Ira Hayes was never comfortable with his fame and invitations to the White House, feeling guilt over surviving the war when so many of his comrades didn’t (only five of his platoon of 45 survived, and three of the six men in the photo were killed only days after it was taken), and he died tragically at the young age of 32 in 1955. He nonetheless remains a hero to the nation and especially to the Pima community. His hometown of Sacaton and the Ira H. Hayes American Legion Post 84 honor him and all veterans with an annual parade every February to celebrate the anniversary of the Iwo Jima flag-raising.

What do I have to do with any of this? My old acquaintance and riding buddy Orvan (you knew there had to be a motorcycling connection, didn’t you?), who I hadn’t seen in at least 6 years, invited me along on a ride to Sacaton this past weekend that he and his riding group, the Hemajkam Riders, which includes many military veterans among its members, have been doing for several years. I was expecting merely a pleasant ride along some reservation back roads. Little did I know that I would get much more.

We met at a hotel in Ahwatukee at 6 am Saturday for breakfast before starting the ride. Most riders had travelled here the day before; some from Tucson, others from as far away as Window Rock in northeastern Arizona. After a surprisingly decent $4 breakfast, we saddled up and headed to Sacaton, taking a combination of interstate and lightly-travelled back roads. Upon arriving at the Sacaton Middle School,

I was amazed at the number and variety of people, uniforms, vehicles, and flags present in the area.




It turned out that we were in the staging grounds for the parade. Not only that, but we were participants in the parade as well!

There were many different groups present, some from as far away as Canada, so we had to wait for the parade to actually begin moving past the first spectators, about half a mile away, before our position in the procession came near so we could insert ourselves into the stream of parade participants. The kick-off to the parade was signaled at 8:45 am by a flyover by a B-17 bomber and a fighter aircraft of similar vintage that I couldn’t identify (P-51?), which both made several passes. Beautiful aircraft.

There were several other veterans groups there on motorcycles, including the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, who provided their own patriotic music.

I felt a bit out of place, not only for not being a veteran (a recruiter years ago rejected me for being on medication for asthma), but also for being the only sportbike rider present! (Can you sing “One of these things is not like the others”?) However, the Hemajkam Riders were very gracious and welcoming (just a few of them shown below).

We eventually inched our way past about a mile and a half of cheering, waving spectators

before ending at the Mathew B. Juan / Ira H. Hayes Park in Sacaton, site of memorials to Ira Hayes

and Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving with the U.S. military.

There were supposed to be several speeches and a lunch at the park, but due to a dust storm that had been worsening throughout the parade, the outdoor ceremonies were limited to a few very brief speeches and the raising of the flag, accompanied by the singing of the national anthem by a local children’s choir. I believe it may have been sung in the Pima language - it took me a few seconds to recognize it and raise my hand to my heart! Of course, the vast majority of those present would have understood it instantly - we were on the reservation, after all.

The remaining ceremonies - lunch, lengthier speeches, and a raffle drawing by the Hemajkam Riders - were moved to the nearby Boys & Girls Club. Lunch was an enjoyable traditional fry bread with refried beans, beef, lettuce, and tomato. While some of the speeches were lengthy, there were definitely moving portions.

The event wrapped up a little after 1 pm. I bid my farewell to Orv, his wife Reyna, and several of the Hemajkam Riders I had met that day, then got back on my bike and followed a few of the other Hemajkam Riders back to the main road in what was now a blinding dust storm. Within minutes the storm turned to such pelting rain that I stopped to put on my rain suit before getting on the interstate. I arrived home surprisingly dry, or to be more specific, at least no wetter than when I put on the rainsuit (kudos Teknic 1-piece!), and the official American Legion Post 84 cap given to me by Orv just before I left was amazingly clean and dry too (kudos Cycle Guys FastPack!).

I am very grateful to Orvan and the other members of the Hemajkam Riders for letting me be a part of their activities that day, which prompted me to learn more about Ira Hamilton Hayes. In the more than 14 years I’ve lived in the Phoenix area, I had been to Sacaton before but had no idea of the important role in history of one of its residents, or of the annual parade to honor him. It was a privilege to find out this way.

(Additional photos on Flickr)

Taking just half a vacation day, my friend Derek and I left Phoenix early Friday afternoon on March 26th.
(All images are clickable for larger versions)


Heading northwest, we enjoyed plentiful views of desert wildflowers nurtured by the abnormally abundant recent rains, and stopped at the Mecca Cantina in Wickenburg for lunch.


If there was any religious aspect to this place, it was that their deep-fried calzones were brimming with absolutely heavenly molten mozzarella. We continued about 70 miles to Wikieup, where we stopped for fuel (the first gas station on this route after Wickenburg; MapQuest’s gas station locator is pretty accurate here), and then roughly 50 miles to Kingman, where we stopped at a Wal-Mart to pick up a few items. It was dusk by the time we departed Kingman, so for the next 90 or so miles we enjoyed views of mountain silhouettes against rapidly darkening skies.

