Date: Thursday, 17 November 2005
Title: A calendar's message of cycling and recycling
Source: By Julie Stoiber
Remarks: http://www.philly.com
John Dowlin bicycles wherever he goes. He recycles cans and bottles on trash day in Powelton Village. In spare moments - between his bike-rack and home-refurbishing businesses and activism in behalf of such causes as improving U.S. relations with Cuba - he puts out a wall calendar with staying power. Called Cycle & Recycle, the calendar began more than a quarter-century ago as a kitchen-table collaboration with a friend who shared Dowlin's environmental passions. The calendar, which was hand-lettered then, remains stubbornly low-budget and doesn't earn its editor a cent. But it has allowed Dowlin to spread his conservation credo from South Philly to South Africa. "It's a lot of work," Dowlin, 63, said. "I like to use spare time in creative ways, instead of sitting at the beach." He sprinkles the calendar with interesting bits - a bicycle gets the energy equivalent of 1,100 miles to the gallon - and photographs submitted from around the world. One shows a field of windmills in Texas, another a trio of two-wheelers loaded with fish traps in Vietnam. Unlike most calendars, which are meant to be pitched after a year, Dowlin's is to be reused the next time the calendar grid repeats. The 2006 calendar, for example, will be good again in 2017 and 2023. "I'm all for pragmatism," Dowlin said. In that spirit, he dedicated the 2006 centerfold to Benjamin Franklin, whom he dubbed "Ambassador of the Practical." Dennis DeTurck, a mathematics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, noted there are 14 possible calendars, and if you take the time you can figure out the somewhat irregular pattern of repeating years. "If you think about the calendar, it's determined by two things: what day of the week January first falls on and whether it's a leap year," DeTurck said. Each year when it's time to start the calendar, Dowlin turns to the most recent repeating year (1995 in the case of the 2006 calendar) and recycles as much as he can, subbing in fresh photographs, updating the list of publishers. One year, he included "Answers to frequently asked questions about this calendar." How can we reuse it when it's all marked up with meetings and appointments? Keep the same appointments, or write new appointments in a different color. Or write them in pencil and erase. Do we really have to save and reuse this calendar? Yes, you have to. Dowlin is always on the hunt for more copublishers. One reason is that he would like money to print a few thousand extra calendars and store them for when the year repeated. Usually, he sells all 2,000 to 4,000 he prints. This year, 12 copublishers each kicked in $150 to cover the cost of assembling the calendar and distributing it to bike shops and other outlets. Most of those involved are bike advocacy groups from around the country, including the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. This year's list also included Farm to City, which sponsors produce stands in Philadelphia; Pedals for Progress, a New Jersey nonprofit group that sends used bikes to developing nations; the Container Recycling Institute in Washington; a Canadian ecology fund; and Velo Vision, a cycling magazine published in York, England. Peter Eland, Velo Vision's editor and publisher, called the calendar "one of the few publications out of the USA which promotes cycling for transport rather than just as a sport/fitness activity." Robert Thomas, a Center City architect with Campbell Thomas & Co. who is known for designing bike trails, greenways and energy-wise buildings, was the calendar's cocreator in the late 1970s and did the hand-lettering in the early years. "We were looking at what things we could do to promote cycling," said Thomas, who regularly bikes with four full shopping bags from the Italian Market to his home in West Philadelphia. "We thought having a calendar would remind them on a daily basis how bicycles are used." The calendar also notes the appearance of full moons. The first of 2006 will be Jan. 14 (Jan. 12 in 2017 and Jan. 6 in 2023). That feature was included, Thomas said, for cyclists who want to take advantage of "clear nights, when the moon is out and everything is lit up." For Information Cycle & Recycle sells for $12 at small bike shops and bookstores, including Via Bicycle, 606 S. Ninth St., Philadelphia. To learn more, contact the Bicycle Network, Box 8194, Philadelphia 19101, or e-mail cyclerecycle (at) hotmail.com
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