The new biking season

[pegkerr]

I told the HR people to cancel my parking contract starting May 1, so I guess I'm committing to starting biking again. I realize I haven't done nearly enough to get ready. I'd hoped to be able to buy new wheels for my bike, but I'm dead broke (maybe when the tax refund arrives). I have to see if there is air in the tires at least! And I have to clean a lot of all that crap that Rob's been piling into the garage out so that I can actually reach my bike in the morning without having to pull my car in and out of the garage.

I feel uneasy about starting. Rob is working now and so won't be able to rescue me if I get a flat. But the price of gas is absolutely killing me, I need the workout, and I know I'll enjoy it once I start again.

I also admit, I am going to deeply regret the extra half hour early I'll have to wake up each morning to show up on time to work. I'm short enough on sleep as it is.

Yeah, yeah, johnridley, I know, I'm a wuss, and my concerns and ditherings are no doubt a mere bagatelle to you.

At least I'm getting back up on the bike.

Comments

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

I'm going to start biking to work, also -- at least, I'm hoping to. My husband needs to look my bike over; I haven't even had it out of the basement in the eight years we've been in this house and hadn't ridden it for years before that, so it should be interesting. But even for my tiny commute, the gas prices are too much.

[msavi.livejournal.com]

May I just say how much I admire and envy you your biking endeavours? And speaking as a life-long insomniac, I know exactly how you feel about the extra half-hour. It maybe be only thirty minutes, but every one is precious. I'm currently trying to force myself to go to bed before 12:30am every night, and it's an uphill battle.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Any ride is better than not riding. Having something like no parking spot is certainly an incentive! Does that save you money? I know some people on bikeforums say it's not so much the gas; some of them are saving thousands of dollars a year by not parking. I've never worked anywhere that I needed to pay for parking.

I'm never concerned; I'm not smart enough to worry. It's just a paradigm shift; you just start treating cycling to work as normal, and driving a car as weird.

I'm possibly a bit far out on that limb now though; I've put off a car trip to a tool store for almost 2 months now because it's a 50 mile round trip, and I just can't bear the thought of going that far just to go to one place. I think this weekend I might take the kids to the natural science museum in Ann Arbor; the tool store is only a few miles past that.

Anyway, good for you, and let me know if you need any advice or you're looking to buy something; I've found that I've spent more money on things that DON'T work for me than things that do, and that knowledge of what doesn't work is pretty useful.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

I'd have to get up at about 6 or 6:30 to make it to work on time by bike . . . I am also a wuss.

(Also, I sweat like a horse. I'd have to shower after getting to work. Luckily, I could do that [I work at a college with a gym], but I'd have to add the extra time on, so even earlier. Eww.)

Anyway, I really respect your dedication! Good luck!

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I'm also hoping to start biking to work about May 1. That means getting my bike in for a tune up sometime soon!

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

I rode my bike to work today for the first time in years, inspired in part by your stories from last year. More precisely, I rode it halfway to work and then something went sproing and I had a flat tire.

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

Good for you! I got my bike out this past weekend. I hadn't ridden it since the end of last summer so the tires needed considerable pumping up.

I don't know about riding it to work. It's 5 miles, which is feasible, but the traffic is insane. I do at least plan weekend trips to the library or yarn shop on it.