Support Vehicle and Trailer

Thanks again to Craigslist, we conjured up a fabulous trailer that can carry our stuff.  In addition, one of our favorite volunteers has agreed to provide the tow vehicle!    Go Green Riders!!!

When the Power goes out and other News

During our rash of storms last week we had a number of power outages.  The longest one was during an afternoon and early evening when the girls had homework and Lucy was feeling bad (Little did we know then that the next day we would spend in the hospital waiting for her to get her appendix out!)
Watching movies on the laptop and doing homework remained possible after the batteries wore down as long as someone was willing to pedal.  It was great fun!  No noisy stinky generator and the effort to make electricity was a very tangible thing.  Here's a link to a short video.  I also got plenty of exercise that day.
Speaking of exercise, this bad weather has forced  me to abandon yet another prejudice about exercise equipment.  I've always felt that taking care of what needs taking care is the best way to get exercise, especially living out in the country where there is always plenty to do.  This weather and the anxiety about not being in very good shape forced me to break down and ask the neighbor if I could use his elaborate exercise set-up to get in shape for the ride.  He was very gracious and invited me anytime,  so now I've broken another of my own unspoken rules.
On the planning front, things are going great.  We're looking for an electric bicycle company to sponsor a third bicycle so that we can offer the people we encounter a real life option that they can go out a get.  Our recumbents are so custom that almost no one will see them as a viable option.
I have been making appointments with people all across the country who we will visit.  You can see some of the stops on our media page .  It is really fun making contact with all of the great people out there who are inspired and energized by the sustainability work they are doing.  Even Town Manager's are getting into the game because they see growing their green credentials as a way to attract good people.  Durango, CO totally gets it and is welcoming our arrival with open arms.  Not only do we add to the attraction of their vibrant biking community but the sustainability angle "greens" up their image.  
Next stop is Boulder where there is so much going on we're going to have a hard time figuring out what to choose.


What a great problem!!!

Why I'm riding - - Oliver's short podcast

Oliver talks about why The Green Riders Sustainability Tour is important to him.

Planning visits

This week has been lots of phone calls looking for sustainability heroes who we want to visit.  What a fun project!  I had a great conversation with Eric Chamberlain in Rock Port Missouri where we will stop to see the four wind turbines that provide electricity for the whole town.  Eric offered to let us charge our bikes with wind energy.   Yea!!  He gets it.
In Boulder I've been talking to the Optibike folks about their bikes and about the American ingenuity that the founder demonstrated as he developed and build the "tesla" of the electric bicycle world.
I'm still trying to find a real person to talk to in Tehachapi so that we can get an interview about the huge amount of wind energy being produced there.
I spend a lot of time chasing down the algae to biofuel project outside of Durango and finally learned that they don't do interviews or tours.  They're probably trying to hold secret their technology so all the information that they are willing to share is what's on the Solix website and the few articles that can be googled.
In Flagstaff, The Grand Canyon Trust is excited about our visit and is even willing to share our story with their members.  I've also got a call into Southwest Wind Power where I hope to land a tour and interview.
Lots to do and lots of fun doing it.

UPDATE ON BICYCLE GENERATOR

A few days ago I was merrily pedaling away when the roller wheel on the shaft from the generator motor broke off.  I blamed the failure on the fact that the shaft of the motor was bent so I called one of my favorite neighbors who I knew would love the challenge of helping me figure out how to make the generator work.
When we talked on the phone he said it was no problem to straighten the shaft so just bring it on up.  To speed things up, I took the motor apart before stopping by.  John, my neighbor, checked out the shaft and it was dead on straight.  Very mysterious but he had fun accusing me of drinking too much.  I let him play with me.  I suggested that maybe the way the motor was put together was the cause so we put it back together and it stayed straight.  I have no idea why it had a wobble but it no longer does so I'm happy.
I also asked John to help me figure out how to get the motor shaft and the tire relationship to work.  We talked it through for a while and then pulled a small pulley wheel off of the wall and attached it directly to the motor shaft.  I was concerned that the pulley wheel would cut the tire since the edges are sharp so John wrapped a load of rubberbands around the wheel hoping that they would distribute the pressure onto a larger surface area.
I took the motor home and set it up on the bicycle trainer.  The rubberbands didn't work so I took the pulley wheel off and filled the groove with epoxy putty which hardened into what so far seems to be a great surface.    Original version:

Check out this photo so see the new improved drive wheel.

Interview With Jon Dougal

Jon Dougal 1 hour interview 12-15-09I met Jon a few years ago while working on a green energy project with New Voice of Business.  We reconnected last week and he agreed to talk with me about what he's been up to.  He's been up to a lot and I got a lot of his fascinating history that I never learned about when we were working together.  Jon is also quite the philosopher and he agreed to let me record our conversation.  It's an hour long and I didn't edit it since most of it is worth listening to.  Check it out and learn about Jon, some of his projects and his vision of the future.  Warning:  it's not a very bright vision!  

Bicycle generator update

Two issues have come up now that I've actually had a chance to put some time in pedaling.  I am getting a lot of wear on the rear tire which I can hopefully minimize by adjusting the tension between the motor shaft and the tire.
The other issue is that the battery pack with the inverter is a really inefficient way of storing electricity.  This computer is charged with12 volts DC which is more or less what I produce when I pedal.  Running the power into the battery and then through the inverter creates a lot of waste.  Since I'm not really doing this to maximize efficiency but more to demonstrate that I can produce useful power while exercising, I don't really care.  It is disturbing though, when the fan goes on in the battery pack as part of the charging process.  Why am I running all that energy to convert DC power to AC power to convert back to DC power?
Well, at least I'll keep my legs strong!