Biodee's big adventure

Electric bike triumphs and travails

Posted by biodiversivist (Guest Contributor) at 9:19 AM on 15 Dec 2006

Read more about: bikes | cars | hybrids | energy efficiency | electric vehicles

Rode my bike to jury duty last Wednesday. It was pouring rain and the winds were gusting into the 50s. I had my trailer hitched up because I was hauling a laptop, magazines, and a battery charger with me. I don't think I could have done this without the electric motor.

However, at one point, a gust -- accelerated by the venturi effect of two skyscrapers -- stopped me cold. I jumped off and cowered in a nook where I found another guy hiding with the remains of his umbrella. I managed to drag, not ride, my bike the last block in a veritable deluge.

Upon reaching the municipal building, my next challenge was to get my batteries past the security check without them calling out the bomb squad. Being slammed to the floor and cuffed is not my idea of a good time (not that there is anything wrong with that). I decided to leave the batteries with the bike. I came back later and explained on my way out that I would be bringing bike batteries in and that they would have wires and stuff hanging off them. They watched me like a hawk but let me through on the assumption that something that looked just like a bomb couldn't possibly be one. To be honest, I was a little worried that the x-ray machine might light off the lithium batteries. Wouldn't that have been great?

Jury duty was a bust. I've been told that engineers are the first ones lawyers cross off the lists, because they can be such a pain in the ass. Not a problem -- I spent my time commenting on the Grist blog, where I'm appreciated.

These nano-phosphate batteries are so superior to the lead acids they replaced, I can hardly contain myself. I used two of my four to get downtown, and they were recharged within an hour. The ride home was fast and effortless. Things are happening in the battery world, just as one would predict given enough economic incentive. The free market is a powerful force, but it has to be given direction -- it can just as easily consume biodiversity as it can spawn things like the Prius and these batteries.

For story: Biodee's big adventure
6 Comments | Post a Comment

I Never Get Bumped

I have served on more than my share of juries, I never seem to get bumped even with my engineer label. In fact there were a few juries with a number of us.

Asking an engineer to consider guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a bit like asking him to sit in a corner while in round tank. Hmmm, what is unreasonable doubt? Is that really doubt? Why would anyone hold a doubt which one would judge to be unreasonable? For a logical person such as an engineer, such a requirement would be any doubt, would it not? And so it goes...not guilty

Went to the Alternative Car Expo in Santa Monica last weekend. Saw some great batteries and personal transportation developments. It is tempting to consider one of those car/bike animals with electric assist when one gets to thinking outside the box.

by ffletcher at 3:39 PM on 15 Dec 2006

See what I mean?

Total pain in the ass. I spent my time figuring out how the jury was selected. We were told that a computer program had assigned each of us a number. Your number determined where you sat in the courtroom. The first people sat in the jury section and the rest of us sat in the pews. The lawyers directed most of their questions to those in the jury seats, and to a few individuals in the pews. Finally, they kicked one guy out of the jury box who could barely speak English and the next number in line took his place.

So, it looks like the selection was random, and the questions were to simply look for any problems, like language or possibly blatant personality disorders, engineers and the like /:)

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 3:59 PM on 15 Dec 2006

You never know

Well, in the first place, Biodiv, you really should think more seriously about my goat-cart idea. Though, to be frank, I would not have advised you to take them out into hurricane-force winds.

This past summer, I really thought I was going to be selected for the jury in a very interesting civil case, involving medical malpractice. When I was not re-called, everyone in the pool was as surprised as I was. The best suggestion was that I lost it when I spoke about how "ethically interesting" the case sounded. From which I gather, if you look too flakey and unpredictable (that sure sounds like me!), in so competitive an arena as a courtroom in NYC, you are definitely not going to be picked.

Of course I have no idea how these things work in Seattle. But presumably prosecutors anywhere would love to have on their jury vengeful patres familias who maim their chickens by way of punishing them. : )

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 12:45 AM on 16 Dec 2006

Hey,

I didn't maim Bumblebee. I just sawed his spurs off. To be honest, I didn't want to be on a jury. I was going to do my duty if called upon, but was greatly relieved when that didn't happen.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 10:11 AM on 16 Dec 2006

Juries and rain

Dear CanisCandida,

Anyone who uses words like "ethical" during a jury interview will be kicked off. Lawyers don't like people who might be intellectually curious, skeptic, and smarter than they are. Your chances of being on an interesting case are pretty much nil.

Dear Biodiversivist,

How much impact did the weight of the batteries have in helping with the wind? I hit a day recently where the gusts stopped me dead in my tracks a couple of times (and blew over some fairly large trees).

I love the wind because it cleans the air (except when it fills it full of debris!), but hate biking in it.

patrick

by bookerly at 4:50 PM on 16 Dec 2006

Battery weight is negligible

with the nano-phosphates. They more than compensate for themselves and headwinds. Headwinds will drop the range or slow you down but don't usually stop you.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 5:01 PM on 16 Dec 2006

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