Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Something to think about

Today's trip towards home was pretty uneventful, until we pulled into a rest stop about 50 miles South of Albuquerque.

Sitting on the sidewalk was a man somewhere in his 40's. Next to him was a mountain bike, fully loaded, hauling a trailer that was loaded also. On the back of the trailer was a cardboard sign that said: Going to Albuquerque with my dog, anything will help. Sure enough, there was a dog tucked between him and the bike.

I tend to be somewhat wary of the increasing number of people that stand on the street corners with similar signs. But, I asked Jack to go and talk with him: if he needed food we have a truck full, but I wouldn't just hand him money.

Jack went over and spoke with him and I joined in. His story is: he lost his job last November; everything he owned was on the bike, he was heading to Albuquerque to try and find work; every day things seemed to go worse. He was at the rest stop sitting out a rainstorm. His chain kept breaking and if it broke again he was in trouble: his chain tool broke. Any food or help that we could give would be appreciated.

As he and Jack talked, I looked shared a moment with his dog. A well fed mix breed, about 50-60 pounds, with the happiest bright brown eyes you can imagine. I felt that her eyes were saying, "isn't this great? I am on a road trip with my best friend! I get to ride in this trailer! I get to meet all kinds of people and see all kinds of new things!" I could see that she was not fazed by the rain, the broken chain, the loss of a job, the long miles ahead. I could see how happy she was as I stroked her head.

We gave the man food for a few days, a few dollars, and a chain tool. He waved us goodbye and wished us safe travels.

It gave me something to think about for the next 200 miles. For many of us that cycle it is mainly a hobby; a sport; a way to stay in shape; a vacation. We have our credit cards to fall back on when the cash runs out or it rains so hard we want to stay in a hotel. We have all the best gear. We sometimes have a caterer that keeps us well fed and watered. We sometimes have someone to haul our luggage. We sometimes have a mechanic that fixes our bike when it breaks. We don't ride if we don't have too or we don't feel like it. We complain when it is too wet, too cold, too hot, the hills are too big, the miles too long. We go home to families, our cars, our jobs.

I thought hard about this man and his dog, cycling because he has to. Trying to find a way to support himself and his happy dog. Relying on the help of a few people that will care until he can. Really gave me something to think about.





Saturday, April 17, 2010

White Bean Puttanesca












Pictures from Lady Bird Wildflower Center.

This recipe, from Chateau St. Michelle, (try it with a good Cab Sauv) was
requested by a couple members of the Texas Tribe. Very tasty, vegetarian, and healthy! Puttanesca is the slang term for Italian "ladies of the night". The story is that the ladies would come home tired late at night and toss together this sauce with ingredients they had on hand. Then, they would boil up some pasta and stir the cold sauce into the warm pasta. I serve this solo with no pasta as a vegetarian entree! It is great standing alone.

12 roma tomatoes, cored and diced: 2 Tblsp olive oil: 2 Tbls balsamic vinegar: 1 bunch green onions, chopped: 3 garlic cloves, minced: 1 Tblsp capers: 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives: 1 Tblsp chopped fresh oregano: 2 Tblsp chopped fresh basil: 2 Tblsp chopped fresh Italian parsley: 1 tsp dry mustard: 1/2 tsp ground cumin: salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste: 1 pound white navy beans, cooked according to package directions: 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, green onions, garlic, capers, olives, oregano, basil, parsley, mustard, cumin, salt and pepper in a saucepan. Let the ingredients sit for 1 hour to blend flavors. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook until the tomatoes are tender. Add the cooked beans and heat through. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. ENJOY!

For a little more intense flavor, chop the capers and olives. I prefer to leave them whole.

OH: Cycle Utah is now full. Sorry guys! Better try for Cycle Washington. I can tell you the seafood feed at Deception Pass State Park is worth every mile! See Ya!

Rainbows and Raccoons





Rainbows of wild flowers. Wildflowers so thick and lush they were breathtaking! That's what the riders rode through today (thursday). And rain. Pouring down, foggy rain. The sky broke loose about 3:00, the back half of the pack got it worst. It was not pleasant, but they did it! The wildflowers made it worth it.