At the Hoover Dam, traffic slowed but not nearly as badly as expected (I’ve experienced hour-plus delays in the past). At the security checkpoint, most vehicles were stopped momentarily, but we on our bikes were waved right through; I suppose one couldn’t hide enough explosives on a bike to do much damage (and despite my appearance I have no interest in finding out). We stopped at an overlook to view the dam and were stunned by the low water level in Lake Mead; from previous separate visits we both recalled the water level being – without exaggerating – at least 100 feet higher. Note that the last times either of us had viewed the water level was 10-11 years ago. On a more positive note, construction of the bypass bridge was well underway; on my last trip across the dam in 2006 (in a car, and I didn’t stop to look at the water), only the approaches to the then-not-yet-built ramps were visible. Now the ramps and most of the span seemed to be complete (no good photos due to it being dark). The bridge is expected to open to traffic in Q4 of this year.

After crossing the dam, we made our way to the Fiesta Henderson hotel-casino, where I had made a reservation. My two friends from high school who live in Henderson and who I hadn’t seen in two years, Jenny and Kim, were already impatiently waiting for us to arrive. Originally I had planned to meet them much earlier for dinner, but I had forgotten that travelling 300 miles by bike can take a lot longer than by car (if you’re not a speeder) due to extra stops for gas, stretching, taking in the scenery, etc. During our stop in Kingman earlier, I had called them to recommend they go ahead and eat without us. By the time we finally met, they had not only already eaten but had a head start on libations too. Unfortunately, we couldn’t socialize for too long since both of them had plans with their families early the next morning. We nonetheless were able to catch up on each other’s lives a little bit and it was great to see them.

The next morning Derek and I each enjoyed a $3.99 Grand Slam breakfast at Denny’s before escaping the Las Vegas area’s concrete jungle.

People who live in Vegas probably have no problem navigating the city’s numerous freeways, but I found them extremely confusing for the route we needed to take. To get to highway 160 east to Death Valley via the town of Pahrump, we inferred from our maps that we’d need to take several different freeways heading five to ten miles south, then quite a bit north, which seemed like a lot of unnecessary travel. My GPS, which had frustrated me earlier by inexplicably not having “Death Valley” nor “Death Valley National Park” listed as a point of interest, came to the rescue when I punched in the city of “Pahrump” and ‘fastest route’, taking us on a much more direct route mostly along interstate 215 to highway 160.

Nevada’s route 160 itself is scenic, especially approaching the Spring Mountains just west of Vegas, but the morning temperatures, around 50°F when we left Henderson, dipped into the 40’s as we climbed to the pass through said mountains.

Of course, neither of us had brought winter gear along (“Death Valley will be hot in April” we had been told by our car-driving friends…), so the wind-chill was especially noticeable. We soldiered on to Pahrump where we made an extended gas stop to have a coffee and thaw out, and where the temperatures had risen into the 60’s. While waiting, we were amused to see a billboard for an adult establishment directly facing one for a pre-school. Underway again, we turned left onto Bell Vista Rd north of Pahrump and enjoyed a very scenic drive along this not-too-heavily travelled back road. Just past the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, we stopped to take pictures of the very whitish desert floor, and were rewarded with an up-close view of a dust devil crossing the road.

(Above image courtesy MapQuest)

Finally entering Death Valley, we turned left to get to our first stop at the end of a terrifically winding narrow mountain road: Dante’s View – the highest point in the park accessible by vehicle, and more than a mile above the desert floor. We lingered here for a while, taking in the amazing views of the Panamint Range across from us, and the salt deposits of Badwater Basin beneath us.

The latter was our next destination, though after making our way back to the main road (CA 190) and enjoying some of its sweepers, we decided to first stop at the Furnace Creek Inn for lunch. Service was a little slow due to the large number of diners, but the food was good, though not nearly as inexpensive as our breakfasts. Back on the road, we enjoyed more broad sweepers before arriving at Badwater Basin, at -282 feet the lowest point in the western hemisphere and completely overrun with tourists. Determined to get a few pictures showing a bit more isolation, we walked out beyond the rest of the crowds to snap a few.



By the time we got back to the parking lot, the thermometers on our bikes indicated over 100° – vindicating our cage-driving friends – so we were eager to get moving again. Heading back towards Furnace Creek, we allowed ourselves the detour of Artist’s Drive, which turned out to be the unexpected highlight of the trip. This 9 mile one-way loop rises up into the Amargosa Range and offers incredible views along with fantastic second-gear twisties, dips, and switchbacks. The only reasons why I didn’t take photos of the twisty bits are because I didn’t want to stop and I didn’t dare remove a hand from the handlebars!

We continued past Furnace Creek to the nearest gas station; one of allegedly only three in the whole park. We were told it was the only one that sold premium, and that too at a premium: $4.29/gallon, compared to $2.79 in Phoenix, or even $3.19 in Nevada. Since beggars can’t be choosers, we filled up, then made our way to Stovepipe Wells to see whatever we could there before it got dark. Along the way, we crossed sea level and saw sand dunes.


At Stovepipe Wells Village, we stopped at the gift store to buy souvenirs, then crossed the street to enter the Badwater Saloon for a well-deserved ice-cold beer.


