Bicycling.
In Minnesota.
In November.
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
Posted on 09/17/2007 7:39:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(On tour, musician ditches car to stay in tune with environment)
Guitarist and songwriter Peter Mulvey spends a lot of time on the road. The Milwaukee folk singer has put out nine albums and figures he logs at least 60,000 miles a year driving around the country to his concerts.
Mulvey's latest riff is something completely different: This month, he's traveling to seven different Wisconsin venues for concerts, and he won't burn a gallon of gasoline to sing at any of them. Instead, he's biking more than 350 miles, pedaling from his home in Milwaukee and back, from gig to gig, with his guitar in tow on a small trailer.
"What tipped me over the edge was that everybody seems to have this growing awareness that the climate is a great big delicate system. We've been sticking a carbon monkey wrench into it for about 250 years - and that's coming due really quick."
Mulvey has driven fuel-efficient cars over the years but says that given the number of miles logged on concert tours around the country, "I can drive small cars all I want and it'll put out more carbon than a dude driving a Hummer."
In preparing for his "Look Ma, No Gasoline!" tour, Mulvey has logged about 2,500 miles, biking regularly across town to his parents' home in Bay View, to Miller Park for Brewers' games and regular three-mile rides to the supermarket.
While in training, Mulvey also has biked to two concerts. Time on his bike has provided him with an up-close lesson on the dominance of the country's car culture.
"I've learned this much: You are swimming upstream when you do this," he said. "Our infrastructure is not built for bicycles, and they don't know what to do with you.
"Most drivers actually still seem to think that bicycles are required to drive on the sidewalk, and they look at you like you're crazy when you ride on the street."
Mulvey, who started his music career performing in Boston subways and has a folk-angst style with lyrics that have been compared to those of Tom Waits, said he wants the tour to boost public awareness about global warming and efforts to tackle it.
But mostly, it's been an education for Mulvey, who is considering buying a credit card that will donate a percentage of what he spends to clean-energy and other technologies. He might replace his Toyota Camry with a hybrid or a car that runs on biodiesel.
"The tour has really made me take a second look at my whole life and realize I've got to change. I'm so proud of this tour, but it's making such a small dent in my own impact. The next question is how do I make a larger dent?"
Mulvey, whose tour started last week and wraps up over the next few days when he rides to performances in Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Cedarburg and Milwaukee, knows he's not alone in making changes.
"My wife works up in Glendale. It's a typical office job, with conservatives and liberals, across the board. They're buying scooters and changing their behavior. Maybe a lot of us are just responding to high gas prices, but whatever it takes. It seems like the national consciousness is tipping, and I'm glad to see it tip."
Bicycling.
In Minnesota.
In November.
WHAT A GREAT IDEA!
Quick, someone send him a book called “Trees”. He wants to go back in time where actually thing were really rough. “Trees” will show you just how bad it was with all the trees, etc were actually killing people.
Quick, someone send him a book called “Trees”. He wants to go back in time where actually thing were really rough. “Trees” will show you just how bad it was with all the trees, etc were actually killing people.
I was amazed at the number of year round bicyclists in Anchorage, Alaska. Even a few co-workers at the oil-services company where I worked did it.
I had never seen studded tires for bicycles before, but they were common up there.
Some people are serious about conservation, some are serious about exercise, but must of my co-workers were just cheap to the extreme.
Amen to that. Saw a guy this past weekend with a Greenpeace sticker on the back window of his... (ready for this?) ...Lincoln Navigator.
I don’t catch the show often, but I usually learn something.
Perhaps the driver just had a good sense of irony?
With a snowplow on the front it might be possible?
Naw!
That’s my favorite MP episode. The doctor’s office scene is a classic.
We could pat him on the back, if his own arm weren’t in the way!
So he can get himself and maybe his guitar to his gigs by bike. What about his audio equipment (amps, speakers, effects pedals, etc.)? Methinks a gas burning vehicle of some sort is involved.
But then he probably has a chase car following him to fix flats, give him food and water. BUT! He is riding like a good lib loser. It is all in how you feel.
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LOL.
You’ve done a fantastic job at inventing details, and then bashing the guy for your inventions.
Too funny.
What about his audio equipment (amps, speakers, effects pedals, etc.)?
___________
The venue has the PA equipment, so all he needs he can fit in the pocket of his guitar case.
Not much need or use (beyond a tuner, a DI box, and maybe a compression pedal) for all that stuff when you’re gonna just go play your acoustic and sing, like most folkies do.
I’ll swim against the current here and suggest that we need more folk musicians.
Since his concert is the reason those fans make a trip to see him, do they also ride bicycles to get there?
If not, he should just stay home, cancel the concerts, and save the environment by eliminating all of the carbon created by his fans coming to his concert.
I wonder what he plans to do during the winter? Dog sled?
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