6footsix

trek is here!!

I’m pretty sure that I am not the average athlete that Trek creates their amazing customized bicycles for.  I use my bike to have fun, to take me to and from work and in most recent plans, I am using it to severely reduce my carbon footprint during my Big Green Road Trip scheduled for this summer.  

My new bike is not only big enough for my tall frame, it is fast, smooth, and oh so beautiful.  And the most wonderful part is that is it 100% recyclable.  Can you believe that?

I am so thankful to the awesome team at Trek for building me such a sweet bike.  Eric “Hootie” Bjorling, Marketing Director at Trek, was the communication behind the whole project.  He saw the project beginning to end and coordinated all the spokes that completed the wheel.  Michael Leighton is the man behind the bike, literally.  He took the specifications of what I wanted in a bike, combined them with my long legs and came up with the original blueprint.  He then put this into action and built the bike.  The talented artist behind the custom paint job that represents my free and adventurous spirit is Stacey Carnell.  She took my story of living life as a journey and captured it with thousands of little birdies.  

I would also like to extend a HUGE thank you to my dear friend Steve Crandall who has been my biggest promoter since the beginning of 6footsix.  Had it not been for him randomly conversing with Steve Baumann (chief designer at Trek) on an airplane, I would not have been presented with a wonderful custom bike from Trek.

I am so excited to go explore with my new bike.  Never, as a full grown female, have I been so comfortable while riding a bike.  In the past my legs were scrunched up for the entire ride or my seat was raised so high that my center of gravity drove the rest of my weight into my shoulders and wrists clutching handle bars much lower than my raised rear.   Neither of these uncomfortable situations made for a pleasant ride.  But as you can see, I never will have those worries again; and That’s Colleenification!

Get ready for my next video:  High Fives on Bikes!

new place in socal and what's happening soon

My apologies for being M.I.A. the last few weeks.  I have been moving from New Mexico back to sunny California. Unfortunately, when I left SoCal last October, I was forced to give up my wonderful home and garden, so I was not sure what kind of place I would find when I got back.  After a thorough search, I have found a nice studio apartment with a big balcony so I can at least have an herb garden.  It won't be the same as growing tomatoes and cantaloupes and pumpkins and eggplant and peppers like I did in the last place, but I am confident that I can make this new place my home.  

In other dimensions, I have 2 very exciting announcements:  First of all, Trek will be coming out to my neck of the woods next week to give me my new custom bicycle as well as photograph me for their upcoming catalog.  Hurray!

Also, on a Colleenification front, I am teaming up with talented furniture designer Tracy Steele in creating furniture for those of us of “exceptional height” as Tracy so whimsically states.  I am very excited about both of these upcoming events and will be sure to give you all full reports on both.

Also, stay tuned for new high five videos.  I am working towards campaigning for a National High Five Day and will need your help in the future!

welcome trek!!!

Welcome Trek!!!

I am so excited and honored to announce Trek as a major sponsor for my BIG Green Road Trip!  (See BIG Green Road Trip blog below.)  Trek has agreed to build a customized bicycle for me to ride from various campsites to volleyball events across the United States next season.  I spoke with Michael Leighton, industrial designer and Eric Bjorling, marketing director, today to discuss the super-size bicycle plans.

Trek sells bicycles to everyone.  From world class athletes like Lance Armstrong to little kids that ride tricycles, Trek can design and build a bicycle for riders of all sizes and needs.  They are excited to take on the task of building a bicycle for me for a couple of reasons.  First of all and most obvious, I am not shaped like the average rider or even the average athlete.  I have a 40 inch inseam which presents a challenge for Michael and Trek’s engineers to design a longer frame.  Fit is extremely important for the efficiency of the bicycle as well as the comfort of the rider. Trek was moved by my story since my BIG Green Road Trip fits in with their own green project titled “1 World, 2 Wheels.”  We are going to work together in inspiring more people to use bicycles as transportation vehicles.  Michael and Eric also mentioned their excitement to use new and experimental green practices when building this particular bike since it will be a major vehicle in the BIG Green Road Trip.