Just one beer since we still had to get to our hotel in Beatty, NV, outside the park, but it was nice to relax and unwind a bit while recounting everything we had experienced that day. After enjoying the beer and several glasses of water (and making use of the facilities, naturally), we strolled back out to the bikes at dusk.


A young man nearby paused from driving remote controlled cars with his son to strike up a conversation with us. It turns out he’s a motorcyclist from Canada (Mud Lightspeed on Advrider) who had in the past ridden his Triumph Scrambler up the Dempster Highway to the Arctic. We ended up talking about bikes and motorcycle touring for quite a while as the light faded – if you ride, you’ll understand. Regretfully saying our farewells, Derek and I began the last leg of the day, on still more beautifully curving and ascending mountain roads.

As night fell, so did the temperatures, especially as the elevation increased (Beatty is over 3,300 feet above sea level) – by the time we got to our hotel it was back in the 40’s. Luckily we had a reservation for what turned out to be not only the last room in the hotel, but the last room in town; while we were checking in, several other travelers were turned away while the clerk phoned other properties to no avail. While I’m grateful we had a room, it was unfortunately a smoking room that really played havoc on our non-smokers’ lungs. Derek suspects that as the hotel filled up, they merely had to honor a room reservation but not a smoking/non-smoking request, and thus gave our non-smoking room to another guest who checked in earlier. Next time I’ll call the property the day of arrival to confirm a non-smoking room.

After unloading the bikes, we ambled to the nearby casino to… no, not gamble, but get dinner. However, their restaurant was woefully unprepared for the onslaught of travelers seeking to dine that night. While the service was pleasant, it took a long time to get seated, and even longer to get our merely adequate food after we ordered (recommendation: have dinner in the park before it gets too late). On the plus side, we had time for a few more beers before our food arrived – hey, we were done riding for the day! Walking back to the hotel, we were amazed at the number of bikes in the parking lot. All day, we had seen tons of bikes in the park, which was not surprising, considering how absolutely perfect for motorcycling Death Valley is. What did surprise us were the masses of dual-sport/dirt bikes, which outnumbered even cruisers, the next-most popular category. Speaking to one of their riders, I found out that most of them had travelled here for a multi-day off-road rally (some from as far away as the San Francisco Bay area). According to him, the route seemed to favor lighter bikes; he had gotten stuck and fallen over several times that day on his 1200cc BMW in the loose sand-like gravel in this area.

The next morning we awoke to clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the 40’s, which didn’t feel so bad in the bright sunshine. Derek made the wise suggestion to get breakfast somewhere along the way rather than deal with the long wait at the casino restaurant, given the hordes of travelers in town. We grabbed a coffee at the Death Valley Nut & Candy Company between the hotel and the casino while warming up the bikes (the overnight low had been 34°, and my bike had only barely started, so I didn’t want to risk stalling it before it had fully warmed up).

We set off on US 95 heading south towards Amargosa Valley, about 30 miles away. Along the way we enjoyed great views of the mountain ranges and ridges on either side of us as the sun rose to the east.



Approaching Amargosa Valley, we were disappointed to see it was little more than just a pair of gas stations at a junction with another road, and the few western-style storefronts behind them were closed. Not sure why this “town” was even on the map, though MapQuest may have been wrong; the map Derek got at the park showed Amargosa Valley being a few miles south of the junction on NV 373. Since that was not along our route, we continued on US 95 until we finally got to a proper town: Indian Springs, on the southern edge of Nellis Air Force range and home to the apparently dormant Cheech AFB – no sign of smoke or any other activity anywhere. We pulled into the Indian Springs Casino parking lot, and after traveling over 70 miles on empty stomachs we were very receptive to their $5.99 steak and eggs offer.

After fueling ourselves and our bikes, we continued through Las Vegas to Boulder City, planning to take the Hoover Dam again, but found the “Dam” midday weekend traffic already backing up with 10 miles still to go. Not wanting to deal with that length of stop-and-go traffic in what was now 90° heat, we decided to take US 95 south, then NV 163 east to Laughlin and Bullhead City, from where we could take AZ 68 to Kingman. This turned out to be an enjoyable route, with little-to-moderate traffic, nice scenery, and a few 55 mph (posted…) mountain sweepers. From Kingman, we retraced our route back to Phoenix – with a quick break at a different Wickenburg café – and called it a weekend.

In two and a half days, we covered over 1000 miles (1600 km), over 60 degrees of Fahrenheit temperature changes (a 33°C span), and over 5700 feet (1700 m) of elevation changes – a highly memorable ride. However, we really only scratched the surface of what Death Valley has to offer motorcyclists - or anyone who enjoys curvy, scenic roads. To quote a resident of the state that’s home to Death Valley, “I’ll be back!”

(Note: more pics from the trip will be added to my Flickr photoset in due time)

(image courtesy youtube)


Last August I read an interesting Business Week article about how worldwide bicycle sales had remained robust despite the recession, and that the fastest-growing segment thereof was electric bicycles. This week even the New York Times saw fit to report on the trend. While I had heard of electric bicycles before, and even tried out one that a neighbor of mine had bought a while back, I could never think of what I would use one for.

