Hey, Tea With Lemon readers, it's a pleasure for you to make my acquaintance. I'm Steve, the GreenTech Geek, and I look forward to bringing you this new weekly column about things green, geeky, techy and, occasionally, whatever the heck I feel like posting.
I recently got back from a 12-day cat-sitting trip to Vancouver, Canada. If you've been, you know it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It's also one of the most progressive. Folks up there with smaller electric vehicles (segways, electric mopeds, electric scooters, electric motorcycles, electric bicycles) get together for a monthly "Kilowatt Hour." They meet up at a local library or coffee shop, check out each other's cool rides, talk tech, then go for a ride, followed by lunch or drinks at an agreed-upon spot. Check out the shot of the mega-neat electric moped I rented for a couple hours during a rare sunny afternoon in Vancouver.When I got back to San Diego, I thought it'd be awesome to see a bunch of alternative-energy heroes on their electric 2-wheelers riding silently down the streets of San Diego, showing off clean transportation technology and how fun it can be.
What happened with this idea of mine? Find out, after the jump.
I logged onto Meetup.com and organized a San Diego Kilowatt Hour. I did this under the umbrella of a cool Meetup group I've belonged to for a while called the San Diego Alternative Energy Meetup Group. By doing it under their umbrella, I avoided having to pay the monthly fee that Meetup charges organizers of new standalone Meetups.I chose Thrift Trader in North Park for the site of the first event, which'll take place on Sunday, November 20 starting at 3 p.m. I picked that spot because, frankly, it's around the block from where I live. But also because it's centrally located and has a large parking lot with lots of empty spaces to park our rides for a little while, so we can admire them before hitting the road.
Here's a shot of my pride and joy. His name is Pee Wee, and he's the hippest folding electric bike around. You'll be hearing more about him in future columns, and he'll be there November 20.The inaugural ride will be through the calm streets of North Park and Normal Heights to Twiggs Bakery and Coffee House on Adams Avenue, where plenty of side-street parking and sidewalk tables await for coffee, snacks and more e-ride talk.
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| Until next week ... |
I've started, or helped start, a few interest-based groups in town, including a kayaking club, a scooter club and a moped gang. But for some reason, I'm most excited about this endeavor.
So get your geek on and come out to Thrift Trader in North Park on November 20. You'll meet geeky people on little electric cycles ... who are making a big difference.
9 comments/sarcastic remarks:
This just in! A film crew from the local TV show "How Can I Help San Diego?" will be on hand at this inaugural San Diego Kilowatt Hour. They'll be filming for their Season 2 premiere episode, "Electro-GO!" If you're shy, don't worry; only those wishing to be filmed with their electric rides will be.
"How Can I Help?" focuses on San Diego businesses, industries, farms, and non-profit groups making a difference by educating, implementing, or currently using green and sustainable practices. For more about the show, visit: http://howcanihelpsandiego.com
The "Electro-GO!" episode will air Dec. 1 at 6pm on ITV (Ch. 16 on Cox & Time Warner; Ch. 99 on AT&T).
I stopped reading after I recently got back from a 12-day cat-sitting trip to Vancouver,
I recently got back from a 12-day cat-sitting trip to Vancouver
How about simply...
I'm gay!
p.s. I kept reading as I got nothing against the gays, blacks, or jews!
I've been cat sitting in Vancouver too! And I'm not even gay- guess ANYONE can cat sit and visit Vancouver:)
How awesome that you took what you experienced on your adventure and are going to start it in your city! Maybe it will catch on and spread to Eugene, Oregon!
Thanks for setting this up! I hope others follow your lead and get more groups formed. I'd love to see more of this up in Idaho, but we can't ride year round...unless...snow tires and heated seat/grips? ;)
Looking forward to future articles!
Welcome Green tech Geek! TWL is a everyone welcome, bigot-free zone where persons of all backgrounds mingle so sometimes meat-heads will wander into the comments section and insult you.
@AWM - is that any way to welcome our new tech geek? Our road to tech has been filled with flop but looks like we finally got someone reliable!
Hey, Steve,
Great to see your voice here promoting alternative energy solutions when we need them so much. I'm just getting into the non-auto mode of transportation thing, so I'm still a bit of an idiot about this sort of this. Is this gathering a good place for an education or is there somewhere else you can point me to get more info on how to decide what's the best option for me?
Thanks,
Ed
Thanks for your comment Ed. The Kilowatt Hour event on November 20 would be good for you to check out, since you'll get to see a variety of electric vehicle options and meet people who actually use them. Also,, some of us who'll be there (like me) are very familiar with more conventional car-less forms of transportation, as well, such as gas scooters, mopeds and motorcycles -- so you could find out more about those too. Hope to see you on the 20th!
OMG I love that you went to Vancouver to CAT SIT! I'm so sharing that with my Project Purr Peeps. We are definitely related! I'd love to get involved with something like this in Baton Rouge!
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