16 more rides into work this year and I'll have 3,000 bike-commute miles for 2008! Last year I managed 1,750, and I did just over 1,600 the year before. This year I decided to just go whole-hog and ride in every day possible. Now every day that I drive in ('cause sometimes I have to have the car mid-day for an appointment or be somewhere fast after work) I notice how awful it is to drive -- compared to riding a bike -- and I feel sorry for those that have to drive every day. My car-commute's only 20 minutes, and that's in the fast lane (in a Prius with car-pool-lane stickers).
Riding so much has really changed me, reduced my stress, raised my awareness about our environment, made me fitter, brought me closer to the earth, given me more time to breathe and sweat and meditate.
I read somewhere that the average American spends 10 minute outdoors. If that's true, it's pathetic. I know how much being outdoors has changed me, soothed me, awakened me, taught me, centered me. Seeing the world around you at bike-speed is more "human" and allows you to notice the world in ways you can't possibly manage inside a car.
I'll flesh some of these ideas out in later posts. Do you ride to work, or have you thought about trying it? I'd love to hear from others who are trying this, about their challenges and observations.
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