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The City of Monona, a suburb on Madison’s east side, is the third community in the area to pass a smoking ban. Although Wisconsin was supposed to provide a comprehensive statewide smoking ban, the inability for legislators to develop a compromise continues to push local communities to pass their own smoking bans.

Working on the east side of town, many of my lunchtime options are in Monona. The problem is that many of those options allow smoking, despite that they have otherwise good menus. Since quitting smoking, I cannot stand cigarette smoke and will no longer patronize any place that allows smoking. With the ban coming in June 2009, I’m actually looking forward to trying out some of those places again and discovering ones I haven’t eaten at yet.

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With the price of gas over $4 per gallon in many areas of the country, it’s no surprise that people are parking their cars and finding alternative modes of transportation. A three-percent increase across the country is indicative of the situation.

For years, people preferred the automobile to trains, buses, or subways. Some probably considered that spending on these forms of transportation should be cut, especially since they lost money. Now peopel are realizing that these alternatives are more cost effective for both them and their communities, and they’re greener than even the most fuel-efficient automobile.

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Wisconsin is still the leading state in cheese production. It’s no wonder, with the quality put into each ounce of cheese, we should still be number one. What’s more, our craft cheeses are sought in other parts of the world. California can keep its happy cows; Wisconsin has hard-working cows and people that produce some of the finest cheeses in the world.

The Daily Cardinal: California cheese production no longer a threat to Wisconsin supremacy

The Associated Press: Wis. remains tops in cheese contest with Calif.

According to the Appleton Post-Crescent, presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain are suggesting suspending the federal gas tax to help drive fuel costs down so that Americans can continue to afford to drive.

Today’s prices are $3.69 per gallon in my city. With an 18.4-cent per gallon suspension, I’d still be spending over $3.50 per gallon. So instead of paying what was a record-high $3.25 last year, I’m still spending more after a suspension. Let’s do the math.

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For the two days of the week that I rode, I logged in almost 41 miles (the first trip lasted just under 9 miles). That Saturday, my legs felt better, so I decided to ride with a group. The group left from one of the nearby running stores and rode north, offering 20-, 35-, or 50-mile rides, starting along a bike trail for the first 10 miles. I chose to ride for 20 miles; since I rode to the store, my total distance was longer. It was during this ride when I worked on some climbing technique. Although the route that I rode didn’t have many tough hills, there were some slightly challenging climbs.

The next day, I tried to take the same ride. I got up much earlier for this one, so I was dragging almost the entire way. I made 8 miles and decided to head back. But then I decided to venture out onto another branch of the trail. So my endurance ride would turn into a leisurely exploration ride. I also turned a potentially 16-mile ride into a 24-mile ride. So over the weekend, I ended up riding 52 miles; for the week, I rode 93.21 miles. I fell shy of my all-time longest week of 93.51 by only 0.3 miles. Not a bad week, but I could go longer yet.

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After dealing with a nasty wind the day before, what would I do the next day with an outdoor temp of 73 degrees Fahrenheit and up to 40 mile per hour winds? That’s right: ride again.

I contacted my friend Josh and agreed to ride with him to a little town south of us called Paoli. Paoli is about 10 miles south of where we started, but getting there involves traveling down one road, looping around, and heading back; in reality, the ride is over 30 miles.

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Now here’s a neat concept for bicycle commuting. The City of Portland (Oregon) installed a bicycle signal at one of its dangerous intersections. The purpose is to help bicyclists cross, especially inexperienced riders who are still uncomfortable in traffic. In a way, it also helps drivers to remember to share the road.

The setup includes a sensor and a dedicated traffic light tied into the rest of the traffic lights at the intersection. The traffic light is activated when a bicyclist rides over a marking on the trail to trigger the light. The bike traffic light then turns green; the regular traffic lights in all directions turn red, stopping all motor vehicle traffic and allowing the bicyclist to go through.

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