Raccoons raided our camp sight at 4:00 Friday morning! One of our staff, who shall not be named, left his bag of garbage under our truck, next to our tent. Why always my tent? Four extremely large, well fed, raccoons helped themselves. They weren't even fazed by headlamps. Well acclimated to the campground life!

Dinner tonight was great! Started with vegetable soup at 4:00 for the soggy tribe members. Followed that up with fettucini with eggplant marinara and fettucini with pesto & feta cheese. The plan was a mushroom burgundy sauce, but the mushrooms didn't survive the trip. Improvisation is a necessary skill in food service.

Goodbyes were said at the last map meeting, and we sent the tribe off Friday morning for what appeared to be a not too wet day of riding. It was a great trip, and a great group of riders, including a few characters! We had quite a few new to touring with us, and I hope to see them on future rides!

Good luck to Joe leading the Northern tier ride, and to Jack P. leading the self supported trans am! You guys will do great.

We spent Friday touring more of the hill country with our friend Isabelle, then loading up on the traditional gifts to take home: hot sauces for Matt and brew pub t-shirts for Aaron. They have quite a collection from my travels over the years. Do you have a favorite brew pub I need to visit?

Today we are visiting the Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center, dinner tonight with a group Jack rode cross country with, on to ride in Fredericksburg Sunday, then home. Three days in a big yellow truck. I will miss the ride, the cooking, and the tribe, but I really miss the boys and my dogs! I live the life of a gypsy, and I enjoy every minute of it. Well, almost.

Next tour: Cycle Utah. Great ride you guys! Sign up if you can: it's almost full. So, as Aaron penned on my truck years ago, we'llsee you on the other side!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Stuffed French Toast


It was a rainy day today in Texas. Started out misty, then drizzly, then pouring. 6:30 and back to the mist. Jack and I got to ride today! Yeah! Rode out to Luchenbach and back to camp. Very pretty ride: some wild flowers, rolling ups and downs in and out of washes and creeks, mainly farm country. Only one rude Texan in a pick up truck: took the whole road coming at us and didn't move over until the last second. Everyone else was great. It felt so good to be back on the bike!

We started the morning with the cake robbers. Baked cakes last night for tonights dessert. A couple of wayward tribe members helped themselves in the wee hours of the night. Bad tribe members. Followed that up with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, ham steaks, and stuffed French toast. YUMMM! A flaky croissant stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pecans, soaked in eggs and then grilled. A yummy surprise for this tribe.

Last nights tilapia tacos were a hit. Made tilapia chowder this afternoon with the leftovers for a pre dinner warmer. The tribe loved it. Tonights dinner was:

Green salad with a cherry tomato medley and honey mustard dressing
Steamed basmati rice
Greek lemon chicken
Indian vegetable curried stew (one of my favorites)
Leftover: potato salad & coleslaw
Chocolate and spice cakes (none for the bad boys!)

Some of the riders have been asking; where's the pulled pork sandwiches? Boy have I got them trained about leftovers. Rule is: you don't eat it for dinner, you get it for lunch. So tomorrow will be pulled pork sandwiches!

Tomorrow on to Perdenales State Park. Ok: this is how I was told to say it: Perd - i - nal - us.
The first time here I said: Perd - a - nails. Wrong.
Dinner tomorrow night: Some sort of salad; Fettucini with burgundy mushroom sauce; linguini with pesto & feta cheese; grilled french bread; sauteed snap peas.

I will blog on Friday night with the wrap up of this tour. Then, home for a few weeks and on to St. George, Utah for the Cycle Utah tour. Not to late to sign up for this gorgeous ride!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Good Morning!

Breakfast bright and early on day day 4!
I like to think I am a morning person. Jack likes to think otherwise. I do get up, but I guess I run on autopilot for the first couple of hours! Breakfast has never been late. Close, but not late.

Mornings are amusing on the rides. Personalities vary radically in the early am. Some people are little morning birds: up early chirping the days praises. Others are more like the evil geese. One lady a couple of years ago refused to talk to anyone before a couple of cups of coffee. One lady stood staring at the scrambled eggs and asked what kind of potatoes they were. Early, about 4:00 am, in Trout Lake, Washington, a rider walked into the kitchen and asked if the coffee was ready. Not a smart thing to do. He got the look. If you're on one of our rides and I give you the blank; excuse me?; you're kidding, right?; look, it's not good.

