Welcome to the third 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, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth installments.
Day 9: Friday. At last, a day without a meeting, which means a day with my bike. Maybe it’s getting in my regular morning and afternoon ride, or maybe it’s just the fact that it’s Friday, but I’m in a much better mood today than I have been all week. Unfortunately, a bolt on my Xtracycle breaks, and Elliott doesn’t have time to fix it, so it will be several days before I can ride with kids again.
Day 10: Saturday. Elliott is busy hosting the Taste of Downtown Ride, the first of three Discover the City on Two Wheels Spring Urban Living Rides which means I am on full-time mom duty today. That afternoon the kids and I drive across town for the launch party of Growing Up Austin, a great local parenting blog written by my friend Carol. Later we meet Elliott downtown to pass him the car so he can bring home all the gear from the ride. We arrive just as the ride is ending, and I’m jealous of all the riders, especially later when I see some of the pictures of the tour. My only ride for the day is a very brief test drive of a pretty white Electra.
The kids and I ride the bus home. If you’ve never ridden the bus with small kids, you absolutely must. Some adults may see riding the bus as drudgery, but for kids, riding the bus is an exciting adventure.
Day 11: Sunday. Another day with Elliott working and lots of errands all over town, which means a lot of time with both kids in the car. I don’t mind driving on Sunday as much, since traffic isn’t as bad, but I still miss the open feeling of riding my bike. Today was the first day that I almost forgot about the 30 days of bike challenge; my ride was a quick pajama-clad trip around the block right before bed.
Day 12: Monday. Today is my last meeting (for a while, at least) at Allan Elementary, and I am summon up my courage to ride my bike there. I get off work at 4:00, and my meeting starts at 5:00, so I borrow one of the Electras and ask Elliott to help me map a route. I enjoy my ride there, and arrive just in time. My quads are stiff, but my spirits are high. My colleagues are greatly impressed that I rode my bike “all that way!” After the meeting, a friend with a ginormous SUV offers me and my bike a ride home; I’m sorely tempted, but I decline. Something about an SUV that is big enough to carry two people AND a bike… I don’t know, I just feel like accepting that ride would let the enormous SUV “win.”
My ride home is, much to my surprise, lovely. I take East 5th street most of the way to I-35; it’s flat, quiet, and I frequently see other cyclists. The few drivers I encounter are courteous, too; a route that has lots of cyclists seems to breeds drivers who understand “share the road.” I cross the Congress bridge just at sunset. I stop and enjoy the view, and notice another advantage of the bike: I can stop pretty much whenever and where ever I want to. From Lady Bird Lake to home is a lot of climbing, but I put it in my granny gear and take my time. I arrive home happy, tired, hungry, and just in time to kiss my kids goodnight.
Day 13: Tuesday. My Xtracycle is still out of commission, but I ride solo on the Electra. I am really starting to love this particular bike.
Day 14: Wednesday. Elliott has repaired my Xtracycle, so Miles and I are back to our morning ride together. My afternoon is full of more errands in the car. The 30 days of bike challenge has made me really aware of how much time I spend in the car. Around 5:00, Elliott and I head out on our bikes to pick up the kids. At last, I am riding home with my kids, one of my goals for this month! Elliott has the tag-along attached to his bike, which both kids love. Clara’s not quite tall enough (she can just reach the pedals with her tip-toes) but she gleefully shouts out, “Look, Mommy! I’m exercising!”
We have some new neighbors, just a few doors down, but we haven’t met them yet. Just as we pull near our house, I see a woman leave her house and walk towards her SUV in the driveway. I say, “Let’s go meet our new neighbor,” but before I can get there, she is already in her SUV with the door closed. I realize that if she had been on a bike, how easy it would be to approach her and say, “Hi! Welcome to the neighborhood!” In her car she is literally closed off to the world around her, and I reflect on how much more social I am when I’m on my bike compared to when I’m in my car. (Think about it; to shout out a greeting to a neighbor from your bike seems perfectly normal, but to do the same from your car would be awkward, unsafe, and unheard anyway over the noise of your engine.) I guess all I can do is keep riding my bike and keep trying to be a friendly neighbor.
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on Apr 17th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Thanks for writing these…I need to get my family to read them.
on Apr 18th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I love your comment about meeting neighbors. I’m one of the few cyclists in my cul de sac and often make do with a wave from my neighbors as they rush off in a cloud of fumes, surrounded by steel, aluminum and glass.
I also like the comment about being able to stop anywhere on a bike. So true and one of the many joys of cycling.
on Apr 19th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I love your updates on the challenge! I got goose bumps when I read your line about being on the bridge and checking out the sunset. That is one of my favorite views in town (a close 2nd after watching the sunset on the mopac pedestrian bridge looking west) and one of the things I too cherish about riding on a bike around our town. You DO get to stop whenever you want and really check stuff out. In a car, cool things just whiz right by you.
Keep up the great work!