Barkeep49
08-17-2008, 03:46 PM
The purpose of this thread is to chronicle my desire to bike more between now and the end of the school year (next June).
Background: Last summer I made a concerted effort to walk to my summer job, about a 25 minute walk, rather than drive. I enjoyed this greatly and continued this practice this summer. Only there was a difference. The difference being some added weight loss. During the past school year I had put on enough weight that I literally broke the buttons on 3 pairs of pants that I owned. This weight was put on mainly during the first 3/4 of the year, as the school provides free, and fairly high quality lunches, and I didn't adjust my dinner diet enough to compensate for all of the extra calories I was taking in at lynch.
At this point in the summer, I have now gotten down to the weight I entered the year with, and that I have basically maintained for the past 8 or so years, which is still about 15-20 pounds above what I think is my ideal weight (I am currently 6"2' and weigh roughly 215 pounds). I did this with no real effort in terms of diet and no regular exercise besides my walking into work.
With gas prices being what they were, a colleague of mine started biking into school over the summer. I became inspired. While I live about twice as far as he does, Google Maps told me that my drive was 5.9 miles, which seemed like a reasonable distance.
I went to the shed at my parents house and dug out my old bike only to find myself remembering why I stopped riding in high school. I stopped riding after my bike and I were hit by a car, causing all sorts of damage to the bike. So basically that bike was out of the question. Instead I appropriated my brother's bike, with his permission as he hasn't used it in forever.
Using a pump I had at home, I put some air into the tires and rode into work yesterday. It was awful, so much so that I didn't even make it the whole distance. I could tell that the tire pressure was too low. So I went and filled it with air at a nearby gas station. The ride home was still awful. When I got home I discovered that it appeared as though the brakes were rubbing up against the wheel, obviously slowly my progress considerably.
I had previously decided to take a bike ride today, to see if the bike ride to school was something I could do. So before the ride, I got out all sorts of tools and spent 45 minutes or so messing with the brakes. I now have the brakes so that they're not creating friction with the wheels, however, they brakes themselves are not nearly as effective as I would prefer. So I am going to take it into a cycling shop tomorrow and have them fix it.
Despite the somewhat lackluster breaks, I embarked on my bike ride. It was mostly a success, getting me to my destination, an ice cream shop that had been written up for having a fantastic milk shake in the paper. Fitness is definitely a goal with this endeavor, as is saving on gas and emissions, but I felt that this milk shake was a good incentive for the ride.
On the way back home, I decided to time myself (as I'd made a couple of stops along the way going there). According to the Google Map Pedometer (http://www.webwalking.com/googlemap.htm) it was a 7.045 mile ride, which I completed in 31 minutes. I was very pleased with this.
I then decided to plot my ride to school, using the bike path I planned to take. I found that it was going to be a just a touch over 9 miles, meaning if I were able to keep today's pace it would currently take me about 45 minutes, right on the upper limit of what I'd be willing to bike once school starts.
While it's 50% longer than taking the driving route, I've decided that tomorrow I'm going to stick with the bike path for several reasons. First, I don't trust my brakes enough on a street, where a more rapid stop might be required. And even if I did trust my brakes, not having to deal with drivers is not only safer (for both of us), but less stress inducing. Third, hills are killing me at the moment. This will no doubt change, as I get into better shape, but for the moment, the fairly level terrain of the bike path is quite appealing.
So the plan for tomorrow is to bike into work for the first time and then, assuming that goes well, take in the bike to be tuned up. I should then get the bike back Wednesday or Thursday, which means I'll have at least 1 day more this week to bike into work, and then next week as well during teacher meetings.
My plan, assuming all goes as I expect, is to ride until roughly Day Light savings in the fall, and then to pick back up as soon as the weather permits in the spring. Because of other commitments I will only likely be able to ride in 1-3 days a week, but I would like to do it as much as possible.
I've started this dynasty to provide me with a little public accountability, so hopefully after the initial bit of getting all the pieces into place, most posts will simply me recording that I actually did ride in, as I should. I would expect future posts to be rather short.