The Business Week article intrigued me enough to read several of its links, and links from those links, and one item that struck me in particular that I wasn’t previously aware of was the availability of electric conversion kits for existing regular bicycles. A few months earlier I had re-acquired my old mountain bike from my brother, who had been using it for the previous 16 years. Or rather, he had used it for a few years before buying a fancier model, and mine had been gathering dust in his garage ever since. The sad part was it had been suffering the same fate in my garage too for the preceding few months before I read that article and had a ‘eureka’ moment.

I had bought another mountain bike when I moved to Florida for grad school, which I used daily for commuting then (I lived close to campus), but hardly ever used after graduating. I guess after I got into motorcycling, recreational bicycling just wasn’t really my thing! Anyway, before that bicycle was stolen a few years ago (damn thieves), I had used it for commuting exactly twice. Both times, I arrived at work drenched in sweat and so exhausted (no pun intended; I merely mean fatigued, though exercising strenuously in traffic fumes can’t be healthy) that I wasn’t useful for at least the first hour after arriving. I therefore never considered bicycle commuting a serious option.

Anyway, the aforementioned ‘eureka,’ in case you haven’t figured it out, was to convert my old bike (which has sentimental value to me having originally been given to me by my late mother) to electric and use it for commuting. I spent several weeks researching various kits, and found that prices range from about $500 for cheapo Chinese kits with heavy lead-acid batteries to nearly $10,000 for some models with light and energy-dense lithium batteries. Having had bad experiences with some inferior Chinese products, I decided to buy a decent mid-range kit and eventually decided on the NiMH-battery-equipped E+ Flex kit by Electric Motion Systems.

Features I like about this kit:

1. Motor integrated into rear hub - allows use of conventional pedals, chain, and gears for exercise when desired
2. Batteries integrated into front hub - keeps center of gravity low and uses battery weight to increase gyroscopic stability (also, doesn’t force you to sacrifice luggage rack or a bottle cage for battery storage, if that’s important to you)
3. Regenerative braking - charges batteries while braking like a hybrid car
4. Made by a company from a developed country - in this case U.S.A.

Some other kits I considered are from Bionx, which is Canadian and has many of the same features (including regenerative braking), and E-BikeKit, which uses a front wheel mounted motor and offers a choice of battery types. There are several companies out there, but some don’t seem very reputable, so in general, buyer beware. A good source of info for anyone considering an e-bike or e-bike conversion is the Endless Sphere forum.

As far as my own personal experience, the E+ Flex kit conversion has been great! It only took me a couple of hours to install all the parts (two new wheels with new tires; two new brake levers with switches for the regenerative braking; backlit controller/display showing charge status and cycle computer functions; throttle; and data/power cables), and the company has been very responsive to any questions I’ve had. Riding the bike is just like riding a regular bike except you have the option of applying the throttle to get a little boost from the motor and batteries. Note that you still have to pedal - the motor and batteries do not have enough power to propel the bike on their own. Well, not unless you and the people behind you have a lot of patience; you could eventually get across an intersection, but not before the light turns red again (however, it depends on the power setting; see comments 9 & 10 below). You’d also drain the battery much quicker than if pedaling too. What the electric assist does is precisely that: assist. It makes pedaling easier, and therefore allows you to reach a higher speed while pedaling than you could unassisted. How intensely you pedal is entirely up to you.

I’ve been using it on average for about three days a week to commute from home to work, work to the gym, and the gym to home - a total distance of about 14 miles a day - since September 2009. While my main motivations were to restore (and get use out of) an old bicycle and enable a green commute*, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find I’ve lost 6 pounds. The best part is, while I’m now getting nearly an extra three hours per week of cardio, it doesn’t really feel like exercise. I pedal at a comfortable pace and arrive at work without - or only barely - having broken a sweat (for those so inclined, the controller offers resistance modes for more rigorous exercise or for going downhill slower with a sort of engine braking). Another benefit is that I now actually notice the scenery on my way to work, which I previously didn’t see enough of to even think it was worth noticing.

If you’re looking for a different way to get or stay fit, consider turning your commute into a fun, effective, and barely noticeable workout!

Here’s a pic** (clickable for larger image):

*Doing the math assuming $2.50 per gallon of gasoline, 19.6 lbs. of CO2 produced per gallon of gasoline, $0.11/kWh electricity cost, 1.33 lbs. of CO2 produced per kWh of electricity (2007 U.S. generation data), and 78 miles/kWh (28 miles maximum range/0.36 kWh battery capacity), one gets over 1100 mpg in terms of CO2 emissions and nearly 1800 mpg in terms of fuel cost. Those aren’t typos; the math really works out to eleven hundred and eighteen hundred miles per gallon comparative emissions per mile and cost per mile, respectively (for our metric friends, that’s 0.2 & 0.13 l/100km, or 480 & 750 km/l). No hybrid car can touch that!

**The rear case is a motorcycle trunk I added so I’d have lockable, waterproof storage for my briefcase, gym bag, groceries, etc.