My middle son; hi Aaron!; is not really a morning person. (Actually I don't think any of the three are!) In Lincoln, Montana, I zipped tied his tent closed. In Marblemount, Washington I took his tent down around him. He got even. Called me coach the whole rest of the trip, then poured a bucket of ice water over my head while I was grilling in Leavenworth, Washington, telling me I did a "good job, coach!". My oldest son, Matt, can sleep anywhere. One morning at Lake Chelan, Washington, he was asleep next to the buffet. The riders had to step over him. An employee who shall remain nameless was instructed at 5:00 to take the coffee to the only outlet to be found (in the men's room at Patagonia, Arizona) and plug it in. I think he was sleep walking. I found the coffee pot in the middle of the driveway at 7:00. No coffee that morning!

So: gorgeous ride in the misty rain today. Tomorrow they head out to Enchanted rock. The rumor is the best wild flower viewing is tomorrow! Tonights dinner:

Southwestern green salad w/ avacados
Grilled tilapia tacos w/ tequila lime coleslaw
Vegetarian fajitas w/ all the trimmings
Spanish rice and beans
Homemade brownies.

Time to go to work! Do you have any morning stories?

Monday, April 12, 2010

Evil Geese


Ahhhhh....lounging at Blanco State Park, warm sunshine, light breeze, the Guadalupe River gently flowing past, the aroma of roasting pork, a cold diet coke, and EVIL GEESE! They are second only to ostriches. The cute ducks are nowhere to be found: the evil geese chased them away. They have yet to converge on camp, but I am positive they soon will. As soon as they know that food is present.

Today was a gorgeous day for a ride. It is warm, not hot. Most of the ride covered small back roads rolling through fields of flowers and farms. Every ones mood is happy! We were set up early enough that I get a couple of hours off. Hoping Jack will fix his flat so that we can ride some this week. Hint, Hint.

It seems that everywhere I look in the hill country, it is green. Shades and shades of green. When you drive through the hill country it feels like you are driving on the top of the world. The trees are not tall and you can see over them for miles. Kind of like looking out over an ocean of trees. One constant in the Hill Country are gates. If you own property, you must have a gate. And the bigger the gate the better. Must have lots of wrought iron and a name or an animal stuck to it. Even the mobile homes have gates. The gate cost more than the home!

Tonight's menu:
Spring greens w/ medjool dates & oranges
Roast pulled pork w/ pan gravy
Steamed fingerling potatoes & baby carrots
White bean puttanesca
Vanilla pound cake
Last nights BBQ was well received. HEB grocery store produces an awesome smoked brisket that we just reheat. I know it's cheating, but I doubt that I could do any better. And it's pre sliced. The Texas wedge salad was really good, maybe a little over dressed. What makes it a Texas wedge is adding your favorite salsa to the dressing. I opted for fire roasted chipotle.

Tomorrow on to Fredericksburg. Must stop in Luchenbach on the way. Probably be to early for a beer. And I don't think I'll see Willy or Waylon or the boys. Doesn't hurt to dream. Momma: don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys! Till tomorrow.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Texas day 2

The view from our tent!
I need to read the event schedule to figure out where I am supposed to be. We did not ride to Blanco today, we are at New Braunfels. We are at Camp Mountain Breeze on the Guadalupe River. Go to Blanco tomorrow.
The sky felt like it was sitting on the ground today: the cloud cover was very low and it misted until about 2:00. Made for some slippery riding, but the tribe is filing in making pretty good time. Oh! One tribe member just showed up with his bike in the back of a locals pick up! Texans are really friendly!
Jack and I stopped in Gruene (pronounced green) ((you have to take a class on how to pronounce most of the names down here!)) to see the oldest dance hall in Texas. A really good country band was playing and the town was packed. It's a cute little town of shops and restaurants that sits just above the Guadalupe.
Dinner tonight:
Texas wedge salad
Hickory smoked beef brisket w/ ast. BBQ sauces
Red potato salad w/ eggs
Cowboy beans (a recipe from the Reata cookbook that I just picked up)
Grilled portabello mushrooms for the veggies
Strawberry trifle
Dinner last night was awesome, if I do say so myself. The pork chops were fabulous and the curry was a big hit. Here is the pork chop recipe: have fun with it!

