Cycling in Chautauqua County

I have been made aware that May is National Bike Month. This is an actual event sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, about whom I knew nothing (despite being married to a cyclist for 37 years), but the internet is an awesome place for learning new things.

In fact, last week was Bike to Work Week, but I doubt that many folks around here were participating, unless they were wearing water wings. Come to think of it, you just don't see too many people cycling for transportation in Jamestown, ever.  Kids have bikes (and I've seen lots of scooters), and there are the recreational cyclists.

But biking to work, to school, to the store? Not so much. The terrain around here can be a bit challenging, but there are routes that just about anybody can handle.

Rising gasoline prices and greater awareness of the environmental impact of fossil fuel use may be starting to change things.In crunchy, environmentally aware areas of the country like Portland, Oregon, they have bike trains--where kids and their parents participate in a group ride to school one morning a week along a pre-planned route. What a refreshingly healthy idea!

And if handling the hills is an issue, there are electric bikes to give you a little extra zip.  Available in both throttle and pedal assist versions, there are models ranging in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars. The eZip bike pictured retails for $499 and has a real rack-mounted rechargeable battery with a range of 15-20 miles. I have to tell you, this is looking pretty darned good to me.


Holly Loft has 4 basic group rides (depending on your riding ability) every Tuesday at 6 pm. They even have a racing team.  I understand that there are also Saturday 9 am rides that leave from Ryder's Cup coffee in Lakewood, but I don't know anything about the abilities of these riders, so if you're interested, you should probably inquire before you set out.  Just about all of them would leave me in the dust, I'm afraid. Unless I go electric.

Next time: REcycling.

If our young people ruled the world

I just finished reading the cover story in the current Chautauqua WORD, and I am encouraged.

WORD editor Steve Lafreniere surveyed a sample of people under 30 about their hopes and fears for the future and their opinions on what needs to be done locally "to remake Western New York into an economically sound and culturally attractive place to live and work." I'll give you some snippets of their responses, but you really should read the whole thing, no matter where you live. Some of the ideas are really spot on.

Q:  What would you like to see done differently locally?
A:  Successful/profitable businesses now housed in the mall should receive tax incentives for relocating to the downtown area...Look at avenues such as actual, real businesses that provide goods and services to people locally, instead of people coming into this area once a year, or once in a lifetime, and spending a few hundred dollars...buying locally grown and produced food...abandoned factories and houses should be torn down or sold at low prices with stipulation that they be fixed up within certain time limit... 


Q: What would you like to see on the increase locally?
A: Buying 60-70% of our food locally...opportunity, support for creativity, innovation, and entrepeneurship to keep young people from leaving the area...positive attitudes, people taking pride in the area...more support for local institutions, including libraries as centers for community events

Q:What is your biggest fear for the future?
A: A return to feudal-style anarchy...poor decision making with regard to transitioning to different forms of energy...climate change...being able to pay for medical expenses...permanent unemployment

Q: What is your greatest hope for the future?
A: Our great natural resources in close proximity...that people with ideas and real solutions will come to the forefront...human ingenuity and problem solving ability

These young people have got it going on. They already know things it took me an awful lot of years to learn. Maybe because our current problems are all they've ever known.  I hope they don't all pick up and move to bigger cities to seek their fortunes. We need them right here to lead the movement towards greater local sustainability, to make their hopes and dreams happen right here.  I really believe that if communities everywhere started looking after their own in a responsible and sustainable way, we would live in a radically improved world.

I do have a couple of random comments that came to mind as I read this article. I hear the complaints about the focus on tourism, but I think anything that improves the area can be turned into an asset for local residents as well as visitors. If tourism that motivates the local activity, it is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as someone picks up the ball when the tourists leave.  As a newcomer actively searching for what's going on in the community, I have found that there are lots of options, year-round. More than I have the time or desire to immerse myself in.  And those not satisfied with what's available are free to make something else happen!  Starting a new restaurant may not be an economically viable option, but you can organize your own Thai dinner party at any time. The Jamestown Unitarian Church has held a couple of dinners in the past year, open to the public, featuring fabulous foods of India. Just be open to every possibility for enriching the local culture and see what happens.

About the substandard houses, is it possible to create a small scale urban homesteading program in a city like Jamestown? Meaning, making vacant but repairable houses available, cheaply, to people willing and able to make the repairs and upgrades in a certain amount of time, and then I live in the property for a minimum of 5 years. It requires a commitment, not just an opportunity. I know this is done in larger cities, with mixed results. Seems to me it would  work best where the available properties occur in blocks, so that the whole neighborhood gets an upgrade. People are unlikely to jump at the chance to improve and live in one lonely property in a sea of decay, but if several properties in the same area are undergoing transformation, it changes the dynamics. I ran across this article online from several years ago and found it interesting, though I haven't yet really researched the topic.  But it fits with the idea of making your hopes and dreams happen right here. What are the possibilities?

