Author: joe

  • NCDC 1981-2000 Average Temperatures On Google Maps

    NCDC 1981-2000 Average Temperatures On Google Maps

    I’m taking a road trip through the southwest this winter, and was interested in seeing a map of average temperatures so we would know what we’d be driving through. When I couldn’t find any easily, I decided to see if I could plot data from the National Climate Data Center [FTP] via the Google Maps API.…

  • SF to Berkeley Bike Ride.

    One of my favorite rides — looking forward to doing this again when my broken wrist is healed. There’s a lot of great parks that line the Bay, and it is fun to see the whole SF Bay area in a day. I often stay closer to the East Bay shore, going through Oyster Bay…

  • Most amazing facts, via Quora.

    Possibly the most amazing Quora answers ever. “12% of all the people ever born are walking the planet at this very moment” and “If you properly shuffle a deck of cards, in all likelihood, the resulting deck has never been seen before in the history of the world.” are my two favorites.

  • What is there to see between Dublin and Cork (but not *in* Dublin or Cork)?

    I asked this on Quora, and no one answered, so I went ahead and answered my own question after having ridden between the two towns. There’s: the ruin of Kells Priory  (“one of the largest and most impressive medieval monuments in Ireland”); the Rock of Cashel if you take the northerly route, or some nice…

  • What to do when flying with bikes.

    What to do when flying with bikes.

    Bicycle Touring Pro has a good page with major airline policies laid out. It is from 2008, so perhaps a bit out of date, but a good starting point. This summer (2012) my wife and I flew with our bicycles from San Francisco to Dublin, rode around Europe for the summer, and flew back from Copenhagen to…

  • What are some good beginner-to-intermediate biking routes in the San Francisco Bay Area?

    My answer to this Quora question. From Berkeley, my favorite rides are: (1) Up old Tunnel Road (Ashby/13), a winding ~10 mile ride that is a moderate climb most of the way.  You can return to Berkeley either via Claremont Ave, or for a longer ride go up to Grizzly Peak and drop out on…

  • Why is cycling much more popular in Europe than the USA?

    From a Quora answer I wrote in response to this question: I spent two months of the summer of 2012 cycling around Europe and thought about this a lot.  Here’s what I have: (1) Urban Layout.  European cities were designed before the advent of the automobile, so they all are arranged around a central point,…

  • Yes on 37

    Michael Pollan: “[M]any of America’s biggest food and beverage makers — including PepsiCo, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and General Mills — have together ponied up tens of millions of dollars to, in effect, fight transparency about their products.” (Vote Yes on 37, Californians). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/magazine/why-californias-proposition-37-should-matter-to-anyone-who-cares-about-food.html