Of bicycles, councilmen and the smothering mediocrity that tickles the nostrils of those who say "we can't."

My old friend Edward recently rejoined the ranks of avid bicyclers, and accordingly, he has taken the lead in establishing a blog: New Albany Bicycle Coalition.

This blog is not intended to supplant existing Louisville area bicycling clubs and resources, but to provide a locally tailored Internet site for New Albany’s hardy “beercyclers” to meet and discuss our hobby, trade information and plan future trips.

Read Ed’s posting about the bicycle committee in the town of Woodside, California.

We’re permitted to dream, right?

Until then, it’s back to dodging monster trucks, untied dogs and councilmen who haven’t exercised a lick since knee pants were on special at the White House.

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On Tuesday, I rode my bicycle downtown to the City-County Building to do brief business with the county treasurer. This accomplished, I exited the main entrance and strode left toward the steps facing Spring Street, where I’d left the bike chained to the handrails.

Coincidentally passing in front of me -- apparently having departed the building on its north side -- was Councilman Larry Kochert. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and walked straight ahead, descended the steps, glanced at my bike, and emitted an audible snort of derision.

I laughed out loud … and went for a ride.

Now, it will surprise many readers to learn that I don’t begrudge the fossilized councilman his territorial pissing. He’s typical of more than one generation for whom the open-source tenets of contemporary life are harbingers of confusion and consternation.

Really -- you’ve no better chance of teaching Larry Kochert about the realities of the creative class than training the pub cat to recite Shakespeare's sonnets in Urdu, and of course the only reason any of it matters is that people like him continue to wield influence entirely disproportionate to their capabilities.

CM Kochert’s been in office for what, a thousand years?

And accomplished … uh, what?

Slumlords still swarm like maggots over the shards of the inner city, which has been unofficially designated as a dumping ground for anything and everything our neighboring municipalities don’t want to deal with. CM Kochert worries that bringing them to heel might cost votes.

His Democratic Party hangs on to its traditional hegemony by numbing force of habit, still managing to win elections in the city but steadily losing ground in the county, as its elders continue to mouth vapid platitudes as though allergic to the articulation of principle … and when finally a bright, youthful cadre comes on the scene, it is sniped at by the retirement-age underachievers who’ve done so very little on their decades-long watch.

Through it all, CM Kochert’s been right there, but can anyone point to a single piece of meaningful legislation that he’s proposed … any instance of genuine leadership during those long years of serviceable posturing?

Mind you, by “leadership” I’m not speaking of the ability to calculate figures on a spreadsheet, serve on multiple boards, dress up like Santa at Christmas, hold elections in your garage or be a good Union Man.

Leadership? As the motivational speaker once observed, it is the challenge to be something more than average.

Need I say more?