Spring cleanup this weekend

Per the ad I've been sporting in the sidebar for several weeks, the second annual Hands-On Jamestown community cleanup will be taking place this Saturday. Organized by the Downtown Jamestown Development Corp. with sponsorship from local businesses and organizations, the event will draw volunteers to participate in keeping the streets, sidewalks, and parks clean and inviting places for residents and visitors alike.

Check in begins at 7:45 am in Tracy Plaza, where a continental breakfast will be served and volunteers will pick up their assignments. Garbage bags will be furnished, but it is suggested that volunteers bring their own gloves, rakes, brooms, weedeaters, etc.  After the work is finished, volunteers can return to Tracy Plaza for free hot dogs and drinks. Pre-registered volunteers will receive t-shirts.

Any individuals, groups, families, businesses, or organizations interested in volunteering are asked to contact DJDC at 664-2477.  Registration forms are also available online at www.discoverjamestown.com.  All volunteers will be assigned specific areas in the downtown to clean-up.

 DJDC also encourages home owners and businesses to clean-up around their own properties and establishments, citywide. Tom and I are planning to pick up cans and bottles in our neighborhood, which is actually outside the city limits. We have a few vacant wooded areas where kids toss out the evidence of their weekend drinking activities.

Tom has also organized another clean-up event this year with the Chautauqua Hiking Club (coincidentally on the same day, and fortunately Saturday's weather forecast looks good for outdoor activities). They are asking for volunteers to join them at 10 am at the Taylor Rd. access area for a cleanup (picking up trash) of the Chautauqua Gorge.

Wherever you'll be this Saturday, please leave the area better than you found it.

Apparently I spoke too soon

I knew the rain would be back. It is. I can almost hear the grass growing.

We had a nice time over the weekend, though. (Despite the rain.) One of the neighborhood "kids" that I  got to see growing up over those 22 years in Cleveland had a Big Fat Greek Wedding.  It was a joyful celebration with good friends, food, and drink. Those are the things most difficult to drag yourself away from when you decide to relocate.  But...

I'm amusing myself this morning by listening to rain songs on You Tube. I've added some of them to the Hypster playlist on this page. I'm amazed by the number of songs with the word "rain" in the title. Some of them are really good, too.

I'm also reading Farewell My Suburu, and my thoughts so far go something like this: Boy, this guy has a way with words. He is one engaging and witty writer. Also, it must be nice to launch your experiment in sustainable living with his kind of budget. And omg, he's raising goats! I'm jealous!  I'm not zoned for goats here. And even if I could have them, where would I get a goat sitter when we went to visit the grandkid?

I'll get back to you when I have some deeper thoughts.

The Merry Month of May

I have officially ended hibernation. The rain has stopped, the weather's been great, and my focus has shifted outdoors.  I just need to get the rabbit-proof fence in place and it will be safe to plant my veggie garden. (The wascally wabbits have been milling about in the yard, ready to queue up at the garden gate.) Tom is planning to construct a ground level deck from which we can view the action.

Okay, maybe we'll wait a couple of weeks just in case there's another frost. You never know at this time of year. There's obviously more rain on the way and a return to cooler temps.  I haven't started  Farewell My Suburu yet, but next week looks like a good one for reading.  And contemplation of questions like:

Can we count on well-stocked "big box" stores as supply chains become more expensive? Will truckers be able to afford to fuel their rigs? Can people adjust to planning menus around seasonal availability when we can no longer afford to fly in winter produce from South America?

How will all the people who become unemployed as a result of these changes meet their expenses?

Can schools that are already suffering financially continue busing students? Will trucks still offer curbside pickup and hauling of our garbage?  Where are we going to get replacement parts for our appliances and vehicles?

How do we keep large numbers of people from freezing to death when they can't afford to keep the heat on?

How secure is your water supply?

You know--just light mental gymnastics.

Switching over to more fun stuff. for those who won't be jetting off to the Caribbean for snorkeling or the Big Apple for the latest hit on Broadway-- local entertainment options abound this weekend.  (Yes, we can keep ourselves happily entertained without the rest of the world. And without television. It can be done.)  There's Annie and I Do! I Do!, the Buffalo Gay Mens Chorus, a music salon at the Unitarian Church, the Jordan World Circus at JSB arena, an antique auction at the Lake Chautauqua Auction Center, and the Spring Farm to Table Dinner at the Athenaeum Hotel, to name a handful of choices.

I check a lot of the local websites to find this information and I just want to make one suggestion: local businesses need to keep their websites updated with current information, or it kind of defeats the purpose of having the website.

