It’s not news that I struggle with my commute to work–a lot. So much so that I’ve pretty much given up on it over the past two months. But last night, I had an idea–why not put my bike on the car rack, drive the girls to school, and bike to work from there? This would cut out a good five miles and significantly decrease the odyssey-esque feel of my ride. I pitched the idea to Jesse and suggested he ride his new bike (yes, I said new bike–details coming soon!) and take the car home. For the record, I’m not some siren of car driving tempting my husband into the car–I don’t want to be labeled as the Yoko Ono of family biking. He was excited for the opportunity to switch up his routine, so it was a win for all. This won’t be our new daily routine, but will be a great way to mix things up at least once a week. (more…)
I decided to push through my fears and write the op-ed and I’m so excited to announce that it ran in today’s paper! No matter what else happens during the course of this challenge, I feel good knowing I will be able to look back and say that I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and took tangible steps (no matter how small) to improve my community. I’ve said it a thousand times already and will likely say it a thousand more: it never ceases to amaze me how much biking has changed me and my life in general.
I have mixed feelings about the fact that my blog wasn’t mentioned (I had included it in a byline). I’m relieved not to have any hateful commenters driven to my site, but then again I would have liked for people in the area to know more about going car-lite in Central Florida.
Anyways, here it is – let me know what you think!
I think when people hear about our challenge to live on 4,000 miles, they immediately see it as hindering our way of life–I know I thought it would at first. It’s true that I have to think a lot more about where I go, but it’s really been interesting to see how often going by bike actually expands our possibilities. I know I’ve said this before, but it’s still such a surprise! (more…)
I can’t believe that not only did we survive camping by bike, but that I would totally do it again. I swear, I don’t even know me anymore!
We packed up the bikes Friday night in the hopes of getting out early on Saturday morning and therefore missing Saturday traffic. I carried all of the camping gear and Jesse was to carry the food, clothes, kids, and the dog. Of course, we were running behind schedule on Saturday morning–such is life with kids. Keri and Robert came over to the house to get some photos and video for some projects the Florida Bicycle Association is working on (wonder what the neighbors must think) and it was about 10:30 AM before we were ready to head out. Robert wisely suggested that we test out the bikes and, upon trying out my first turn, I promptly dropped my bike in my neighbor’s yard. My bike was loaded with about 150 lbs of gear and it was much harder to handle than I expected. I was already nervous about riding with such a large load, but dropping my bike put me even more on edge. There was no turning back at this point, so off we went! (more…)
I think I’m getting the hang of this whole car-light thing! I’ve ridden to Sofie’s school. I’ve ridden to the store. Today I put the two together! It’s sort of like a dance–you learn the moves one-by-one and then you put them together and you’ve got this nice little dance routine.
I had to drop Sofie off by 8 AM for school, but then be back by 10 AM for her Thanksgiving school recital. I also needed to go to Target for some last minute camping gear, so I decided to take Sofie to school, go to Target, and then go back to the school. Even though it would have been perfectly normal for me to do any of these trips by bike individually, it’s a big step for me to work them together and run a full set of errands by bike. Only a few weeks ago, it would have felt like too much time on the bike and too much hassle; now it’s just a way of life. I really didn’t even consider taking the car, which is a big change in my way of thinking.
In other news, I’m happy to hear that the county plans to replace the dinky trail closure sign with a detour traffic route! This makes me so incredibly happy! I am thrilled to hear that they are treating the trail as a viable transportation route and assisting with a detour.
Now to load my bike with all the camping gear. I think my baby is going to be happy to be put to her full use!
It’s official–I learned how to ride a bike this week! Yesterday, I finished up Part II of the “Confident Cycling” class. This was a pilot class for the Florida Bicycle Association; Part I was a three-hour lecture-style class and Part II was a six-hour road class. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the thought of adding on one more thing to my already crazy week (especially 30+ miles for the class on Saturday!), but I am really glad I went. (more…)
Hooray!
Last night, Jesse unexpectedly asked if I wanted to ride together in the morning. He had a teacher workday, which allowed him to get to work a bit later. Considering that I had never ridden the route to Sofie’s school and that I hadn’t actually ridden Sofie on the bike much at all, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I had been mentally-prepared to start on Monday, but welcome to life on a bike! (more…)
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