Save The Environment By Buying Your Motorized Bicycle Locally!

At the top of Thursday's N&R "The Pulse" section, I was shocked to see them hawking a $3,000 (well, ok, $2,999) IZip Express electric bicycle.  Wouldn't it be great if you could get such a vehicle without the nearly $3K pricetag, and one that was made here locally?  N&R, are you listening?  There's a real story here.

My friend and blogging partner, Billy Jones, has a dream.  A dream of making motorized bicycles, much like the one he has made for himself.  A few facts about his motorized bicycle (which you can have for about half the cost....if you have your own bicycle that you want motorized, it would be even LESS than half)...

• Motorized bicycles from StreetPlanes.com has 25-50cc 4 Cycle engines that get up to 200 miles per gallon of regular gasoline with no mixing of gas and oil.  For an electric bicycle such as the IZip Express, you run it 30 miles, it dies and you have to recharge it for several hours.  For a motorized bicycle from StreetPlanes, you run it until you need gasoline again.
• Engine meets Federal EPA and California emissions and low noise requirements.
• Has compression release easy-pull starting.
• StreetPlane engines last as long as 30-50 thousand miles and have cast iron cylinder liners so they are rebuildable.
• StreetPlane motorized bicycles are the only moped that fits in standard bicycles racks.
• Also, the lightest moped on the market today. Easy for urban dwellers to carry up stairs and into apartments.
• Steel frames made in Greensboro and will last a lifetime with care.
• Plastic parts are made in Greensboro primarily from vegetable based plastics.
• Billy's dream is to manufacture these motorized bicycles IN GREENSBORO providing employment for LOCAL PEOPLE.

So before you take the N&R's advice and run right out to get an IZip Express, think global, act local, and contact my friend Billy Jones at www.streetplanes.com or idleblogs (at) yahoo.com. 

Today is a good day to take some time to recite the First Amendment. Here's how it goes: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Now read this. I'll be posting more about the Rev. Billy later. In the meantime, be sure to check out his website.