Thursday, June 30, 2011

Bike Commuting a Success

Two weeks into the summer and I've been able to ride to work 4 times. That's 64 miles I didn't put on my car and 3.5 gallons of petrol I didn't have to buy.

I'm hoping to ride in 2 days a week but I know that there will be weeks where it doesn't work out. The key is that I picked 2 days to make it my default mode of transportation, Monday's and Thursdays.

It's taking some planning as well, making sure that I bring in extra work clothes on Friday and Wednesday so I don't have to pack and wrinkle it up in a bag. I finally got a permanent locker in the gym so that I can store shoes and toiletries as well.

The other cool thing is that I'm getting 2 extra workouts a week. I decided not to change my running, weights and riding routines so on on the commute days I either run or do weights leaving my legs fresh for the hard core Wednesday and Friday lunch rides.

I'm also trying different paths in. There are only 2 tough spots on my route. The first is having to cross Maynard Road to get from the South Side of the trail to the North Side. There doesn't seem to be any natural way of getting across. Right now I have to go further down the road and do a u-turn (its a divided road) and then get back on the trail on the other side. Going to write the Town of Cary today to find out what their official, recommended route is for that trail. The other spot is getting from the trails and onto SAS campus. One route means I have to be on Harrison Rd for about a mile (4 laner with a lot of high speed traffic) the other is to stay on the trail and pass up the entrance to SAS and then go through a neighborhood that comes out a block from the entrance. Main point here is that the route from the path through the neighborhood is all UPHILL so the going is slow. This route can add 5 to 10 minutes to my 35 minute commute. For now I think I'll brave the traffic to save the time.

Heading to the bike shop today on my commute home. There's just something really cool about riding to the bike shop rather than driving. :)

- moot

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