Postscript February 17, 2010:

Bicycle Safety: I forgot to mention that the very first day I biked to work last fall, I was rather unnerved by the traffic on my regular (car/motorcycle) route.  I did a search for ‘bicycle safety’ that same day and found this great site that I highly recommend: www.bicyclesafe.com.  Two of their tips I’ve adopted are to use a different route when bicycling that includes streets with less traffic and lower speed limits, and to wear a reflective vest even during the day.  In addition, a few days ago while driving my car I noticed a rider with a helmet-mounted rear flashing taillight like mine (see pic below and comment #2), who had it switched on during the day, and I have to say it was really noticeable even in daylight, so I’ve started riding with my blinky on during the day too.  Definitely put it on your helmet vs. your bike - the higher up it is, the more visible it is.

Maintenance/Repair: Another excellent site I’d like to point people to if they’re not already familiar with it is the Sheldon Brown site (scroll down to the yellow box for specific sections).  Absolutely fantastic info if you’re into keeping an older bike on the road (or just maintaining a new one; the Park Tool book I mentioned in comment #2 below is extremely helpful in either case too).

Postscript May 14, 2010:

Here’s an interesting ready-made e-bike (not a kit) that has nice styling and is reasonably priced for what it offers: Pedego.

Along the way, we had to go through the now rather large town of Maricopa. When I first moved to the Phoenix area in the late ’90s, Maricopa was a sleepy little backwater. During the real estate boom a few years ago, developers built numerous residential properties here, which sharply increased the traffic to and from Phoenix. Town officials responded by implementing a 25 mph speed limit in town. I was reminded of this as I accelerated spiritedly from a stoplight (but only, honestly, to about 35-40 mph) and found a motorcycle cop honking at me from my left. Luckily, he only gave me a verbal warning before making a U-turn. Derek commented later that he probably just wanted to check out my new Buell.

Once out of town and back on the open road, we accelerated back up to 55 (or thereabouts…). Actually, we really didn’t go much faster as the temperatures out in the countryside had dipped into the low 40’s and neither of us wanted to increase the windchill more than necessary. When we stopped at the cafe, we found to our great chagrin that it was closed, had been renamed “Good Times Cafe” with Miller Lite logos, and didn’t look nearly as charming as I remembered. Determined to find breakfast, we headed east towards Casa Grande, and along the way found a golf resort and hotel in the middle of nowhere. They had an excellent - and open - restaurant where we both ordered the Southwestern Eggs Benedict (with chorizo - yum! No meal pic unfortunately as we were too ravenous to think of anything other than eating).

Amply nourished, we eventually headed south through the Tohono O’Odham Indian Reservation, though it took us a while to get there due to a few detours. Once there, it took us a further while to find a paved road, though once we did, we were rewarded with fresh asphalt, minimal traffic, and outstanding desert views.

Unfortunately, the detours had taken their toll on our fuel levels, and gas stations are few and far between on the reservation. We were both near the bottom of our reserve tanks when we pulled into a health center (the only building cluster for miles), only to be told the nearest gas station was 18 miles away. After unsuccessfully asking around for gas on-site, we decided to press on, with whoever didn’t run out of gas (and would hopefully make it to the gas station) returning with a fuel container for the unlucky one who didn’t make it. I ended up being the latter, sputtering to a stop about 8 miles past the health center. Of course, being stranded in the desert in December is a lot better than being stranded there in July! It really wasn’t that bad, and was actually rather serene, listening to the sounds of various desert wildlife in the distance.

Although a few cars drove by that I tried to flag down, only two stopped: a young couple in a Subaru who unfortunately couldn’t give me any fuel (but then, how many people nowadays carry a fuel hose and hand pump in their car for siphoning?); and a Border Patrol agent in his work truck who asked if I had anyone helping me. I let him know my friend had gone on ahead but might likewise be out of gas further up the road. In any event, Derek finally returned with a one gallon water jug full of premium stowed in one of his cavernous saddlebags. His Kawasaki Concours had gone an astonishing 48 miles since his reserve light first came on, and it was still running when he got to the gas station (he probably could’ve gone another 2 miles for an even 50). My Buell Firebolt ran completely dry after 34 miles on reserve (now I know…). Hey, if nothing unplanned happened, it wouldn’t be an adventure!

We proceeded west to the aptly-named town of Why to top off my tank. The original plan was to then head south through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to the border town of Lukeville, across from Sonoyta on the Mexican side. However, due to the time we had lost with searching for and running out of gas, plus the detours earlier, we decided to skip that part of the itinerary and head north to Ajo for a late lunch. In the ten-mile stretch between Why and Ajo, there appeared to be the prominent remnants of mining operations, with a rugged yet majestic beauty of their own.

Ajo actually has some nice, historic-looking buildings in its downtown area, but we didn’t take the time to sightsee (next trip!). The place we stopped at was on the northern outskirts of town and rather basic, though their enchilada-style burritos really hit the spot!

After lunch, we proceeded north through a rather scenic portion of the desert, especially in the late afternoon light.

Continuing north towards Gila Bend, we encountered a Border Patrol checkpoint. We had seen another one earlier while heading south, but didn’t need to stop then since that one, like this one, was only checking northbound traffic. The car ahead of us had Mexican license plates, so the guards checked his papers, but when it was our turn they waved us right through (I guess it would be pretty hard to hide a bunch of illegal immigrants on a motorcycle). On a side note, I was amazed by the level of Border Patrol presence on this ride; after we got a few miles south of Casa Grande, it seemed like every fourth or fifth vehicle on the road was a Border Patrol one.