Apple chutney: 4 gala apples, peeled & cored. 1 cup cider vinegar. 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar. 1 cup minced red onion. 1/4 cup seeded & finely chopped poblano chiles. 3 TBLS honey. 2 teaspoons ground ginger. 1 teaspoon kosher salt. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer until syrupy, about 30 minutes.

Pork rub: 1 1/2 TBLS brown sugar. 1 TBLS chili powder. 1 1/2 tsp granulated garlic. 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. 1 1/2 tsp dry mustard. 1/2 tsp ground cumin. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. 1/2 tsp ground white pepper. 1/2 tsp kosher salt.

Brush 4 center cut pork chops with 1/4 cup honey. Coat each chop with pork rub. Grill over medium flame on grill until desired doneness. Serve with a spoonful of chutney.
YUMMMMM. Let me know how it turned out.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Bats


Eight years ago I was invited to visit Austin. Kidding around, I asked what was so interesting that I should fly 1/2 way across the US to see Austin. The answer was BATS. He had me at bats. My tattoo is a bat. Where ever I travel the bats are with me.

Austin is home to over 1 1/2 million Mexican Free-Tail bats, mainly pregnant females. They migrate to the Congress Street bridge to have their babies late in March and stay through the end of August. Every night they forage out in search of mosquitoes and other annoying critters with wings. They exit the bridge in formation that would make the Blue Angels envious. There is a daily schedule posted to make sure you arrive on time. It's a must. There is also a great ride that Jack and I did last year out of Fredericksburg to see more bats. It's about a 7 mile climb to the top of an old railroad tunnel where another colony of bats summers. The downhill is awesome!

Austin is also home to fabulous restaurants, great music, miles of beautiful lakes, and really friendly people. Favorite restaurants: Zoots for an intimate, upscale experience; the original Salt Lick for historic, remarkable BBQ. Favorite music: Willy Nelson's Farm Aid concert in 2002, and Austin City Limits if you can get tickets. Memories of my times in Austin are as big as the Texas sky.

The tour starts tonight. The staff is gathering as I blog. We will head out to McKinney Falls State Park in a couple of hours and the feeding of the tribe begins! Tonight's menu:

Spinach salad with fresh strawberries, toasted almonds & honey mustard dressing
Honey glazed pork chops with homemade apple chutney
Potato and eggplant curry (keep those vegetarians happy!)
Steamed fresh asparagus
Basmati rice
Chocolate banana cake for dessert.

Tomorrow we ride to Blanco. There's a cool micro brewery there. There is hope for good beer in Texas! Don't you wish you were here? If you have not ridden this ride, another must. See Ya'all!


Friday, April 9, 2010

Fish Tacos?



We made it! Three days of travel and we are in Fredericksburg, Texas. Fried pickles and cold beer at the pub and all is well. The wild flowers are amazing this year: miles of blue and yellows, purples and reds. Walked through part of residential Fredericksburg to look at the historical homes. They are wonderful. Most every yard is spilling over with blue bonnets. I did learn a couple of things about Texas:
Texans do not require on or off ramps on the freeways: they just need to be able to traverse the terrain. Saves money on road construction.
The sparser the decor in a restaurant: the better the bbq. Florescent lights are a must.
Bud light is the beer of choice in the South. Micro brews must be a Northern thing.
Some dead cactus resemble Cousin It.
And now back to work! I am in a quandary over the menu: need help here with the tilapia. Should I prepare it grilled with mango salsa? Or does fish tacos with tequila coleslaw and mango salsa, avocado lime cream sauce & cucumber pico fit the local cuisine better? I am leaning to the fish tacos. Opinions, anyone?
The rest of the menu will look like: BBQ beef brisket: pulled pork: Greek lemon chicken: honeyed pork chops: burgundy & wild mushroom pasta. I'll keep you up to date on how it all works.
The weather is sunny and in the 70's: but looking at thunder showers most of next week. Cooking in the rain: my version of that catchy tune! Just cooking in the rain. Watch out or I'll start sashaying down the driveway!
More soon. Must work now.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Texas here we come