What work goes into customizing a bicycle?  First, measurements must be taken.  Thanks to Paul at Cycle Werks here in Costa Mesa, Trek now has their starting point.  Now it is time for Michael to connect with Trek’s engineers to draw a diagram using the measurements in order to get a visual of what the bike is going to look like.  From the diagram, parts are ordered and a prototype bicycle is made.  Once the prototype is measured to the rider, small adjustments are made and the construction of the actual Trek bicycle comes together.  Trek has brilliant artists that customize the paint to match the rider’s style.  

Thank you Michael, Eric, and Trek for taking on this challenge!

walk and bike your way to a healthier body

A guest post by Steve

Colleen and I have been talking about some of the goals for her Green Team Project.  Not only is protecting the Earth important, but increasing our physical activity by walking or biking when we can.  Not only will you lower your greenhouse gas emissions, but you'll get more physically fit and this can be great for your health.

A trip to a European city sends the message that people tend to be much fitter.  For short trips Europeans are much more likely to walk or ride a bike than Americans.  Lack of physical activity is not the only cause for obesity, but it is interesting to look at physical activity and obesity in various countries.  

The chart plots the percentage of obese adults in several countries along with the percentage of adults who walk or take a bicycle for short trips.  Obesity is defined as a body mass index greater than thirty.  Recent surveys show over thirty four percent of American adults are obese, compared to numbers in the high single digits or low teens in Europe.  Americas were much lighter, on average, forty years ago and activity levels were significantly higher than now.  It should be stressed that lack of activity alone does not cause obesity, but there is a correlation.  This chart is meant to spur thought. (a more conventional plot appears on my blog)

As Spring breaks out around the country, think about taking a walk at lunch rather than sitting in a cafeteria.  Take that old bike in for an overhaul and ride it to work, school, or to the store.  You don't have to do it every day and for every trip, but it can make a big difference and your strength will improve the more you do it.    

Perhaps it is time to visit a bike store and make an investment in your own health as well as the planet's.  You might be surprised to learn there are practical bikes with comfortable riding positions that aren't made for winning bike races or riding down mountains.  Bikes that are made for errands, commuting and just staying in shape rather than being a bicycle athlete. 

Kids can do this too.  How many of you wait for your parents to cart you around?  Jump on a bike and just do it.  Those of you who are interested in looking good, maybe even sexy, should think about what exercise does for your body.  

If you don't bike, consider walking more.  I walk a fair amount and have come to love that time of the day.  I use an iPod in areas that are boring and take a close look at nature in the woods. You have a different outlook on life when you witness nature and change every day for an hour at a time.  I even had a vulture following me for a few months and the local coyote knows me.  People can be good company, but nature is full of surprises.

bike and walk!

do it for the Earth 

do it for your health

do it to look great!

Colleen will have much more to say on the subject, her project focuses on getting people more active - stay tuned!

___

note: only about one percent of short trips in America use a bike, the rest shown here are walking.   twenty five percent of short trips in the Netherlands use bikes and twenty two percent are walking.

jheri chases after the colors of københavn

I'm Colleen's friend Jheri.  I live mostly in Copenhagen, or as the Danes say, København.  The city is wonderful for bicycles even if the weather isn't always the best.  It isn't that big and you can take your bike on the commuter train if you want. Gas and cars are very expensive, so bikes are popular here.  Especially with younger people like me.

If you visit my town you will see that people are in very good shape.  Not that many are fat and many people in their seventies and eighties are still riding their bicycles.  I don't have Colleen's amazing body, but my legs and butt are in great shape.  I tell people Danish women have the best butts and legs in the world and it is from the walking and biking they do.  The guys are pretty good too!  Come and visit Denmark if you don't believe me.

There are times when I just ride for the joy of it.  Here is one of Jheri's games that you can play too. 

Jheri chases colors.  I think of a color, like bright yellow, and ride as hard as I can until I see it.   Then I think of another color like rust orange and turn the bike left or right at the next corner and race to it.  You explore new areas and find colors in the most amazing places!  The wind is in your face and your hair flies behind you as it tries to keep up.  You can sing if you like, Jheri will not complain.  After an hour, if you have ridden hard, you are tired but completely happy.

Jheri is not as athletic as Colleen and will never be a sportswoman, but both of us love to move and do things that are athletic.  It does not matter if you are an athlete or not.  The important thing is to  enjoy yourself and feel yourself becoming stronger and better.  And outdoors is so much better than inside!  I'm writing this from up in my favorite tree right now, but Jheri and her trees is another story for later.