At Gila Bend, we hopped on I-8, then retraced our steps from the former Burnt Bun Cafe back to Phoenix, ending at a friend’s place for happy hour. Overall, it was a very enjoyable 300+ mile ride. If you don’t ride, you should, but at the very least please watch out for motorcycles. If you do ride, watch out for cagers and keep the rubber side down!

Far be it from me to overgeneralize against all beauty pageant contestants, but I think it might be fun to predict what sort of future irony-laced news stories some of them might generate.  For example, one whose platform includes protection of third-world children, but whose designer clothing line is made in sweatshops exploiting such children.  Or one who took up preventing animal cruelty as her pet passion (pardon the pun) but is later found to be running a puppy mill supplying illegal dog fighting rings (or simply running a puppy mill, period).

Any other suggestions?

Hat tip to my neighbor Tom for the link.

Hat tip to my cousin Tarit for the link.

Hat tip to my friend Joe for the link.

The bill is currently being debated by the Senate, which may reject all or portions of it, and the President may also use his veto powers.  If you are a U.S. voter, please send a quick note to your elected representatives to let them know your views on the matter.

To write in support of H.R.6, click here.

To write in opposition to H.R. 6, click here.

The main components of a PV system are the solar panel array, which converts light into DC electricity, and the inverter, which converts the DC electricity into 110 Volt AC electricity that can be used by the house.  The system is designed to run the house on solar power first and only switch to the grid when electrical demand exceeds the PV system’s power output.  It operates seamlessly, so no manual intervention is ever necessary.

During winter and early spring, my home’s electrical demand is low enough that I use solar power exclusively.  In fact, for a few months I generate more electricity than I consume, and sell the excess to my power company, which applies a credit to my bill during those months.  During the summer, however, air conditioning (a necessity in Phoenix) requires more power than my array provides.

My solar system is rated at 3 kilowatts (kW) peak power, which is the amount of power produced when the sun is exactly perpendicular to the panels.  Obviously, during the course of the day the angle of incident light, and hence power output, will vary for a system that’s mounted in a fixed position such as mine.  Clouds also affect the output, but not as much (Germany has invested heavily in solar energy despite not being very sunny).  More sophisticated, and hence more expensive, systems are available that track the position of the sun and adjust panel position accordingly.

According to the sales literature, my system is supposed to generate an average of 5100 kWh of electricity per year.  Using Salt River Project’s average electricity price of 8.91 cents/kWh, that translates into annual savings of $454.  Based on my system’s dedicated electricity meter, the output for the first year was actually 5573 kWh, yielding a savings of $497.  The savings will be even greater in locations where electricity costs more.

The installed cost of the system was about $20,000, but before (or perhaps while) you gasp in horror, note that $9,000 of that was covered by a rebate from the power company, since they retain green energy credits for the electricity produced.  In addition, there’s a $2,000 federal tax credit and a $1,000 AZ state tax credit (other states and countries may vary) that can be applied for alternative energy improvements when itemizing taxes for the year of installation.  Therefore, my out-of-pocket cost for the system was $8,000.  I should mention that I used a home equity loan to pay for it; I normally don’t have $8k or $11k floating around in my bank account.

Using my $497 annual savings from above, the simple payback period for an $8k investment would work out to 16 years; using the $454 example, one gets roughly 17 and a half years.  However, this calculation assumes that electricity rates never increase over that time period, which is unlikely, as shown below. 

Between 2002 and 2005, residential electricity rates in the U.S. rose by about 4% per year.  Taking that increase into account, the simple payback period drops to just over 12 years.  Note that if the rate increases get even higher in coming years, or if your current cost is more than 8.91 cents per kWh, the simple payback period will be even shorter.  For homeowners who are still concerned that they might sell the home before they’ve recouped the cost, an additional factor to consider is that home improvements that reduce utility expenses have been shown to raise the value of the home by between $10 and $25 for each dollar reduction in annual utility bills.  Taking the average of those two values, $17.50, my $497 present annual electricity savings equates to a home value increase of $8,698, or about $700 more than what I spent (109% recouped).  Five years from now, assuming continued 4% annual rate increases, my annual utility savings will be $604, for a home value increase of $10,570 (132% recouped).  How many home improvement projects recoup more than their cost, and increase in value every year?

However, from discussions with other homeowners, it appears that the home-value-increase argument is only of interest to those who intend to sell their homes at some point.  Those who intend to stay in their current home for the rest of their lives seem to only be concerned with the simple payback, which as mentioned above can take a while.  A PV solar system might therefore be analogous to an extremely long-term certificate of deposit, where the principal is locked in for a lengthy period of time, but gets a guaranteed return of about 6% ($497 or $454 divided by $8k) in simple interest every year - more if electricity rates are higher - for the life of the equipment.  The system components have a 20-25 year warranty, and since the panels have no moving parts to wear out, I’d expect them to last quite a bit longer.  Obviously, from a purely financial standpoint there are other investments that are likely to return much more than 6%, especially over such a long time period.  However, note that this 6% is tax-free, so it’s comparable to 8-9% pre-tax.  Furthermore, the return is guaranteed no matter what happens to the stock market.  In fact, it’s a guaranteed minimum return because it’s directly related to electricity rates, and as mentioned above it’s therefore more likely to increase than remain constant or decrease.  It might therefore be worth considering as a low-risk allocation (even if the appeal of increased equity as mentioned above is ignored).

