Monday, April 9, 2012

Mahogany

If bicycles are an antidote to environmental stress, I'm not sure what to make of a mahogany bike rack. I saw this one in Charlottesville, VA, this weekend.  My first reaction was that it was a wonderfully crafty creation, but now I'm wondering if all the carbon offset made possible by this pedaler was just zeroed out by chopping down the tree from which this rack came.  Or maybe this is sustainably harvested mahogany (although I'm not sure given the time it takes to grow a mahogany tree). For this cyclist's sake, he did say the wood pieces were scraps from another's project, so maybe he saved on the shipping charges for bike rack shipped from China.



4 comments:

anniebikes said...

I look at it in a positive light. The guy is riding a unique bike. It attracts attention, which might cause others to consider riding. And, he is hauling a lot of stuff. I see more benefits than negatives to his bike.

Ben said...

True! Many benefits to cycling, not to mention that he traveled with his son, who also rode a bike.

John Romeo Alpha said...

Hmm, I wonder if mahogany offers any functional advantages over oak, or teak, for example.

Melanie Suzanne said...

It's certainly striking.