Background: Last summer I made a concerted effort to walk to my summer job, about a 25 minute walk, rather than drive. I enjoyed this greatly and continued this practice this summer. Only there was a difference. The difference being some added weight loss. During the past school year I had put on enough weight that I literally broke the buttons on 3 pairs of pants that I owned. This weight was put on mainly during the first 3/4 of the year, as the school provides free, and fairly high quality lunches, and I didn't adjust my dinner diet enough to compensate for all of the extra calories I was taking in at lynch.
At this point in the summer, I have now gotten down to the weight I entered the year with, and that I have basically maintained for the past 8 or so years, which is still about 15-20 pounds above what I think is my ideal weight (I am currently 6"2' and weigh roughly 215 pounds). I did this with no real effort in terms of diet and no regular exercise besides my walking into work.
With gas prices being what they were, a colleague of mine started biking into school over the summer. I became inspired. While I live about twice as far as he does, Google Maps told me that my drive was 5.9 miles, which seemed like a reasonable distance.
I went to the shed at my parents house and dug out my old bike only to find myself remembering why I stopped riding in high school. I stopped riding after my bike and I were hit by a car, causing all sorts of damage to the bike. So basically that bike was out of the question. Instead I appropriated my brother's bike, with his permission as he hasn't used it in forever.
Using a pump I had at home, I put some air into the tires and rode into work yesterday. It was awful, so much so that I didn't even make it the whole distance. I could tell that the tire pressure was too low. So I went and filled it with air at a nearby gas station. The ride home was still awful. When I got home I discovered that it appeared as though the brakes were rubbing up against the wheel, obviously slowly my progress considerably.
I had previously decided to take a bike ride today, to see if the bike ride to school was something I could do. So before the ride, I got out all sorts of tools and spent 45 minutes or so messing with the brakes. I now have the brakes so that they're not creating friction with the wheels, however, they brakes themselves are not nearly as effective as I would prefer. So I am going to take it into a cycling shop tomorrow and have them fix it.
Despite the somewhat lackluster breaks, I embarked on my bike ride. It was mostly a success, getting me to my destination, an ice cream shop that had been written up for having a fantastic milk shake in the paper. Fitness is definitely a goal with this endeavor, as is saving on gas and emissions, but I felt that this milk shake was a good incentive for the ride.
On the way back home, I decided to time myself (as I'd made a couple of stops along the way going there). According to the Google Map Pedometer (http://www.webwalking.com/googlemap.htm) it was a 7.045 mile ride, which I completed in 31 minutes. I was very pleased with this.
I then decided to plot my ride to school, using the bike path I planned to take. I found that it was going to be a just a touch over 9 miles, meaning if I were able to keep today's pace it would currently take me about 45 minutes, right on the upper limit of what I'd be willing to bike once school starts.
While it's 50% longer than taking the driving route, I've decided that tomorrow I'm going to stick with the bike path for several reasons. First, I don't trust my brakes enough on a street, where a more rapid stop might be required. And even if I did trust my brakes, not having to deal with drivers is not only safer (for both of us), but less stress inducing. Third, hills are killing me at the moment. This will no doubt change, as I get into better shape, but for the moment, the fairly level terrain of the bike path is quite appealing.
So the plan for tomorrow is to bike into work for the first time and then, assuming that goes well, take in the bike to be tuned up. I should then get the bike back Wednesday or Thursday, which means I'll have at least 1 day more this week to bike into work, and then next week as well during teacher meetings.
My plan, assuming all goes as I expect, is to ride until roughly Day Light savings in the fall, and then to pick back up as soon as the weather permits in the spring. Because of other commitments I will only likely be able to ride in 1-3 days a week, but I would like to do it as much as possible.
I've started this dynasty to provide me with a little public accountability, so hopefully after the initial bit of getting all the pieces into place, most posts will simply me recording that I actually did ride in, as I should. I would expect future posts to be rather short.