Welcome to the second installment of my month-long series about me and the 30 days of biking challenge. Over the month of April, I will take my bike out for at least a short ride every day. I’m also hoping to reduce my car use and perhaps even shed a pound or two. You might also want to read my first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth installments.
Day 4: Easter Sunday. Hmmm. Sundays are tough for us, transportation wise. We are a one-car, two-church family. If he’s going to church alone, Elliott is perfectly willing to ride his bike; it’s 7 miles each way, and even though there are lots of long climbs involved, he is undaunted. My church, however, is 3 miles further on, 10 miles from our house… and did I mention the climbs? I am extremely daunted. Throw two kids in the mix and you have yourself a bike-loving family using a combination of car, bus, and walking on Sunday mornings. Is there a way to make this work on bikes? Maybe. But I know better than to experiment with this when it means my kids might be late for the Easter egg hunt and all it’s sugary loot. Today’s bike ride ends up being a relaxing roll around the block after the kids are in bed.
Days 5, 6, 7, 8: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. This is an absolutely crazy week, with a meeting ever day after school at a campus about 7 miles away. Could I handle a 14 mile round trip? Maybe. Could I get there in time for the meetings? No way. On Tuesday I managed to take my bike the way I usually do in the morning, then race home, grab the car, and drive like a maniac to get to my meeting. On Wednesday, I figure out a way to carpool with a friend. But every afternoon, for four days in a row, I find myself sitting in my car. One afternoon, traffic comes to a complete stop. I just missed the off ramp. I’m locked in a steel and glass box and I feel trapped, trapped, trapped! A guy zooms past us on the shoulder and cuts in front of me, and I experience the worst case of road rage I have ever had in my life.
Now I know that for some folks a 30 minute commute each way is just a normal day; that used to be a normal day for me. But now, a normal day for me usually involved no more than 10 minutes in the car, sometimes less. More than about 20 minutes in a car and I start to feel antsy, anxious, confined. For me, a normal day usually starts off with a bike ride; chatting with my son, listening to the birds, breathing hard on the big hill. These 4 days I have not had that relaxing start I have become accustomed to, and I realize that not only do I enjoy it, I think I actually need it.
The silver lining? I am developing an appreciation for the after-dark, after-the-kids-are-in-bed leisurely ride around the neighborhood. It’s so quiet, and my familiar neighborhood is suddenly mysterious, almost exotic. Normally my riding is utilitarian; I ride to work or to daycare or some other errand. But on these late-night escapes, I feel the same lightness that I felt as a kid, out riding my bike just because I like the breeze in my face, wandering with no specific destination. Some nights I go riding around in the dark in my pajamas, which feels deliciously scandalous. The thrill of sneaking away from my sleeping children is surprisingly similar to the thrill of sneaking away from my sleeping parents so many years ago, and I suddenly feel young. Sometimes, if it’s really late, all I can hear is the sound of the wind in the trees, and I look up to see Orion keeping watch over me.
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on Apr 12th, 2010 at 10:35 am
I emphathize about being trapped in the glass and steel cage. One of the worst things ever.
Love your closing paragraph.