Really Into Thomas the Train and His Buddies.

My grandson has the plu-perfect Thomas set-up at home.  Miles of track, all the trimmings, even a round house where the magnet-couples go to get un-coupled.  To wit, and from the left:  Percy, Toby and Hero.  I love, love, love these toys, only wish they'd been in my basement when i was a kid !!

Joe Biden in Ray-Bans? 800+ page views - and counting.

I posted this VP-look-alike foto two years ago.  It's NOT Joe Biden, though the orig headline suggested it might be, maybe, what do you think, could be Joe B?

So far it's the most clicked-on post on the Poppy Velo Blog.  More than 800 page views, and the visitors keep on comin'.

The guy is my pal and NAMG colleague Jim Jowett.  He doesn't exactly resemble the Veep, but enough visitors clicked in to take a closer look-see.

Bike Friendly: Free Air, Loaner Tools, Velo TLC.

Talk about your city being velo-friendly!  

Check out this free-to-all comfort station overlooking Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.  Sponsored by Health Partners, there's a hand pump as well as compressed air.  A set of tire irons. Allen wrenches of all sizes. And a pair of screw drivers, Phillips Head and regular blade.

This may be old news to you, dear reader; it's new, new, new to me.  And the whole rig is set up a few feet away from the Metro Bike Share check-in station.

So convenient. So forward thinking. So velo-friendly and considerate.

Three Weeks Later: Road Still Flooded.

Old Long Lake Road circumscribes, what else, Old Long Lake.  And three weeks after the humongous storms that blew our way, the road is still under water.  In the 14 years we've lived here in Long Lake, we've never experienced such flooding, tree destruction, power ourtages, sump pump nightmares, etc.  Climate change?  Could be.

Money Can't Buy You Love. A Bike, however, Yes!!

Four Big Shires, 10,000 lbs. Combined Weight.

The Shires were in harness this afternoon -- four-in-hand, and nearly 10,000 lbs. gross combined weight.  These guys are big and strong and fearsome, and pretty awesome to be around.

A half-mile from where the 'hosses were tied for a rest, a 50-year old Ford tractor sat mired to its differential in unforgiving Minnesota mud.  "I'll bet the Shires can pull the tractor out," a confident Lisa beamed. "Mike and I will harness the 'B' team first, then add the 'A' team if we need more horse power.

"Horsepower"  get it?!!

No go: the land was too wet, the mud too deep, and even four Shires couldn't  dislodge the Ford.  I witnessed patience, confidence, and a superb display of horsemanship.  But I think Lisa needs to call AAA and give the Shires a bucket of oats in gratitude.

My Hooker-Wife Made this Remarkable Rug.

My wife is a hooker.  Not THAT kind!  She's a highly accomplished rug hooker and created the masterpiece above -- one of many works of wool art to her credit.  This  stylized Pacific Northwest Salmon decorative piece measures 30 x 40, is made entirely of wool, and took Poppina an unimaginable number of hours to hook.

And the lucky recipient? Son Will and wife Jen. The rug rests in a place of honor in their San Francisco home.

Minnesota "Goldy" Gopher Feeds the World

Good news, hungry world citizens!  Abundant soy harvests here in Minnesota will feed us all.   And Goldy Gopher is the guy to git 'er done. 

Poppina and I met Goldy today. He's on exhibit in the Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. Our Goldy was one of ten like-characters, each telling a good-news story about MN  and our state's contribution to bettering the world.

Goldy's basket is filled with soy-based comestibles destined to stave off hunger.

The pretty lady with her arm on Goldy's is my Poppina.   

Sen. Al Franken (D - MN) is Proud New Grandad.

Just heard from Senator Al and lovely wife Frannie that the Frankens are proud new grandparents!

Little Joseph Bryson Greenwald could not be cuter, nor held more securely, nor behave in a more beguiling, more smile-inducing fashion!  Just look at his grandparents!  

Congratualtions from your constituents at Poppy's Velo Ventures.

"La Perla" Minneapolis-Made Tortillas!

A significant Latino population here in the Twin Cities means a strong consumer market for ethnic foodstuffs.  La Perla is one such company meeting a "hungry" local demand for tortillas, corn and wheat.  Entrepreneurs Jose Payan and his wife Noemi came to Minneapolis from Morelos, Mexico in 1995 and have been making meals more "sabroso" ever since.

Made in the Shade.

Sometimes I find my quietest moments painting in junkyards. Just the buzzing of flies and the occasional ping of old sheet metal expanding in the sun.... James Terman, plein aire artist, Boulder, CO.

Roadside Litter Pick-Up Patrol is Underway.

Just when I think the serial litterbugs from last season learned their lesson, their crap begins to pile up alongside the roads I pedal.

Starting each Spring, and running through late Fall, I appoint myself Litter Picker-Upper of One.

You see the yield so far. Beer cans, water bottles, Mickey D food and drink vessels, cigarette packs, booze bottles, and miscellaneous garbage that dirty, selfish, inconsiderate pigs throw out car windows so guys like me will pick it up.

And so I do.  With a happy heart. But wishing that litter perpetrators wouldn't trash the neighborhood in the first place.

When Your Velo Needs More VOOM!

Tired of pedaling?  Butt a little sore? Too much headwind this Spring?

Me, too.

Maybe we drop into Midwest Cycle in Minneapolis, trade in the Velo for something with a little more VOOM.

Just kidding. Keep pedaling. Giant, I love you  :)

Colorado SAAB Drives the Activist Message.

You probably won't see bumper stickers like these on the rear end of a Buick.  

But on a SAAB 900 in CO you get all sorts of activist messages you don't see elsewhere.

Like Sugar being the Gateway Drug.  With obesity epidemic, and diabetes a national disaster, some of the vehicle wisdom may resonate.

Bike-Share System for New York Is Built With Ideas From Around the World

New York share-a-bike system kicks in next week.  Ideas borrowed from world's foremost cycling cities assure success in Manhattan.  Not all New Yorkers are convinced.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/nyregion/a-bike-share-system-for-new-york-built-from-ideas-around-the-world.html?ref=global-home&_r=0