On your knees bracero!

riding by railroad tracks
and open fields
the outskirts of town
i see the ocean far off
and pass a family
parked by the side of the road
mother, father, & child
the holy trinity
de la gente
de la tierra
sitting in a car
a window covered by a towel to
block out the sun
if they try to spend the night here
the pigs will come and
write them a ticket
even though they clearly
cannot pay
the judge will issue a warrant
and call it
justice

Riding in the rain, no helmet, no brakes

It wasn't until i was maybe 100 feet away from where i knew the road would begin to descend that i remembered the townie's brakes weren't the best in the rain. Not that i had expected it to rain like it did - In fact, i'd figured it wasn't more than a dense fog i was facing when i headed out for a midday errand, and that i'd be damp but not soaked upon returning. watching the untrued front wheel spin like a slightly warped record, i recalled how badly i needed to install the new fenders on my road bike...once i finished assembling the wheels, once i finished truing them, once i finished getting some decent tires. but that thought was quickly replaced by the feeling of my wet hands squeezing the brakes as i picked up speed heading down Mission towards the clock tower and not getting the best results.

No helmet today - too cold, beanie won't fit with it on, lost the balaclava, i have a death wish. okay, not really, maybe i'm just lazy. somedays i wear one, somedays i don't. today, i wish i had.

the bike is slowing down for the red light ahead but not enough. the trunk of a car is looming closer, then closer. i'm squeezing the brakes with all my might but the rain is showing no mercy. i'm going to hit the car i realize, not too hard, but not too softly either. i step off the left pedal and put my foot down with all my weight - the sound of wet rubber skidding on wet cement then ...silence. i breathe deeply. tomorrow i'm bringing the rain gear, that and a helmet too.

An "Orderly" Automobile Bankruptcy

I think I figured out what this means...

An "orderly" bankruptcy refers to the assurance from the captain and his officers, that no matter what happens, they'll be the first ones to board the escape boats when the ship goes down.

Rainy Day Musings

Back on the bike after a 2 day rain hiatus. I just couldn't do it. Too much hassle - the suiting up of tights underneath the pants, the rain pants over the pants, the thermal top covered by the sweater covered by the jacket covered by the light rain slicker and then a pair of socks and helmet that were going to get wet anyway. Just not worth it. Took the bus, read a book during the ride, watched the silhouette of birds huddled together on the wire before a gray morning light...thinking about budget cuts, and cut trees on "science" hill, and dead auto factories, and all the possums, raccoons, and skunks that those auto factories indirectly killed. And oil production cuts, thanks to the greedy criminal oil-cartel swine called opec. Riding a bike this morning never felt more honest.

Custom Bike Builders

Here's a piece from the LA Times about custom bike builders - Some amazing work here. Not that I could ever afford any of them....

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bicycle8-2008dec08,0,3326146.story?page=1

re: The Short, Disgusting Life of the Hummer

Salon's sounding the death gong for the Hummer brand. As much as I wanna say, let us treat this like Sara Palin and never speak of it again, I'm reserving the right to kick this thing even if it's deader than fried chicken.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/12/05/hummer/

p.s. This morning's ride was COLD. Anyone have a spare balaclava?

Auto Manufacturers Repent, Beg Forgiveness

Didja hear? The corporate executive officers of the big three auto manufacturers are traveling to Washington D.C. via train, bicycle, and horse drawn carriage to ask Congress for money. They released a statement on Tuesday saying they recognize the error of their ways; that the earth cannot sustain producing more and more cars; that the marketing and de facto imposition of automobiles into everyday life for the last century has drastically altered every American city for the worse, and by extension, our health; that they're going to immediately cease production of the said machines, come what may, and encourage others to start building bike paths as well as rebuilding railroad tracks and barns.

Should Congress agree to send them the money, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler plan to redistribute the wealth to every low-wage employee affected by the collapse of the American auto-industry. In the words of General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, "For generations, the titans of industrial capitalism have gotten fat off the labor of the common man and woman through ruthless exploitation and violence. Though this small token of wage-restitution does not make up for the centuries of working class people who've died in industrial accidents or wasted their lives away in factories, we feel it is a small but necessary step to right the wrongs perpetrated against humanity."

The remaining CEOs of Ford and Chrysler went on to apologize for the thousands of people who've died in car accidents, the smog that engulfs entire cities, and the insulting ads that equate driving with freedom.