I Want To Ride My Bicycle

"The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine." - John Howard

So far so good on the bike commuting! I've managed to keep myself motivated to bike to and from campus even in the rain, and have started working bicycle commutes in elsewhere when possible, such as biking to a gathering with some classmates and acquaintances. It turns out my trip to and from campus is actually 2 miles each way instead of 1.5. I've managed to get my time down to about 15 minutes to get to campus (slightly downhill) and about 20 minutes to get back, so not bad for someone who is morbidly obese and out of shape! Hopefully the exercise will help the latter two concerns.

I had baskets installed on my bike so it makes it very convenient for carrying along my book bag, my lunch, and my change of clothes, washcloth, and towel. I bike the 2 miles in, wash up a bit and change, go to classes, and then bike the 2 miles home once per week, except there will be three weeks this semester when I will do that trip three times in a week. We're going to order another trailer hitch for the bike trailer so I can have one on my bike in case I need to take Ian somewhere by myself or in case Kathy needs me to take the trailer or I need it to cart something around too big for the baskets. Otherwise the trailer stays hitched to Kathy's bike in case she wants or needs to go somewhere while I'm gone for a day of classes.

I'm quite excited to have transformed a 180-miles commute in a gas guzzling pickup truck each week into a 4-miles commute by bicycle. That's bound to have a significant impact for the better on our carbon footprint. I feel the decision to relocate and invest in our bicycles has been a huge success in walking (or rather bicycling) closer to our talk. Here's to more and more bicycling and less and less driving!