Another benefit to consider is the environmental impact of reducing the amount of fossil fuel-based electricity one consumes.  5573 kWh of solar energy eliminates 7600 lbs. of carbon dioxide emissions every year.  Regardless of where you stand on global climate change, it’s safe to say that less pollution is better than more.  The more people who adopt solar (or other clean energies), the less need there is to build additional coal-fired power plants.  If solar’s payback period is too long, think of it as a donation to a good cause (that is, cleaner air for everyone) that also pays the above-mentioned interest and also increases one’s equity.  How many other charitable donations ever make money for the donor at all?

Depending on which arguments readers see as applicable to their own particular situation, solar energy can have a range of advantages.  Do the math using the costs and incentives that apply in your own location.  While the financial return obviously can’t compete with, say, Google stock bought during their IPO, it compares very favorably with other home improvement projects.  To me, the combination of financial and environmental benefits makes photovoltaic solar energy a good home investment indeed.

For additional information:

* Federal solar info

* Arizona solar info

* My solar contractor, American Solar Electric, who I recommend highly

* NBC interview about my system, broadcast Nov. 8, 2007

   (text w/ link to 3:02 minute video - can take over a minute to load)

* FOX clip about SRP’s solar A/C (briefly mentions my PV system), broadcast May 28, 2008 

   (direct link to 2:07 minute video)

* East Valley Tribune article about my system, published June 29, 2008

   (first & second pages of print version, which includes better photos )

* FOX clip about APS’s new solar loan program, broadcast August 28, 2008

   (click main image to start 2:05 minute video)

* NBC follow-up clip about my system’s benefits and maintenance, broadcast April 24, 2009

Revisions:

(1) August 8, 2007 - added pre vs. post tax info on investment return (thanks Grand Pa Solar).

(2) August 13, 2007 - added chart and info on utility rate increases, impact on payback.

(3) August 28, 2007 - edited to emphasize comparison to other home improvement projects.

(4) November 13, 2007 - added NBC interview link at very end above.

(5) May 29, 2008 - added FOX interview link at very end above.

(6) July 7, 2008 - added EV Tribune links at very end above.

(7) August 29, 2008 - added 2nd FOX interview link at very end above.

(8) April 24, 2009 - added 2nd NBC interview link at very end above.

Hat tip to my Dad for the link.

The next questions were what fuel to use and what vehicle to get. The U.S. Dept. of Energy has a great alternative fuels webpage, on which one can find the pros & cons of various alternative fuels and a partial listing of alt fuel vehicles. They even have a sort of “store locator” to find locations near one’s home that sell each type of fuel. Since I’m keeping my conventional car and motorcycle for long trips, I figured a short-range vehicle for commuting and errands would be fine. I decided to get the Taiwanese-made, Vespa-style EVT-168 electric scooter after extensive research*. It can be charged at home using a standard household outlet, and, at about $2,200 delivered, is a way to test the alt fuel lifestyle (drivestyle?) without making a massive investment. On that note, beware of cheapo scooters that are more likely to be novelty items than durable vehicles.

Having ridden my EVT over 200 miles so far, here’s what I’ve observed:

Pros:

• Very economical - uses between half and 5/8ths of a cent worth of electricity per mile; those 200 miles have cost me less than $1.25. For comparison, if gas is $2.00/gallon, a 25 mpg car costs 8 cents per mile, or $16 to go 200 miles.
• Very inexpensive to register & insure - registration was under $10, and adding it to my cycle policy increased the premium by only $75 per year.
• Low maintenance. No oil changes, timing belts, head gaskets, water pumps, or any of the myriad other expensive service tasks that a combustion engine requires. Just charge the batteries & occasionally check the tires, brakes, and lights.
• Decent range for my needs. The batteries are good for about 35-40 miles before they need recharging (which takes 5 hours). That’s plenty for my 5 mile one-way commute plus a few errands.
• Nearly silent. I can leave my house early (or come home late) without waking the neighbors.
• Nearly pollution-free. Although electric vehicles are often claimed to be “zero-emissions”, they’re really only as clean as the power plant that made the electricity used to charge them. Using data from the EIA’s web site, and the fact that a full charge for the EVT requires 2 kW-hours, I calculated that this scooter is cleaner than a 275 mpg car! If you can charge it with “clean” power (such as hydroelectric, wind, or solar), then it really is zero-emissions.
• Great handling. Initially, the scooter felt unstable compared to my motorcycle (the smaller wheels have less gyroscopic stability than a motorcycle’s much larger wheels). However, this turned out to be a benefit, as the scooter flicks into turns with almost no effort. Now my regular motorcycle feels ponderous by comparison! I’ve let people with no riding experience try the scooter, and they have no trouble at all.
• Freedom from limited public transportation routes and schedules.  I tried riding the bus to work for about a year before I bought the scooter, and even though I only live 5 miles away I had to take three different busses and it would take 40-60 minutes!  If you live somewhere with good public transportation, then this won’t apply.

