New Years Resolutions... in February

Well, I've decided (after a LONG look at the Fake Plastic Fish blog) that I have 2 goals for 2008.

1. Ride my first century, in one day. In all the years I've been bicycling, I've never ridden a century. I've never owned a "road" bike, though all my bicycles are of course capable of riding on the road. I'm told it's foolish to think I can ride a century on my Azor Oma, and the naysayers are probably right, though I may try it once I've done a century on a "go fast" bike. To this end, I've borrowed a "fast" bike from my uncle, a Kestrel 200SC. It's not set up TOO racy: a high rise stem brings the handlebars to within a reasonable facsimile of level with the seat. The bars slope more than I like, but I may be able to turn them up slightly without screwing up the cables.

2. Reduce the amount of plastic I throw away by 50% this year. After reading THIS article, I can no longer in good conscious blindly use plastic the way I have in the past. Recycling is NOT enough, reduce reduce reduce is the key. This morning when I first broached the goal with my wife she was amicable, but the realities of the loss of "convenience" may cause her and my son to balk. We (our family, and likely yours too!) have become completely blind to the "convenience" factor that plastic provides. Even at places like Whole Foods & Trader Joes, plastic is EVERYWHERE. Prepackaged foods are the worst culprits, and their lure is similar to crack cocaine to the addict. Cutting the cord won't be easy: it's harder to find things that AREN'T packaged in plastic than things that are because EVERYTHING gets packed in plastic now. Read the ARTICLE (mentioned once already) and you'll begin to understand my sense of urgency.