May

cycling commute

Posted by: richard in Regimen

If anyone is interested in my progress, last week I took the week off, so I didn’t ride to work at all. The previous week I rode Monday (like I said), then Tuesday, took Wednesday off, and then rode in again Thursday. I didn’t go to work Friday, but I did ride to a prayer meeting in the morning.

Then I rode today. So, I’m still on the… wagon? Cart?

In fact, I signed up for a challenge today on MapMyRide.com to ride 300 miles in the next 30 days. That means I will have to put some miles on outside of my commute. We’ll see if I pull that off.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 1611 and is filed under Regimen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 comments so far

Ron Davis

300 miles in 30 days is a lot. It would be fun though. Typically I get in about 20 miles a week on the bike (30 if I’m lucky). I’m still convinced that those off-road miles are longer than those paved miles.

I’ve been going back and forth on the cycling commute idea. It’s 11 miles for me each way, which isn’t a big deal, but my problem is the whole sweaty thing with a full work day ahead of me. How do you combat the smell?

May 13th, 2008 at 0933

richard

If I ride to work everyday, I’d get 37.5 miles in a week. I have four and a half weeks to get the miles in, so commuting gives me a little over half (172.5) of what I would need to get the 300.

There’s a nice paved trail out here that I think I’ll ride on this weekend. I’m also thinking I’ll ride to a friends house on Saturday when I need to help him load up a truck (he’s moving). That should get me some extra miles… but not the three hundred. Maybe I should find a longer route to work.

Well, my commute is under 4 miles. And it’s mostly downhill coming in to work. I still get sweaty, but not as much as the ride home, when it’s uphill and the temperature is higher.

I bring an extra set of clothes, and have a stick of deodorant in my desk at work. Beyond that, it’s just a ’sink bath’.

However, in the middle of the summer things will be different… I’m not sure how I’m going to handle it. I might just stink all the time.

May 13th, 2008 at 0954

Ron Davis

I did it! I rode to work this morning. I decided all my indecisiveness was just me making excuses, so I just went for it.

It’s 11 miles one way, with lots up hills. I’ve been riding for a while, so the hills didn’t get me.

What did slow me down was a flat tire. I had about 2 miles left to go, and my rear tire went flat. A friend saw me and picked me up so I wouldn’t have to walk the rest of the way.

We’re going to get a new tube (and a spare) at lunch, and I’ll do the repairs here and hit the road for a ride home.

I had a backpack with my laptop, my change of clothes, deoderant (that I’ll be leaving here), and the bladder from my CamelBak. It worked pretty well.

300 miles in a month is a lot. I’m not sure I’ll make that, even with the longer commute than you have. If I ride 2 days per week (8 per month), that’s 176 miles in a month. If I add my regular off-road 20 miles per week, I’ll end the month at 256.

That would leave me short 44 miles (which is suspiciously evenly divisible by 11), so if I rode to work 2 more days per month, I’d hit 300.

I’m not going to start with that goal, but maybe I’ll be able to get there before the end of the summer.

May 14th, 2008 at 1034

richard

Awesome! (except for the flat)

We’re just going to have a little bike riding club before we know it.

I doubt I’ll get the 300 miles, but I thought I’d just throw it up and there and see how I do. I’d actually be impressed with 150 miles.

May 14th, 2008 at 1051