Where's Dan Now?

NEW TRIKE ARRIVES!

It has taken awhile but Lynne recently agreed that parking her car for an entire year too, is probably a great way to convince others that we all need to stop polluting so much. So we called up our buddies at the Wiz Wheelz trike company and they have sent out a trike! See the Flickr site for photos. It came in this huge box and all we had to do was tighten up the handlebars, air up the tires, attach a few bags and we were off! I have owned a trike for 5 years but Lynne never really got to ride it because the pedals were too far extended. So we spent the better part of a day wheeling all around town and showing it off to all our friends. We have a joke going on between us about it too. Four years ago i contacted Wiz Wheelz to see if they would give me a trike if i rode it across the U.S.A. and after much discussion they agreed. That was a 3 1/2 month 4500 mile ride and i stopped constantly to talk to newspaper and TV stations about gas free travel, thereby getting the trike company lots of exposure and offering up a different way to get your butt from A to Z. When we told Wiz Wheelz about this Carbon Free year they said they wanted to be involved. They sent out new parts for my trike and Lynne got a new one to ride. In the meantime she kept sending them big bags of her delicious cookies. So the joke now is: "Great, Dan has to ride 4500 cold winter miles to get a trike, Lynne just sends a few bags of cookies!!!" Please check out their website. They've got, hands down, the coolest thing rolling on pedaled wheels by far. So we are currently planning our next trip....of course via trikes! HOBO

LOCAL SACRED GROUND SAVED AT LAST

We have a contentious peice of property here in my hometown that lies near Chief Joseph's grave by the lake. Over the years developers have tried in vain to place condos, houses, and even a public campsite there. A small group of locals has always stood in opposition to all these crazy ideas and just this last week we had a major victory in that the land has been purchased by the state and will be turned into a park! Land saved for all time!l There will be a huge party at my buddy Jame's home the weekend of Oct. 25 to celebrate, and Lynne and i are going to go up and erect our little teepee tent on the site and spend the week up there. Please see my flickr site for photos of the incredibly beautiful land that was saved and of our habitation. www.flickr.com/photos/hoboartist We'll be howling at the moon and roasting marshmellows over the fire. Just one more example of how a small group od concerned citizens can save a place from over development and make the right thing come to pass! Join us, if not with your presence then with your hearts. The Nez Perce Indian Tribe was booted out of this valley just over 100 years ago. This is a way to show them a little respect finally. HOBO

LIFE HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER

So, here it has already been several weeks into this Carbon Zero thingee and i have to report that not having a car has made my life BETTER! No kidding. Heres why. First off i don't have to worry about keeping gas in it, which these days is a discustingly expensive enterprise. Second, i don't have to worry about maintaining the vehicle. YAHOO! Instead i have SLOWED way down. I walk uptown or ride my bike to do the daily mailings and chores. I ride my bike down the valley 6 miles quite a bit to see Lynne and Shane. On days that i dont run in the evenings, i take a nice bike ride out to the cemetery or up to the lake. All in all I am getting much more excercise, polluting our fragile atmosphere way less, and can sleep bettter at night, not only because i am excercising more, but because i have a clearer conscience as well. COOL. In the evenings after working most days on the Moonlight Chronicles, i had been reading tons about Global Warming. One book says that our farming methods are the biggest culprit. Another envisions the earth entirely without our species on it!! Amazing stuff. So if you get a chance, PARK THE BEAST! Go get a bike, or better yet a Terra Trike, www.terratrike.com ,and see how much farther you can pedal each day than the last and be amazed at your own fitness growth. So, as the kids say, It's All Good. You just have to get your priorities straight. And believe me this Global Warming thing is no joke. If you want to have a nice earth for your grandkids, better get on the bandwagon. Happy pedaling dudes!   HOBO