Week 4

This week definitely challenged my commitment to the commute. Work was super stressful, I was worried for Crisi while she had a mole checked out (it was ok!) and pest problems keep flaring up in our apartment. Sleep was minimal this week, and with extra stresses added to my week, I reverted to driving. It just seemed easier. In fact, it is easier! However, it is less fun. In hindsight, some time on the bike might have helped with the stress.

I'm getting back on the saddle this Tuesday.

Cruisin'

I was afraid that after my pedal broke on my Trek, I would not be able to ride to work. I actually had even more fun riding on my beach cruiser. How could you not have a good day at work after rolling up on this warlock?

Week 2

In an era of convenient food, convenient music, convenient television, convenient communication, sometimes it is empowering to intentionally inconvenience myself. Often, a lack of convenience is rewarded in something high quality, unusual, and life-enriching. Crisi and I have to take an hour out of our Wednesday evenings to wait in line at the Discovery Center to pick up our farm fresh produce from Avalon Acres farms, but the taste of a farm fresh tomato far outweighs the wait. A spin on a turntable of a beloved artist reveals notes, tones, and moods that I just do not hear in my car via iPod connection. And, a bike ride to work, though it requires probably an extra 30 minutes of work and preparation in addition to the pedaling, has helped to make me happier at work than I have been in the four prior years of teaching at my school.

I had to skip two days of riding this week: Wednesday due to oversleeping and Thursday due to an after-school open house that made me short for time. Wednesday morning, while driving passively to work, I did contemplate how much easier it is to drive. I appreciated the air conditioning and realized just how much I missed the 10 minutes of NPR that have been part of my morning routine for the past four years. But Thursday morning, upon getting in my car again, I was not as pleased. I didn't feel wind in my face. I didn't notice the deer in the meadow I pass every day. I didn't have to intentionally concentrate on uneven patches in the road, flecks of broken glass that needed to be avoided, or the squirrels and birds that have to be startled out of my trajectory with a ring of my bike bell. I didn't have to be inconvenienced.

At the same time, I didn't get 20 minutes in the morning to focus solely on me, my ride, and my day. I didn't get 20 minutes after work to burn off stress in a fury of pedal pumping. And when I woke up Friday morning, 35 minutes earlier than I had on the days I drove, I was looking forward to being inconvenienced.

Miles pedaled this week: 24
Hours of intentional inconvenience enjoyed: 2

Week One

First week of the bike commute experiment is over! Some of the highlights:

-leaving work behind at the end of every day
-saving 20 miles from my odometer
-losing 1.8 pounds in a week
-blowing my students' minds when I told them I ride my bike to work (they couldn't believe someone can ride 4 miles)
-getting three tan spots on each foot from my sport sandals

Yet, a major misstep caused me to rethink my strategies. Wednesday yielded some unexpected scares when I got held up at work, forgot to inform Crisi of my whereabouts, and scared the bejesus out of her when I was not home at a normal time. I called her as she was driving around trying to find me, since I had not answered any phone calls due to a silent phone during my meeting. Folks, if you are going to get into this thing, make sure your loved ones know where you are, how to contact you, and what your normal route is. I totally understood why she was concerned, and my dumb self never thought anything of it. From here on, I'm checking in upon arrival at work and at quitting time. I've drawn Crisi a map, and now everything is fine.

You live and learn. Maybe I became a better husband as well as a better traveler. See ya next week.

Why Haven't I Been Doing This For Years?

Today was the official first full day of school, so it was time to see if the bike commute would really be possible. The ride in was no sweat (well-moderate sweat. I think it was about 75 degrees at 6:30) and thanks to some extra starch in my shirt I arrived wrinkle-free. However, I was somewhat concerned that the high school students would be blazing down the road in their parents' Escalades when I left school. Happily, I found my route deserted and accommodating.

Now, I look back on four years of working in the same place and wonder why I didn't think of this sooner? I get to start off the day riding in an area where deer are frolicking freely (I have seen the same mother deer and her fawns every morning that I have ridden,) and I truly feel like I am leaving work at work when I am riding home. By focusing on the ride and my surroundings, I get to turn off the work part of my brain and get back to my, er, happy place.

Find your happy place!


Accumulated milage: 24
Gallons of gas saved: 1.2

Heat Wave

Day 2 of the school year was a bust. Saving gas money is cool, but it's not worth riding home in 106 degree weather + humidity. Better luck tomorrow if these thunderstorms roll out tonight.

