My Morning Commute

[TwoWheelsDC]

The best laid plans.....

So, I went to bed early. I woke up ~30 minutes before the alarm, and was feeling happy that I'd slept well, looking forward to my alarm going off and actually (finally) riding to work. My alarm goes off and I wake back up, the first wimpy thought through my head is "holy shit, it's cold". So, I went back to sleep until my "driving today alarm" went off. Now, once again, I'm disappointed that I didn't ride in.

Maybe I need to sell my car so I actually don't have a choice but to ride

I've been fortunate to be able to ride almost every day since I moved about 5 weeks ago, because I moved quite a bit closer to my work. But when I lived on the Hill and my ride was kind of a pain, I also had a really hard time commuting through last winter (my first winter of riding). Hell, even this summer I was only bike commuting 2-3 days a week. One thing to remember is that not riding doesn't make you a bad person or not one of the cool kids. If you beat yourself up for not riding, you'll probably be more likely to just get frustrated and stop riding altogether for the winter. Nothing wrong with that, but picking it up again in the spring could be tougher, and you'll be a much stronger rider going into summer if you ride during the winter/spring. As I kept telling myself, the fact that you ride even once makes you a badass, since most people will never do it...so focus on picking a few nice days to ride and enjoy those rides. If that ends up only being one day a week, who cares? That's still pretty good, particularly since I know you have a pretty rough bike commute.

[Certifried]

I've been fortunate to be able to ride almost every day since I moved about 5 weeks ago, because I moved quite a bit closer to my work. But when I lived on the Hill and my ride was kind of a pain, I also had a really hard time commuting through last winter (my first winter of riding). Hell, even this summer I was only bike commuting 2-3 days a week. One thing to remember is that not riding doesn't make you a bad person or not one of the cool kids. If you beat yourself up for not riding, you'll probably be more likely to just get frustrated and stop riding altogether for the winter. Nothing wrong with that, but picking it up again in the spring could be tougher, and you'll be a much stronger rider going into summer if you ride during the winter/spring. As I kept telling myself, the fact that you ride even once makes you a badass, since most people will never do it...so focus on picking a few nice days to ride and enjoy those rides. If that ends up only being one day a week, who cares? That's still pretty good, particularly since I know you have a pretty rough bike commute.

thanks, great words of wisdom there. I don't think I beat myself up too badly, but I do wish I'd ride more. I'm still fighting this cold, and was all prep'd to ride this morning. Once again, I didn't, but felt my excuse was valid. I'm still coughing up a lot of crap out of my chest. I did, however, stop deciding whether to use my trainer or not based on whether I was going to ride the next day or not. That way, no matter what, I at least got a decent trainer ride in. Actually, the trainer feels harder than a real ride! So I'm still getting my exercise in now, which makes me feel OK about not riding because I'm too wimpy LOL.

[dasgeh]

You could always set up some kind of incentive system for yourself -- e.g. if you drive to work, you commit to making your lunch as well. Or if you already bring in your lunch every day, make it something cheaper and slightly less appetizing. Instead of hot yummy leftovers, you get PB&J. It's not horrible, but it's not ideal. So you make your choice broader than "be cold and bike -- and have yummy lunch" v. "be warm and drive -- and get stuck with PB&J". (I'm a foodie, so the lunch thing works for me).

Full disclosure: I have tried to do this in the past and failed, but always with a good excuse, like I'm pregnant and fetus doesn't like PB&J. I am hopeful that I'll be better when I get back to commuting. In February. Oh no, I'm doomed!

[TwoWheelsDC]

You could always set up some kind of incentive system for yourself -- e.g. if you drive to work, you commit to making your lunch as well. Or if you already bring in your lunch every day, make it something cheaper and slightly less appetizing. Instead of hot yummy leftovers, you get PB&J. It's not horrible, but it's not ideal. So you make your choice broader than "be cold and bike -- and have yummy lunch" v. "be warm and drive -- and get stuck with PB&J". (I'm a foodie, so the lunch thing works for me).

Full disclosure: I have tried to do this in the past and failed, but always with a good excuse, like I'm pregnant and fetus doesn't like PB&J. I am hopeful that I'll be better when I get back to commuting. In February. Oh no, I'm doomed!

This allowed me to justify buying LOTS of new bike stuff and eating LOTS of chinese food. "I rode today, so I saved money and burned calories...I earned this plate of General Tso's and new pair of bibs!"

[thecyclingeconomist]

Skip to 2:30-ish for the more entertaining part... stupid reduced coefficient of friction forced my bike to enter into a power slide and me with it...

[americancyclo]

ouch

I always worry about sliding out at the bottom of my garage ramp too. It's a tight turn and wet conditions make it even worse. Hope you and your gear are ok.

[Greenbelt]

thanks, great words of wisdom there. I don't think I beat myself up too badly, but I do wish I'd ride more. I'm still fighting this cold, and was all prep'd to ride this morning. Once again, I didn't, but felt my excuse was valid. I'm still coughing up a lot of crap out of my chest. I did, however, stop deciding whether to use my trainer or not based on whether I was going to ride the next day or not. That way, no matter what, I at least got a decent trainer ride in. Actually, the trainer feels harder than a real ride! So I'm still getting my exercise in now, which makes me feel OK about not riding because I'm too wimpy LOL.

Hey Mark, FYI Deena was maybe looking for a pilot this weekend if you're feeling better. She has her own tandem now. -Jeff

[DismalScientist]

ouch

I did something similar at about 2 mph in my garage. I'm so glad they hosed down the ramp earlier. Sometimes even speed doesn't matter.

PS. Nice lights. You can see them illuminating the street signs in daylight.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Skip to 2:30-ish for the more entertaining part... stupid reduced coefficient of friction forced my bike to enter into a power slide and me with it...

How did you edit out the cursing without the sound going out?

[thecyclingeconomist]

How did you edit out the cursing without the sound going out?

No cursing... just another learning experience. Only reason I shared is because it caught me off-guard and I want others to not make the same mistake. Manhole covers are the same: like black ice! I had no idea until moving here. (I used to commute on solely back-country roads, so didn't have to deal with the city-obstacles)