimed by their owners.

Yeesh!

(get the full story here)