Yahoo! Tomorrow we will be heading to Texas. We pick up our produce in Tucson and should arrive in Fredericksburg on Thursday afternoon. If you're ever in Fredericksburg the brew pub and their fried pickles are a have to. Also, the Pastry Queen's bakery. That is not the real name, I can't remember it right now, but it is the name of her book: Texas Pecan Pie Bars originated there. The book is also a must if you love desserts. She does a great job. I will blog away when we start cooking on Saturday and let you know what's on the menu!
Note to Zanna: nice job on your first cheesecake. It was delicious! See Ya!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Critters

Feeding cyclists is only half the fun. I love to feed critters! Two footed, web footed, four footed, you name them, I like to feed them. Except Ostriches. Ostriches are evil. We stopped at the ostrich farm North of Tucson last year. I would recommend it if you are driving by, but remember: Ostriches are evil.

Feeding critters has gotten me into a little bit of trouble over the years. How was I supposed to know that Javelinas aren't the cute little piglets in the children's book "The Three Little Javelinas"? I didn't get to see them, but they left little cloven hoof prints in the mud! Sorry Tammy.
Chipmunks got me into trouble too. I honestly did not see the sign at Washington Pass that said, "DO NOT FEED THE CHIPMUNKS!" And they LOVE cheerios. And they're SO CUTE. The ranger was none to happy with me. Sorry Tom.
Chipmunks took over in Truckee, CA. They line up on the boulders as we enter the State Park. I can just hear the chipmunk chatter: "there they are! Right on time! Granola bars! Yippee!". As soon as we open the back of the truck there is a colony of chipmunks that have been trained in granola bar recognisance. One or two will run diversion tactics in the front of the truck while the rest of the crew scurry into the pantry for a full inspection. Try getting them out of the back of my truck!
Then there was the little guy in Mammoth. Well, he really wasn't little. I think he had a thyroid issue. I had to keep the door to the kitchen that I was using open, as it was really hot. Every time I would turn my back on the door the little guy would scamper in and hop right up on my work table. Yes, I sanitized. I ended up giving him a bagel to go.

Raccoons are another story. I do not purposefully feed them. They lay in waiting until everyone is asleep and then pilfer what ever they can find. One night in Colorado I thought all the garbage was stored. Brian: you left the broken tequila bottle in a bag under the buffet table. Next to where I was sleeping. Waking up to two HUGE raccoons is not my idea of a good time. Raccoons like tequila.

Ducks are pretty cute, too. Harmless. Not their cousins the geese. The geese in Blanco, Texas are down right mean. They had on rider treed on a picnic table. I really didn't feed them.

Goats ate my bananas. We were at a ranch in Utah on the Parks tour. The resident goats had the run of the ranch during the day. I had offloaded a case of bananas to put on the lunch truck and the goats consumed about half of it before I knew what hit me. Goats love bananas! So do deer. The deer in the State Park in Oregon are pretty tame. Are they related to the goats?

The horses in Panguitch, Utah liked apples. They also liked the seats of the bikes that riders leaned up on the fences. Lesson learned?

Last but not least, the hornets. I don't feed the hornets. On purpose. They love protein. I am protein. In South Lake Tahoe, CA the hornets were so thick I just gave up. The riders had to sit in the trucks to eat. The fabulous fresh fig and prosciutto salad that I was so proud of was inedible. There were hornets covering every inch. If I serve it again I shall name it Hornet Salad. Note: check your soda cans before drinking when hornets are present. More than one swollen lip has transpired.

Just received a picture of the blue bonnets in Texas from Steve. It's going to be a beautiful ride. I wonder what critters I will find this year in Texas. Armadillos anyone?

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Cheesecakes & Characters

This morning is all about cheesecake. Passionate about cheesecake! It really isn't a cake: there is no flour: it is more of a custard. Creamy, smooth, dense, refreshing. Top with a tart lemon curd, sweet raspberry glaze, decadent chocolate ganache. Yumm. Two down, six to go. Dessert for a Lion's Club Dinner next month. They freeze quite well, if I can keep them hidden from the young men in my house. My favorite recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible. Simple, time consuming, wonderful. Recipe anyone?