Cons:

• Too slow - if you’re used to normal traffic speeds, then the top speed of about 30 mph is dreadfully low (equivalent to a 49 cc gasoline scooter in speed, but not in noise, maintenance, or emissions). Obviously, it can’t be taken on the freeway, and even on surface streets it feels underpowered. To keep from obstructing traffic, I’ve been riding it in the bicycle lane most of the time, which is actually a benefit when traffic is gridlocked. There are faster models available, but I didn’t care for their styling, and I also suspect they’ll have shorter range if similarly priced. I suppose the low speed won’t seem so bad if one can make the mental paradigm shift that this isn’t a slow motorcycle, but rather a very fast, zero-effort bicycle (yeah, that’s the ticket!). Anyway, for short distances the extra time isn’t too bad; my commute takes about 20 minutes by scooter vs. about 15 minutes by car or motorcycle.
• Unpredictable range as the batteries age.  With 2300 miles (less than 100 charge cycles) on the scooter as I write this bullet, one of the batteries prematurely went bad, stranding me about 6 miles from home.  The three other batteries tested out OK at my local Batteries Plus; I’m investigating getting a replacement.  I should mention that this was after a longer than usual ride: 17 miles vs. my usual daily maximum of 11.  Still, I had done a couple of 20-25 mile rides when it was new, so this was a rude surprise.  In fairness, though, those previous rides were back when I was still riding in “Economy” (vs. “Power”) mode - the top speed was slightly less, but the batteries weren’t being stressed as much.

That’s really my only complaint; other than that I’m happy with every other aspect of it. Well, I should confess that I’ve had to take quite a bit of good-natured ribbing for switching from a manly motorcycle to a somewhat girly scooter - my favorite comment so far was from my co-worker Larry, who yelled in passing, “Is that Hell’s Angels or Charlie’s Angels?!” It’s all in good fun, and I get a chuckle out of such comments, but I get a much bigger chuckle out of the fact that for most of my daily travel I’m no longer contributing to the oil companies’ record profits.

Electric vehicles may not yet have the speed & range to be viable primary vehicles, but I’m finding this scooter to be a decent secondary vehicle. If what I’ve described appeals to you and could help you drive your regular car less (and your manhood isn’t easily threatened if you’re male), then I highly recommend getting one!

————————————–

* I found several reviews from around the world (USA, Canada, France, UK), and also tracked down & questioned a U.S. owner. Note that some of the reviews are for the nearly-identical EVT-4000 instead of the 168 (same motor, controller, & batteries; different styling & front brake). Also note that some of the reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, as they were written by, well, let’s just say not-entirely-unbiased enthusiasts. However, the cumulative impression I got despite skepticism was positive. My own experience has been quite positive overall, as described above.

Update October 26, 2007 - added one bullet each at the end of the “pro” and “con” lists above.  The experience of getting stranded (and pushing it past two gas stations on my way home before two of my neighbors rescued me with a pick-up truck) has reinforced my opinion that vehicles powered solely by lead-acid batteries are not ideal primary vehicles.  Plug-in hybrids will hopefully be a better solution once they’re affordable for the masses.  As a secondary vehicle, though, and for short trips, the scooter is still fine and a lot of fun - I’ve even ordered a faster and longer-range R-20 model, which will hopefully be fast enough even in “Economy” mode that the batteries don’t wear out prematurely.

(Photo credit: Dave’s & Jean’s EV1 Chronicles site)

Over the weekend I saw the movie “Who Killed The Electric Car”.  While a bit biased, it was nonetheless an interesting look at a unique product - the General Motors EV1 - and the people and forces that brought it to market, and those that killed it.

The movie shows footage of industry insiders, celebrities, and enthusiasts praising the EV1 and attempting to save the remaining vehicles from being crushed by GM, and discussing what they’re doing today to reduce petroleum dependence.  It covers the pros & cons of electric vs. gasoline vehicles in an interesting manner, and also mentions hybrids, as well as hydrogen & the issues involved in its distribution.  Notably absent, however, is coverage of other alternative fuels, such as propane, biodiesel, natural gas, and ethanol, which already have existing & growing infrastructures (http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/infrastructure/refueling.html).

Despite the movie’s title, the electric car is not dead; the movie itself shows brief clips of the Venturi Fetish and the recently unveiled Tesla Roadster electric sports cars, though I don’t recall if it showed the Commutercars Tango.  More information, and generally less biased, on electric and other alternatively fueled vehicles can be found at http://www.greencarcongress.com/ and http://www.autobloggreen.com/.

As an environmentalist, I had already decided before I’d even heard of this movie that my next vehicle would likely be alternatively fueled.  As an occasionally left-leaning Centrist, I hope this film doesn’t suffer the same “by Liberals, for Liberals” fate as other, more flagrant “documentaries” that appeal chiefly to the already converted.  Despite some bias, this movie deserves a broader audience, as it has potential to generate useful debate on current and planned transportation policy.