The benefits of a bamboo bike

At Traveling The Green Way , a partner blog to my travel blog with b5media, Liz Lewis from New Zealand writes about Craig Calfee and his bamboo bike project.

Craig, it seems, traveled to Ghana, West Africa to help bring bamboo bike transportation to the people. These bikes, reinforced with bamboo, can help people earn more money. For one thing, the extra strength allows a man to transport two sacks of 110-lb cement to and from a work site. And because they all work together as a team to build the bikes, the project brings a sense of community to the people in the village as well. You can see the excitement of those who are participating in the video. And Craig knows he's helping.

It's a good idea. It's another reason bikes can benefit a life; however, as I posted in my comment at this blog, the only issue I have with the project is that it doesn't benefit women. You'll see in the videos posted on this blog that women are not in the picture. There are no women helping build the bikes. There are no women riding them. When I was in Kenya two summers ago, I was told women don't own bikes because they cannot afford them. So, my question to Craig is then: will your program ever help women? They need transportation as well. They have to carry heavy items as well when they go to market. They could use a bamboo bike.

I think I'll e-mail him and ask this question directly.

Still, I do think this is a great idea.

See for yourself by clicking on the videos here.

All my best,
Jackie

What inspires you?

As I was reading and surfing through the many blogs I posted yesterday--I still have many more to visit--I was inspired by the photographs. They represent individual inspirational moments, such as the one here (It's a photograph of a foggy morning at the top of Mt. Graham in Safford, Ariz. You can barely make out the road below.). Even the picture I saw of a single sunflower is the mark of someone's inspirational moment. You see a moment in time, no matter what or where it is, and something about that moment speaks to you. You take a picture. It's a beautiful thing. I own boxes and boxes of inspirational moments like this.

If I were to take a moment and write a list of what inspires me, not necessarily represented in a photograph, here is what my list would look like:

_red hibiscus blooms
_the gardenia plant at the front of my house
_my son
_my daughter
_the fountain that refuses to work in my front courtyard
_the restaurant on the top of the hill that I can see from my office window
_books about writing
_other people's memoirs
_my own life story
_my dirty car after a road trip
_hiking trails
_my bicycle
_the image of a bicycle
_the canal bank where I sometimes ride

And my list would go on and on.

What insires you? Today, take a moment to write down a few things that really make you think, make you want to act, make you want to live your life differently. I think you'll surprise yourself.

All my best,
Jackie

Just joining us?

If you're new to the BIKE WITH JACKIE blog, I encourage you to start reading from the beginning. You'll get a better understanding of how the mental BIKE operates. It's a progression really. In previous posts, I've talked about how patience is necessary while you're in transition. We all want things these days, like, right now. Today even. But creating quality of life takes time, and you're the architect.

Like the architect who draws up plans and works with consultants and developers or contractors to create the masterpiece building, you also will operate similarly to create your masterpiece life. You might consider hiring a life coach or a therapist, depending on your needs. You might need legal assistance. You might need friends now more than ever. It'll take time to develop the you you want to be. But you'll need to know who to call for help when help is needed. Architects don't do it all themselves. They have help. You'll be looking for help as well.

Reaching out might be a huge step for those of us in turmoil. But you'll see that going with others makes the transition a lot easier to navigate than going it alone.

I've discussed some of this already. I've also explained that this blog isn't about exercise, that a bicycle just happened to be the way of my journey. It's how I got my start to a new life. It was the beginning of my reaching out. I encourage you to get on a bicycle. I think it's a wonderful way to measure personal growth. But it's not necessary for yours. You may be drawn to something else entirely. If you read from the beginning, you'll understand what I mean, and you'll see how this journey is yours. The way you make it happen is yours. The progress is yours. I'm just here to provde you an idea on how you can begin it.

BIKE is simply a metaphor for the time and space you give yourself. It's a powerful tool, but only if you use it.

Keep reading, I'll explain as we go along.

Ask questions if you like. I'm happy to respond to your comments.

All my best,
Jackie