Bike to work

Today I did a complete test run of my commute. (Yesterday I just didn’t make it out of bed in time, but oh well.)

It was cool and misty outside, which I found to be great biking weather. I was chilly for maybe the first quarter mile, but warmed up and was quite comfortable for the rest of the commute.

Unaccustomed as I am to biking, when I made it to work an hour after leaving my house, I was dreading the trip home. To my delight, the trip home is a lot easier than the trip to work. It’s mostly downhill. The return trip only took 40 minutes.

I had plenty of time to think, so it occurred to me that if I do manage to bike to work 5 days a week, I will be biking 100 miles a week.

That’s great news in terms of my health and fitness goals, but also means I need to maintain my bike well and often. I know almost nothing about bikes, so I have my work cut out for me. On to the research…

Of course, if anyone wants to chime in with advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

It’s not too cold here lately… I have no excuse not to test out my commute tomorrow…

I am not in great shape, and am no seasoned biker, so I’m going to have to work up to this. My current commute is roughly 8.5 miles, but that’s going on the highways.

I mapped out a route through neighborhood streets, and I know I can work up to it. My plan is to get up early every morning, pack up and go as far as I can and back, until I can go all the way to work. Lucky for my coworkers, there is a locker room and showers at my disposal when I get there.

Yesterday, I got up all gung ho, got dressed, filled my water bottle, strapped on the helmet and gloves, packed up a backpack and hit the road… only to turn around and head back halfway down the street. It was around 32F outside, and I was not prepared. I just got over a month-long respiratory infection, so I am not tempted to risk catching a cold or worse.

I did make myself workout, and that felt good.

Yesterday, I woke up at 2:30AM and couldn’t get back to sleep. Yesterday evening I was a very cranky lady. Today I didn’t even hear my alarm go off at 4AM; I awoke to my husband showering at 6. So, no practice commute this morning. Maybe if it isn’t too chilly, I can take a practice run tonight…