ride my bicycle more

I’m loving this goal. I take my bike to the park at least three mornings a week and ride. I went for a little over 7 miles this morning and didn’t feel like I was going to die. That’s definite progress.

An added bonus: because I want to get out there before it gets hot, this gives me an extra incentive to wake up early and start the day, which then gives me more time and energy to get things done before 10 or 11 pm.

I’ve been riding an hour with friends 5 mornings a week and it doesn’t even seem like exercise. We even do little errends and bring a basket or stop at the farmers market. I feel like I’m 14 again and I have to ride my bike to my friends house if I wanna do something. Fun!

After receiving a new odometer on Mother’s Day, I received a trailer :) for my birthday – WooHoo – now I actually can take a bag of recycle or trash to the transfer station, and the returnables to Meijer! So, I did just that – took the returnables to Meijer a couple of days ago. I think I may concentrate on shorter rides plus the occasional trip to Meijer this summer, and try not to feel badly about not riding to work. It’s 7.5 miles and just takes such a big chunk of time out of my day. It would make me less enthusiastic about dog-walking, too, and I think that’s important for the dogs.

I want to ride my bike three times a week for the next month. I’ll ride at least 3 miles a trip to start with, but I’ll build up to longer rides over that time period.

After that, I’ll be out of town for a couple of weeks, so I can’t resolve to do more than a month at a stretch for now.

My wonderful husband helped me get the tires pumped up last week, and he tried (unsuccessfully) to get the odometer working, so of course I took it out for a spin immediately! Then, today I was out once for the fun of it and a second time because it was too far to walk back to the corner for that photograph I missed when I was walking the dogs. After I got the photograph, it seemed like it hadn’t been far enough to warrant putting the helmet on, so I had to go just a little farther; I love the wind in my face!

i’m going to consider this done. the folding bike is now my default tool for running errands, and i’m on it several times a week. the hills that once beat me down are just a little challenging now, and i don’t think i’ll ever lose the childlike joy of the feeling of skimming along the ground. :)

i took the bike out “just because” yesterday, and today, jumped at a chance to take a letter to the post office for my partner. the weather’s staying comfortably fall-like. still hating hills, but i get home and soon feel fine and wonder what the fuss was about. i think getting a folding bike will lower the bar for the hassle of taking the bike in and out of the shed and dealing with it at the destination.

i made a 35 mile roundtrip yesterday! ok, so most of that was by light rail, but it was a good test of an intermodal trip. by taking bike + light rail, i avoided a long bus trip through stoplight land. i pedaled the mile and a half to the light rail station, then had a two mile trip to my appointment (house settlement!) on the other end. the worst that happened was some screaming quadriceps on a hill near the end.

i got to settlement a half hour early, and afterwards, my realtor offered to take me to lunch with his assistant. i pictured them sitting around waiting for me, but his office was just a mile away with the restaurant next door, and by the time i got there, they were still making phone calls and reading mail, and i had to wait for them. i’m sure they had no idea the bicycle parked out front was mine. i felt a little like a visiting alien seeming to fit into the car society, but harboring the unspoken difference.

i found that as i was biking, i was always overestimating how long it was taking, and got to the destination much sooner than i expected. for day-to-day business in a town or small city, a bicycle can be as valid a vehicle as any other.

it felt good to do all this carfree, but in a more expedient way than my usual walking would allow. especially good to pedal up to the bank branch by the light rail station to deposit the largest check i’d ever seen. :)

the light rail itself worked with no problem. i thought i’d have to chain the bike to something, but it sat stably on its kickstand the whole way, and the long trip let me finish a novel on the way back.

i ran my errands by bike this morning. the cold was cold, and the ground was wet. i headed out early to try to beat the rain, and just had a mild, cold drizzle all the way back. i felt fine all day after that. i think more bike riding is improving my stamina. i’m curious to know whether pedaling away and gulping in lungfuls of cold air is making me more likely or less likely to come down with one of my winter colds, or doesn’t affect it one way or the other.

i have an appointment north of the city tomorrow and there’s no rain forecast, so i’m going to make it my first attempt at an intermodal bike + light rail trip.

i got myself to run my errands on bike twice this week. halfway out, i’m convinced i’m going to come home with the flu, kicking myself for this foolishness. so far, so good, though, and the gorgeous fall colors make an inspiring ride. i still think i’ll eventually have to (a.) pack it in for the winter, (b.) expand my wardrobe with ice and snow bike clothes, or (c.) realize my hope of going somewhere warm in january, and rent a bike there.