tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post8232343504142666346..comments2023-08-18T11:40:19.852-06:00Comments on Los Alamos and Santa Fe Bikes: Sport Utility Vehicles? Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105951751896463667noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-79289015317133709642014-06-30T23:47:42.691-06:002014-06-30T23:47:42.691-06:00You put really very helpful information. Keep it u...You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post.<br /><b><a href="http://alotransportation.com/" rel="nofollow">SUV Orlando</a></b><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09957264585846264209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-56304957022607303562013-12-03T14:41:34.692-07:002013-12-03T14:41:34.692-07:00Two explanations for the USA love affair with ridi...Two explanations for the USA love affair with ridiculously large motor vehicles. 1. Motor fuel is too cheap 2. People buy a car/truck for that rare use rather than for what they do 99% of the time. Remember the ads for some silly SUV that said, "not that you would, but you COULD"? Sadly, buying decisions are too often based on that, as in the ability to haul 4 X 8 sheets of plywood - how often do regular folks do that? If motor fuel was $10 a gallon like in Europe, this silliness would soon stop - but I won't be holding my breath!Larry and Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16346445393389942837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-59308304638291962222013-12-02T13:39:08.597-07:002013-12-02T13:39:08.597-07:00Oh, I should have said "good infrastructure, ...Oh, I should have said "good infrastructure, a decent planning and zoning process, and competitive tax base"Khalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11866897914538110672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-41202100463432737622013-12-02T13:34:35.693-07:002013-12-02T13:34:35.693-07:00The various businesses our county government tried...The various businesses our county government tried to get to come here kept saying the same thing--economy of scale made it more practical for them to locate in Santa Fe or Espanola and have us go to them. They knew that we would, of course. <br /><br />My argument about the county trying to lure business is that first, it should not be government's job to pick and choose between retail and two, that aside from providing good infrastructure and a decent planning and zoning process, its up to business to decide it makes sense to move here. <br /><br />Its rather funny. LA is a GOP county and a majority on the Council is GOP, but they keep wanting to dick around with retail. I call it the "GUM Syndrome" after that old USSR State Department Store. Khalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11866897914538110672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-72904409337612394002013-12-02T12:48:04.526-07:002013-12-02T12:48:04.526-07:00It hadn't occurred to me, but Ocean Shores has...It hadn't occurred to me, but Ocean Shores has some of the same problems as Los Alamos - small place with a bigger one down the road. Similarly, OS has trouble keeping the local businesses going.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-9553441418409707112013-12-02T06:55:29.640-07:002013-12-02T06:55:29.640-07:00Lazy? Yeah, I admit that.
Actually, I made a rela...Lazy? Yeah, I admit that.<br /><br />Actually, I made a related argument about our inability to keep retail business in Los Alamos. The state built a very fast, convenient four lane highway from here to Espanola and Santa Fe, which are bigger population centers with more economic amenities (and in Santa Fe's case, far more cultural ones). That, along with modern cars, has made capital flight off the hill inevitable. Its simply impossible with such a small market for BombTowne to compete with the plethora of stuff one can buy off "The Hill" when its so easy and fast to drive there. That was not the case when Los Alamos was a secret city with a primitive road; and took hours to get here. Apparently, this place used to teem with small business when we were a captive audience.<br /><br />With the building of yet another shopping mall in progress, LA is trying to keep the money here. I wonder if that will work unless we tear up the road and turn off our computers. I still can't find a No. 6 coffee filter up here and only recently, with the food co-op opening, can we get decent vegetarian fare. So its often either the Internet or Santa Fe. I stockpile stuff to minimize driving.<br /><br />I suppose one could go car free up here, but that's a bit of an overstatement. Everything one needs in BombTown arrives by truck. One is stuck with motor vehicles in America, unless you go off the grid and raise your own food.Khalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11866897914538110672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-40583219325966281222013-12-02T03:34:16.035-07:002013-12-02T03:34:16.035-07:00That's why I never learned to drive. I've ...That's why I never learned to drive. I've noticed that everyone who owns a car has some excuse to justify it: they need it because they live too far away from work, shopping, etc.<br /><br />In many cases, the reality is that they chose to live far from conveniences because they own a car. The whole problem with motorized transport, from my perspective, is that it makes wastefulness seem attractive and it encourages people to travel far more than they need to.Ian Brett Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-9424423395504214552013-12-01T17:45:50.709-07:002013-12-01T17:45:50.709-07:00Our neighbor has an old (mid 1990's) Ford F150...Our neighbor has an old (mid 1990's) Ford F150 that sits by the side of their house and is basically the "community truck", i.e., he lends it out to whoever needs it, providing they are not lunatics. We use it once in a while to haul crap to the town dump, etc. Its a good solution, i.e., no one needs to drive such a big vehicle all the time, but its good to have one handy when you actually do need it. <br /><br />That truck is getting pretty long in the tooth and no one trusts taking it off the hill for fear it might need to be pushed back. I might be the next person "elected" to provide the community truck. I've got my eye on a late '90's Toyota Tacoma with 300k miles on it that the owner, who owns a construction company, told me he would sell soon for something newer for his business and I was welcome to make him an offer.<br /><br />A friend of mine in Honolulu put it well with that old expression--if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. That's what's wrong with the American transportation paradigm. Everything looks like an SUV.Khalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11866897914538110672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-67488694676714867552013-12-01T17:38:23.057-07:002013-12-01T17:38:23.057-07:00I like the Surly product line, in general, but par...I like the Surly product line, in general, but particularly the LHT and Big Dummy models (I have one of the latter). <br /><br />The Big Dummy is my human-powered SUV.bikeoloungerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04882697958338881886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6955311294411328562.post-86496324054411631482013-12-01T17:15:59.183-07:002013-12-01T17:15:59.183-07:00I saw an Escalade in a parking lot today - all 3 t...I saw an Escalade in a parking lot today - all 3 tons of it. I said to my wife, "What on Earth does a person need a car that size for?"<br /><br />She gave no answer, as she knows it's a rhetorical question.<br /><br />Like you, I have a Surly LHT. It weighs 0.0125 tons. I like that number a lot better. Unlike the Escalade, my bike can't carry 8 people, and I'm sure its luggage and grocery carrying capacity is a lot less, but I reckon it's all anyone should need.<br /><br />There is no such thing as a "guilt free" 2+ ton gasoline-powered vehicle. Such vehicles are shameful: they stink, they pollute and they waste precious resources. People should be embarrassed to own them.Ian Brett Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com