The morning after Cinco de Mayo

The weather forecast is finally looking more auspicious, at least at the moment!  Yesterday was mostly sunny. The yard is still rather squishy, but Tom managed to get about three quarters of the lawn mowed, while I did some weeding and tidying up in the flower gardens.

It's good to see life sprouting up from the ground again. The roses, except for the William Baffin,  needed a good deal of pruning after the harsh winter, but are all showing healthy new growth.  My mother  grew a variety of roses, and she seemed to do it so effortlessly, while I definitely haven't inherited the knack.  I'm finding that I have more success if I make careful selections based on cold weather hardiness and disease resistance. The Baffin rose is a beast in that regard!

The ridiculously cold and wet spring has not only kept the leaves shy about coming out this year, but has created a cavelike environment inside our little house. It's built on a slab, no basement,  and it's damp, probably a combination of condensation and seepage. We need to start addressing the drainage and insulation issues, and we've decided to start with a new floor in the bedroom--Pergo on top of a moisture barrier. Not the greenest choice, but at this point I'm afraid of waking up some morning to stalagmites. So I guess this is going to be our little weekend project.

After moving almost everything except the bed and dresser out of the room yesterday, we went downtown to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the Taco Hut, a local fixture since 1972.  (One of the things I am really coming to appreciate about living here is the variety of homegrown restaurants, not chains, that have been around forever.) Seems like half the town had the same idea--good thing we went early and found a table. By the time we left, the line was out the door.  It was a good time, watching people at the bar taking pictures of each other in their sombreros, while we ate our burritos and fajitas.

Of course, one Corona and I'm ready for a nap.  We plugged in "Inside Job" last night and I fell asleep, so I will have to watch it again to see what I missed. It is actually a very well done (and very scary) documentary about the corruption that caused the financial crisis of 2008.  If you have any doubts about who is really in charge (and need another reason why we must look after ourselves, locally), watch this film. If you still think the conventional beliefs about our government and politics are in play--or that Democrats vs. Republicans  is even relevant--you are barking up the wrong tree entirely.I am pessimistic about the future of the country, but much more hopeful about our chances if we accept that politicians can't fix things for us and accept the responsibility for ourselves.

I'm about to start reading a book called Farewell, My Suburu: An Epic Adventure in local Living, and I'm hoping to gain some new insights into what accepting that responsibility means.

But now, I'm going to have Cinco de Mayo leftovers for breakfast and then get to work with Tom on that flooring project!

Is it really spring now?

We spent the week out of state--had to celebrate the grandson's third birthday with him!

Yeah, we went all last century and drove like it was 1970 and gas was 35 cents a gallon.  Living local is complicated when your kids live on opposite coasts. We'll have to work on that.

We came back to find the grass in need of mowing (if the rain ever stops) and the leaves popping out on the trees.

That's why I am asking--are we there yet? Really? It's been such a long time coming this year. But now, it's almost time to begin sowing those first seeds in the new vegetable bed, and I'm all psyched about that.

Some of this week's local happenings:

First Friday Lunch Bunch at the Audubon Nature Center
Friday, May 6 at 11AM
This month's speaker is Jennifer Schlick on Wildflowers of the Forest Floor. Bring your own lunch, coffee and tea are provided.

Excellence on Ice at JSB Ice Arena
Saturday, May 7 shows at 3 PM and 7 PM

Performances by members of the Jamestown Skating Club, tickets available online.

Mothers Day Brunch at Chautauqua's Athenaeum Hotel
Sunday, May 8, 11 AM - 2 PM
For Reservations please call (800) 821-1881, more info here


Chautauqua Regional Youth Symphony Spring Concert
Sunday, May 8,   4 PM at Reg Lenna Civic Center

Over the next two weeks, the BPU will be holding the annual Spring Clean-up in Jamestown. Residents have the opportunity each spring and fall to clean house and put out the extra trash (above and beyond their usual weekly garbage pickup) as long as items are landfill disposable and less than 40 lbs.--old clothes, housewares, small pieces of furniture, garden hoses, lawn chairs, carpet cut into small pieces, and so on.

The obvious challenge is to NOT do it, if you seriously want to be kinder to the planet. Things that are unwanted but salvageable  should be sold or given away via Craigslist or Freecycle, or donated to charity.Many items can be repurposed with just a little creativity, wherein a vintage suitcase becomes a cat bed, rolled magazine pages become stylish picture frames, old clothing becomes pillow covers, quilts, cloth shopping bags, or entirely redesigned pieces of clothing, keys and buttons become art or jewelry, and so on and so forth. Think about it. Google it.  Our throwaway habits are all kinds of expensive. We don't have to be that way.