Jessica Cassyle Carr [ Thu May 14 2009 6:36 PM ]

We want Wuppertal! Or anything at all. We’re desperate.

Did you know our car town is in the middle of an annual, city-sponsored campaign known as " Strive Not To Drive Week," the last day of which is tomorrow? Mayor Chávez is encouraging less convenient forms of transportation such as biking, walking, riding the bus and carpooling. Not owning a car, most weeks I strive TO drive, as being carless in Albuquerque is like being a horse at a unicorn party.

Though vast improvements have recently been accomplished in the realm of New Mexico mass transit, most must rely on cars in Albuquerque, a city still organized according to the postwar oil company/auto industry plot to plan communities around the use of single occupancy vehicles. Encouraging transportation alternatives nowadays is not unconstructive, but until those alternatives function reasonably and have a symbiosis with the urban environment (late-running or 24-hour mass transit, sensible infill rather than sprawl and “upscale” lofts unsupported by basic amenities, the cultivation of non-creepy foot traffic, to name a few things), this is merely a charade.

Anywho, tomorrow, Friday, May 15 is National Bike to Work Day. ABQ RIDE, Bike ABQ and The NM Rail Runner have invited the public to the Alvarado Transportation Center and the Los Ranchos Rail Runner stop from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for (early freaking morning) “food and fun.” You might find me there wearing a shirt that reads, “We vant a Wuppertal Schwebebahn, and we vant it now.”

Public Comments (12)

- jerry
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9-to-5 mass transit [ Fri May 15 2009 10:23 AM ]

... is pretty good in this town. You can get almost anywhere during the daylight hours. Especially compared to 1994 when many bus lines shut down at 5pm, leaving morning commuters stranded at work. That was a dark time.
There is a desperate need to have later-running transit on major arterials like Fourth Street and San Mateo. People gotta work until midnight all over this burg and there is no transit support for them. And it's also basically impossible to go out and see a show or have dinner and return on mass transit. Hailing a cab isn't mass transit.
- FoxMcCloud
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You can get almost anywhere [ Fri May 15 2009 12:42 PM ]

during the daylight hours, true, but will you live to tell about it? Two New Mexico drivers might as well be a thousand anywhere else, they're bound to do something asinine at any minute and ruin your life. True story.
- nozlkoff
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I think I know what unicorn party your talking about [ Fri May 15 2009 1:50 PM ]

here it is:

Also, I've been to Wuppertal! I had the best fleischnoddln (creamy beef egg noodle dish) there, until I realized Hamburger Helper is the same thing.
- Jessica
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Noz [ Fri May 15 2009 3:21 PM ]

Don't diminish my attempt at starting a conversation about mass transit with your gay unicorn video, heyyy.
- nozlkoff
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You already know [ Fri May 15 2009 3:36 PM ]

where I stand on novelty forms of transportation. If you recall standing on Lee Circle last year I made a comment indicating my lack of amusement as it applies to such things.
- simonm
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My issue with buses [ Fri May 15 2009 4:07 PM ]

It's really hard for me to keep my balance standing on a bus. Even when my hand is firmly gripping a steadying-pole, I eventually end up in someone's lap at least once.
- Jessica
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Lee Circle [ Fri May 15 2009 5:14 PM ]

I don't remember standing on Lee Circle, or what you said about novelty transportation, but I'm getting that we have a difference of opinion. I, for instance, love gyrocopters and dunebuggys.
- JonasVenture
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autogyros are pretty cool, except... [ Sun May 17 2009 9:14 AM ]

they need a runway and forward motion to get into autorotation mode before they generate lift. Models with collective pitch control can take off in very short distances, and all can land in near zero-rollout conditions, but they're not quite true VTOL.
Much better is the Gene Corporation GEN-H4 personal helicopter:

Unlike an autogyro this is a true helicopter and can take off and land vertically. It's powered by a 125cc engine, and reaches a top speed of about 55 mph. I haven't been able to find fuel consumption figures for it, but it's probably pretty efficient considering the size of the engine. Unfortunately, they cost about $40K, plus they're not legal anywhere yet. That's pretty damn cheap for a helicopter, but since it currently amounts to a toy that you can only buzz around at low altitudes on your own private property with, due to legal restrictions, it's not so useful.
- jerry
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New Alibi poll: what's cooler, ornithopters or autogyros? [ Sun May 17 2009 9:31 AM ]

Maybe Dr. Venture has some practical ornithopter knowledge he can share.
- JonasVenture
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I wish... [ Sun May 17 2009 10:43 AM ]

Unfortunately, I don't think ornithopters are practical at this time, and may never be. Biological materials, like bird bones and feathers or insect wings, are amazingly good at achieving strength to weight ratios, but they're hard to scale up. Sure, we can build toy ornithopters, I think we all had one of those when we were a kid, but making one large enough to do useful work runs into serious materials strength issues. Of the large flying animals on this planet, the largest tend to be more gliders than flyers. The largest pterosaurs reached up to 40 feet in wingspan, but probably couldn't really fly so much as glide.
The largest known bird, the Argentavis magnificens, known only from the fossil record, had a wingspan of 21 feet, but, despite that size, had a mass of only about 70 kilos. Even so, computer models suggest it was also more of a glider than anything else.
So, flapping isn't a very good way to get a large object off the ground.
Personally, I think we need more zeppelins. You can never go wrong with a good zeppelin... well, except for that one that exploded... oh, and that one that crashed in a storm.... uh, and the other one that went down in a storm... and...
Well... we'll just have to build them better this time around.
Last edited [5/17/09 10:45 AM]
- Madmammajamma
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I don't know about that GEN-4. [ Mon May 18 2009 11:52 AM ]

GEN-4 Spec sheet
Given those numbers, I figure that the GEN-4 is good for about 11mpg. :/
Not that I don't like the counter rotating blades on this one, but helicopters FTL.
Zeppelins +1 and ornithopters > autogyros.
- JonasVenture
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Actually... looking at that spec sheet [ Mon May 18 2009 2:31 PM ]

it gives the Vne (the "never exceed" speed, which is to say the speed at which is ceases to be a controllable aircraft and proceeds to become a collection of scrap metal and bolts traveling at the whim of momentum and gravity) as 120 mph, so with five gallons per hours consumption, that would give a not too terrible mileage of 24 miles to the gallon. Provided, of course, that you actually want to be skimming along at terrifying and near catastrophic speed in something which resembles a flying office chair. I'd give it a try! Looks like fun!

It’s “Strive Not To Drive Week” in Car Town, U.S.A.