The sooner you get behind the more time you have to catch up.

I am so far behind in the blog by now that I almost want to bag the whole project and start a new one, but I won't bc what this is really about is committment. I feel committed enough to the blog that I will ride out this rough spell. (big sigh.)

The weather has cooled significantly, which makes a world of difference, and the conferences is still going strong but has reached its second half. For those of you not keep track of my every move, I am at the Towards Carfree Cities conference in Budapest. It started on Monday, and ends with an excusion on Saturday. I am thinking of staying until Monday just so that I can try this Turkish bath from the 15th Century. But I haven't decided yet.

You will recall that I came to this conference last year when it was in Berlin and made many wonderful friends some of whom are here again, like Steve my kind host in Prague, Brian, and, well, others I might not have talked about. Maya, sadly, is not here, but she is still very much involved. Many many people have super interesting projects they're working on and I will get to describing those one of these days.

When I get really behind with this, I find it is most helpful to start with the present moment and work backwards. Right this minute it is evening, there's a party going on in the next room where we are all supposed to be sharing something from our culture. I have nothing to share other than my shiney Alt-Am personality, altho Brian was trying to get me to sing the Beach Boys with him. Not sure how I feel about that.

Just a few moments ago, before I started waiting for the computer, I saw a couple presentations. Sara Stout talked about the bike culture in Portland, OR. They did some cool stuff like make a giant bird that they then attach to a bike and ride around with at festivals like Critical Mass. She showed bicycle facilities, like sculturesque parking and creative stencils marking the bike lane, and slides of their bunny ride and their pretty dress ride. It looks like a lot of fun, but I can't help but notice how rich they are in space. None of us have enough room for some projects like those in SF. Or New York. Or Paris....

The first talk tonight was a make up talk by David Peckham on Bicycle Transportation in Africa. He was scheduled to give this talk on Monday, but it turned out that a 2 day layover coming from Africa is not enough. He missed his connection and arrived a few hours after his talk was scheduled to finish. As far as Monday's needs went, this worked fine bc every single talk goes over schedule, and, well, he was able to do the make up talk. Not sure how many people attended tonight (maybe I'll go count in a minute) but it would have been 50 on Monday (when I did count bc he would have gone just before my talk -- more on that later). Anyway....

He was a Peace Corp volunteer in Ghana back in the mid-1980s, and he began his talk by pointing out that his shoes are made out of old tires -- this first sign of a post-car culture. Some time later (than 1985), the govt removed tarifs on bicycles, changing their status from leisure equipment to transportation. He considered this a sign that he should start importing bicycles for the Ghanaese to ride for transportation. Anyway, to make a long story short (or have I already succeeded in doing the reverse as usual?), he imports bicycle and bicycle parts to Ghana. He has 2 local business partners who sell the bikes and tools, but they reserve some to offer at half price to rural people who participate in a bicycle maintenance class. So far they have taught about 57 of these workshops and distributed 1150 bikes this way. These classes elevate the role of the bicycle mechanic in the society, and they have a mandate to include between 20 and 50% women in the classes (but only about 3% of women actually ride bikes). The also offer an advanced class.

By riding bicycles instead of walking or riding the bus, people save something like 25% of their salary. That is, they save time, make more money, and don't have to spend money on other things like the bus. This project seems to me one of the most honorable things a person could do. And they need volunteers.

OK, so don't freak out, I am not going to be one of them. I am a woman, a poor bicycle mechanic, and my french is pretty bad, but I can imagine if all those things were different, it would be a super cool thing to do. So, if you know anyone who might want to volunteer, refer them to: pcei.org/vbp. They also need used bikes, parts and tools, but only from Europe.

Earlier today we ditched the conference for a swim in one of the thermal baths. It was basically a really cool and kinda expensive swimming pool, beautiful with nice architecture and sculptures and fountains lining the pool. The lap pool was at the center, and at either end had a jaccuzi thing in the center (not hot) and what Brian called a Hungarian washing machine around it (where jets sent you swirling around in a circle with everyone else -- I bonked into a lot of people and the wall a number of times -- fun but a little painful, and I am not into that kind of thing). Surrounding the washing machine is a paddling pool about the size of the lap pool (big). After paddling around for about an hour, we had a beer on the terrace before heading back. I am not sure I would go a second time this visit, but I would recommend it to others.

The hostel is dirty and austere with Soviet style architecture and everything broken but not beyond usablity. Two nights ago I had to fight off the cockroach (literally) that wanted to sleep with me (you know, he wasn't really my type, and I am not single anyway). I haven't seen any living cockroaches since, but there's a dead one on the sink in my room. I am afraid to move him in case he comes back to life or something. Ick. Otherwise, the room has a sort of elegant soviet efficency, intended for 2 people, with evenly 2 of everything: narrow bed, desk, closet, cabinet, bookshelf. It was terribly hot the first 2 days and sleeping unpleasant. A disco keeps me awake until the wee hours. The food is also pretty bad, but I manage to eat plenty of fruit which provided in excess. Maybe I should do a fruit fast, except I am way too hungry all the time.

blah blah blah. I have managed to ramble on for quite a while here, and yet I still have only caught up on a few things. Count on more rambling another day. Now I think I'll join the party.