Bike to work

I’ve been off the bike since the Fall, but today I rode in.

After getting off the bike most of the summer, I rode in yesterday. Still not loving it.

I’ve been mixing walking, riding and taking the bus this week (no car so far this week). The walking makes me appreciate the bike. I think I just need to accept that the hills are hard and the ride is boring and quit expecting anything better.

The weather is getting better in Seattle. I’m going to aim for 4 times a week for the next 3 weeks and get this off my list!

I was off for almost 2 weeks amid bad weather and a cold. But I’m back on the bike today.

I’m about 1/3 of the way to my goal of 21 days of bike commuting. Still playing with the routes. Yesterday, straight up Rainier to 14th. Today, up Beacon Hill and down 12th Ave. The return trip has become pretty fixed – down 18th/20th to the I-90 lid and through the tunnel to Lake Washington Blvd/Coleman Park and up into the Mt Baker neighborhood. Woot!

I took my friend Andrej’s advice and took a slightly longer and more scenic route to work. Along the lake, embrace the hill, across the I-90 lid and along the freeway to Beacon hill, and then straight down 12th to the co-op. It was good – 35 minutes all in all – but I was craving the straight shot up Rainier for most of the ride. I have to try it. The ride home was simple – 20 minutes door to door. I think I’ll get 2-3 more rides in this week.

Today I rode in rain, sleet, snow, and believe it or not, sun, and that was all within the 30 minutes it took me to get home. March in Seattle is a joy.

Today I rode in rain, sleet, snow, and believe it or not, sun, and that was all within the 30 minutes it took me to get home. March in Seattle is a joy.

I’m still playing with my route. Today I rode with traffic for most of the way in (instead of taking side streets) and got to work almost 10 minutes faster than yesterday. Honestly, I think I like the efficiency (getting to work while recreating) more than any intrinsic joy to cycling – so I think the efficient route is more of a winner. On the way home, I’m going to try out a new route as well.

I think I’ll mark this goal done when I hit 21 days, per Ben’s suggestion that habits seem to form in 21 days (however, it will probably take be 5-7 weeks to reach that many days). At that point, it ought to be Spring in Seattle and the ride should be a joy. Today it was drizzling, a little cold, and I rode in no troubles. I think I shrunk the commute time in by about 20% and definitely noticed fatigue coming on much later in the ride.