Characters refers to the people we meet on the road. One of the greatest parts of what we do is the people we meet. I could talk (or write) for hours about the sixteen years of Adventure Cycling members that have ridden with us, and probably will at some point! (Names will not be named if you're worried!) But now I'll talk about some of the people we have met along the way.


Over the years we have managed to feed an estimated 6000 cyclists, (want to know how many meals that is?), as well as quite a few "strays", as I like to call them. (I will delve into the world of feeding critters tomorrow. I love to feed critters, much to the dismay of a couple of tour leaders. Sorry Tom and Tammy.) At least a couple of times a year I pick up a stray or two. Maybe for one meal, sometimes a couple of days. Examples:

Cycle Utah: GORGEOUS RIDE! One of my favorites. If you haven't ridden it: you need to. If I can ride Cedar Breaks, so can you.There is always a number of European tourists in Zion National Park. Every other year I find a German family that is really curious about what we are doing, and invite them, in my poor high school German, to dine with us. They are usually quite surprised, but do partake. Spreading the cycling good will one tourist at a time!

Montana Divide: Condon, Montana. A dot on the map. A post office, restaurant, motel/store/gas station, a community hall. And Bob. Bob wandered in for breakfast one morning and joined us each year for the next couple of years. Bob was in his late 70's and was born and raised in Condon. His family homesteaded there, and he lived in the cabin his father built. The only time he moved away was to serve during the war. He filled us full of family history and tales of grizzly encounters, (I quit running the back roads after that). One grizzly broke into his cabin and removed a barrel full of supplies. All that was left was a mangled barrel. I now know how to protect a cabin from a raging forest fire. The last time we were in Condon, Bob had checked himself into a retirement home.


Colorado Divide: Kremmling, Colorado. If I keep telling you that each ride is gorgeous, you may quit believing me, but I cannot lie...Gorgeous. Our riders were on the road and met up with a self supported Divide group from Adventure Cycling. We invited them to dinner, the courteous cyclist thing to do. When two of the riders were grumbling about having to borrow a car to go find a grocery store to get provisions for the next two days, I invited them to shop in my truck! I helped them plan the next two dinners and loaded them up with all that they would need. Probably the best couple of meals they had all week.


Plummer, Idaho. The family tour and the relaxed tour both start here. Again, a dot on the map nestled in wheat country. We had just begun serving dinner when an ancient member of the local Indian tribe wandered in looking for the community barbecue that took place the day before. Could not let him go away hungry! He kept a group of our riders entertained for an hour with the history of the tribe and the struggles of growing up and living on a reservation. When traveling it is so cool to talk to the locals: you learn alot!


And last for this long winded entry: Newhalem, Washington. Cycle Washington: yes I am biased, but the best of all the tours: mountains that mirror the Swiss Alps, orchards ripe with peaches and apricots, farmland bursting with strawberries & raspberries, fresh salmon and oysters and mussels, Puget Sound with the Olympics towering in the West. You have to ride here. Newhalem is a dot on the map: sensing a theme here? A little town owned by the power company at the base of Washington Pass. There is a grocery store, but it closes at 6:00. Enter, or ride in, two cyclists that have just begun their journey across country. Cycle Washington usually takes place in July: hint, a little late to be starting cross country. One rider has a flat: no tubes, no pump. No food, it's after 6:00, and no plans of where to stay. (I don't think much planning took place at all.) What is the probability that they would ride into a camp of 80 Adventure Cyclists, equipped with not only a caterer, but a bike mechanic?!! We fed them and fixed their bikes. The next morning provided breakfast, sandwiches for the road, a spare tube and sent them up the hill. Adventure Cycling's staff proceeded to pick them up about 9 hours later at the top of the pass in the pouring down, really cold, rain and shuttled them to our next camp. Again we fed them, and the next morning sent them on their way. I have no idea where they ended up. I hope it was on the East Coast.


Yes, I like to feed strays, but more than that I am proud to be part of a community of people who, as Jim Sayer recently wrote: "ride the healthiest, friendliest and greenest vehicle ever created".