Mixology

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.

Constant Surprises

Jesse and I have yet to figure out a good strategy for the two nights a week that he has class.  Jesse had been driving to and from class each week, which seemed like a waste of miles for such a short time period.  Unfortunately, the trail is a) closed at night and b) kinda spooky.  Neither of us are really comfortable with him riding University home (a busy arterial road with a lot of college-aged traffic), thus the car usage.  This week we tried out a new strategy–I drove to work and Jesse bussed up to my work with the girls.  We did a kiddo and car hand-off and I rode the bus home with the girls while he took the car to class.  It did require quite a lengthy bus ride for the kids, but they didn’t seem to mind.  I’m not sure this is the best strategy; it may work better next semester when Jesse will only have class one night a week.

Doing the car-light dance

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!

I’m in the Gator Club!

Considering how much I love being in the bunny club, I’m not sure if this qualifies as good or bad news.  Either way, I’m now officially in the Gator Club.  I was cruising along the Little Econ, looking for bunnies, when I saw a gator just cruising around in the water.  I tried to get a picture, but I was too scared to get close to the bank.  I also heard a lot of gator activity at different points on the trail–I wonder what it will be like in mating season!

My commutes were wonderful this week.   The ride itself has become much easier and, at the same time, I feel like I am getting faster.  I tried a different strategy this week and drove twice and rode twice.  Jumping in full-force the first week was a bit overwhelming and I need this to be sustainable.  Next week, I plan to ride three times, drive once, and work from home one day.  I’m feeling far less pressure, which is really allowing me to fully enjoy the ride.  I’m tacking on a few unnecessary miles but, in true Scarlett O’Hara fashion, I’m just going to have to think about that tomorrow. (more…)

Sophomore Slump

Yep, I’m already in a slump.  In a slump after working from home nearly all week, no less!  My husband tells me that week two of bike commuting is the hardest.  He says the first week, you’re all jazzed and ready to ride.  By the second week, the shininess has worn off and reality sets in.  He’s probably lying, but I’ll take it.  Actually, it does remind me of having a baby.  Everyone tells you that you won’t ever sleep again and, unless you’ve partaken in some messed-up government experiments, you really don’t understand.  The baby comes and the first week you’re thinking, “Pffft.  This isn’t bad at all!”  You even do crazy things like wake the baby up to make sure she’s okay!  Oh, but then the second week comes and the reality hits you like a ton of bricks.

I can’t believe I almost missed it.

It was so chilly in the house this morning and the fan was doing it’s lovely white-noise thing and I just didn’t want to get up.  I kept thinking about how long 17 miles sounded and how tired I was.  Instead of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, I think it was more like a cat and a puppy:

Keeping the faith

Sometimes it’s hard to keep the faith. I avoid sensational news for this very reason – seeing all that ugly gets depressing, especially when you’re trying to shepherd kids through the world. Unfortunately, sometimes riding your bike brings you face-to-face with the anger and tension other people are carrying around. This morning, I was using a relatively busy street to cross a major highway. I was first at the light and as soon as it turned green, I heard “HOOOONK!” The driver behind me laid on the horn the entire time we were crossing. I’m finding it all very humorous at this point, because really—it’s been all of 10 seconds. Normally, when I’m behind other cars, I experience the same delay trying to cross and I’ve never thought of ringing my bell like a maniac. As soon as we get to the other side, she pulls into a left turn lane next to me (I was controlling the lane, as I always do) and screams at me through the passenger window, “I AM IN A CAR!! GET OUT OF THE ROAD!!!!” I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just smiled really big, waved, and gave her the peace sign. I’m sure this infuriated her even more, but I was truly at a loss. As soon as she sped off, I wished I had said, “This is a vehicle, learn the law” or “Nice role-modeling” considering she had to lean over her kid to scream at me (a child that looked way too young to legally be in the front seat, I just can’t help but add). And I don’t know why, but it made me terribly depressed. The thought of someone being so incredibly angry over a 15 second “delay,” the thought of someone acting like that in front of their kid, the thought of someone screaming at a stranger – it left me overwhelmed.

Here we go!

I know, I know – I’ve actually been riding for a couple of days. But I never got around to taking a picture of the odometer (because I was on the bike!), so I didn’t have my “proof” ready. But here it is – the official starting point: 68,588 miles. Anything added on after this goes to our total of 4,000 miles for the entire year. Eeek! I won’t lie – I’m freaking out a bit.

Well, that was among the most stressful 20 minutes of my life…

Today was to be the day that I would venture into the unknown.  I do not like the unknown.  I am a little bit controlling (something I’m discovering isn’t entirely conducive to biking) and I want to know how to do things before I do them.  And yes I understand this is not really all that pragmatic – I said I was controlling, not pragmatic.  Doing new things if I can try them out alone is generally best; however, this unknown would also have an audience.  An audience of college students no less.  That definitely ranks high on my “things-I-hate” list.