Day 1

Today went off without a hitch! The early morning ride took 20 minutes, and was beautiful and cool. 68 degrees makes for wonderful riding. Coming home was a different story - 98 degress made for a slog! I changed my route slightly, adding .3 miles to avoid some traffic-laden areas. Tomorrow school starts, so my biggest worry is getting to school without my clothes becoming too wrinkly in my travel bag. Hope that wrinkle releaser works!

Calories burned: 405
Gallons of gas saved: 1/3

Benefits of a bike rack

In addition to helping you get in shape, saving you gas money, and freeing you from using oil when possible, riding a bike makes beer taste better.

A Day Off

Taking the day off from biking to DJ a friend of a friend's wedding. When love calls, you answer.

Sunday Ride

One of Crisi's and my favorite times together is our Sunday bike ride. Today, we joined up with Jacob, Bingham, and Angie for a decent 16 1/2 mile ride on the Greenway, stopping periodically to water up. While talking with Crisi about how hungry we were at the end of the ride, I brainstormed a great idea that I have no idea how to make come true.

See, people on the Greenway get hungry, but there is only one restaurant accessible by bike path: Sal y Limon, the new gringo Mexican joint that replaced Fiesta Acapulco (no, I don't consider Dodge's Chicken a restaurant.) I propose that the restaurant offer a discount to people who travel by bike, similar to what the Red Rose (RIP) used to do. Sal y Limon would probably get more business, and I would get a Speedy Gonzales for under $4. Win win!

Come to think of it, most businesses should offer discounts to those of us who don't want to drive. We are saving space in their parking lots. Make it happen, Murfreesboro. Let's incentivize bike travel!

(I know this is preaching to the choir. Can anyone help me with this?)

The Maiden Voyage

For my first video installment of The Hesher's Joyride, I made a short video of my trial run to school on bicycle and talked a little bit about my experience on the way. Enjoy!

Music: The Futureheads, "A to B"

For transcripts, please write to:
The Oprah Winfrey Show
PO Box 909715
Chicago, IL 60690

The Gear

Being married to a planner has really benefited my life. Grocery lists are made before we get to the store. Vacation plans are prearranged, usually with Groupon discounts on restaurants and random fun. I mean, in Las Vegas, we knew where and when to get cheap sushi, what casinos had the best odds and lowest table limits, and how to get show tickets for cheap, and none of that was thanks to me. Crisi makes the plans, and all I have to do is pay for it and enjoy the ride. Pretty sweet!

So, when it comes to planning out this bike commuting experiment, I feel like I should take a page from Crisi’s book and prepare a gear list. For your reading pleasure, I will now think aloud everything that I will need to be ready for a day of school after a 4 mile ride:

The clothes:
- T-shirt, tennis shoes, athletic shorts, Crocs for the ride in and the ride home
- Clean button-up shirt, khakis, belt, dress socks, dress shoes, occasional necktie

Nourishment:
- 2nd breakfast for when I get hungry (‘bout 9:30, before my first class starts)
- Lunch (I avoid the cafeteria except in the most dire situations)
- Snack for after school and the bike ride home
- Water bottle

Bike:
- Helmet
- LED lights for front and rear of the bike
- Bell
- U-lock
- Mini air pump
- Spare inner tube
- Tire lever

Toiletries (to stay at school:)
- Deodorant
- Hair jelly (I’m a Dapper Dan man)
- Aftershave lotion
- Wrinkle releaser
- Washcloth for freshening up

Extras:
- Cell phone
- iPod
- Chapstick
- Classroom keys (very important)

This sounds like a lot, which it is, but half of it will be attached to the bike or stored in my classroom closet, and the other half can be packed the night before. The only question is, “Where will I get my coffee in the morning?”

If I forgot something or you have some suggestions, comment below!

A new resolve

It all started with a bike rack. A $20 cheapo find on Craigslist, the sole remnant of a cruiser bike stolen from some dude's apartment in the West End of Nashville. After a failed attempt at home installation, I took the rack to MOAB along with my Trek Navigator and had it modified and installed for $15. Suddenly, a realization hit me - maybe I can commute to work some this year.

Then Google maps came in to play. After playing with the route, I found a safe, 3.9 mile residential path between my apartment and Siegel Middle School. A new resolve was born - I will attempt to commute to work for 25% of the school year. That's 45 days, 360 miles, 14.4 gallons of gasoline saved, $50 extra dollars in my pocket, and hopefully an inch or two off of my spare tire. Maybe 25% is a little low for a goal, but I gotta start somewhere, and I hope to exceed it.

So this blog will be about new challenges, my adventures on the road, and the day-to-day grind of a first-time bicycle commuter. Check back on me, and maybe I'll see you on the road.