Use your bike rather than a car as much as you can, but remember that you can have fun and be a kid on your bike.  Go out and chase after colors and try and outrun your hair and maybe you'll get great legs like mine or Colleen's!  But I know you will feel better and get a huge smile.

Jheri out

bikes are great

Are you worried about $4 gas or maybe you want to get in better shape? A lot of your trips may be in bike range. And kids can get around without waiting for their parents to drive them. So have your old bike tuned up and enjoy the ride. And if you need a new one, most of you probably can even find one that fits.

A friend sent this link to a good CBS piece on using bikes. Have a look!

There are so many good reasons and there are many great resources. On the web try a commuter tip site like this one. Visit your local bike shop and ask for suggestions. They'll be a great place to get your old bike in shape and the work is much less expensive than what you are used to paying for your car.

Just go out and do it!

extreme mileage - 1000 miles per gallon

[This is Steve Crandall. Colleen is letting me write a few guest posts on her blog.]

Thinking about trading that fifteen mpg SUV for something that gets better mileage?

Hmmm ... many mid sized cars get about twenty mpg in town, a few subcompacts get about thirty, and hybrids can do a bit better. Of course all of this depends on how you drive.

As a driver you aren'€™t moving just yourself, but several thousand pounds of steel, rubber, glass, plastic, and gasoline. Wouldn'€™t it be sweet if there was a thirty pound vehicle to move your one hundred and seventy pounds rather than the thirty five hundred pound gas burner?

It turns out there is...

Colleen can get nearly one thousand miles per gallon. Her trick is to use a bike. Someone her size, riding on a normal bike at 13 miles per hour, burns about 400 calories an hour above and beyond what it takes to keep her alive. That works out to about 31 calories per mile (since we are using approximate figures, we'€™ll round off).

So how do we find what this is in miles per gallon?

We humans get our energy from food rather than gasoline. It turns out a gallon of vegetable oil, peanut oil for example, has about 31,500 calories. This turns out to be very similar to the number of calories in a gallon of gasoline - so close that we can consider them approximately equal. It turns out a diesel engine can burn vegetable oil and gets about the same mileage as it does on diesel.

Calories are just a unit of energy. We'€™ll get into that later, but for now all you need to know that a calorie from a bit of gasoline has the same amount of energy as a calorie from fruit or from uranium. The trick is you need the right machine to use the energy.

We now have all the information we need. 31,500 calories per gallon divided by Colleen'€™s 31 calories per mile gives a bit over 1000 miles per gallon! Los Angeles to New York on about three gallons. The mind wobbles.

Your own mileage may vary. Colleen is a serious athlete, but is too tall to be an extremely efficient bike rider. Heavy and out of shape riders will do worse. Smaller athletic riders better. If you are a kid, there is a lot less of you to haul around, so you will probably get even better mileage. Some bikes are more efficient than others using tricks like light weight and lower rolling resistance. But the important thing is a person on a bike is an amazingly efficient way of moving a person around.

Just like cars or planes there is a speed range where you and your bike will be most efficient. When you ride you can "€œfeel"€ it when you are in this range. Colleen is very competitive and if you are riding next to her she might take off and lose you in her dust. She'€™ll be burning more energy - her mileage will drop - but we aren'€™t talking about dangerous levels of carbon dioxide production or refuelings that will break the bank What she is getting is a better workout which means better health and getting into even better physical shape.

But you protest that vegetable oil isn't the most exciting food.

try this:

The label on a container of Ben and Jerry'€™s Brownie Batter ice cream tells us there are 1240 calories per pint. At 31 calories per mile, Colleen can get 1240/31 or 40 miles on a pint of that heaven from Vermont. And according to the New York Times, a slice of pizza from Ray'€™s in Greenwich Village is a bit over 600 calories. Colleen can get almost 80 miles on four slices of the gooey goodness. Or she can burn food that won'€™t lead to heart trouble or a stroke. She'€™ll eat a bit more, but the efficiency is still amazing.

So what kind of mileage can you expect? If you are a heavy or out of shape person, probably a bit worse because your body is struggling. But if you keep at it, you will get in better shape and your mileage will improve. If you are light you can expect better mileage. But at a moderate speed it will probably be close to a thousand miles per gallon give or take a few hundred.

Tell that to your friends.