Spandex Commute

Today I joined the rank of environmentally friendly commuters. It felt good, minus the burning thighs and lungs. That is right, I left my car in the drive way and hopped on the old 2 wheeler and pedaled in. It was great! Plus I killed 3 birds with one stone. By riding my bike to work I didn't drive and therefore, didn't use gas; I got exercise; and I got to drive through all the closed roads that cars have to detour which actually cut my commute by 10 minutes.

I also learned firsthand about the feared goatshead. It is this little bur that has the spikes. They go into your tire and give you a flat. Fortunately, I looks like the goatshead missed my inner-tube and I will be ok. I went and bought some protective tire liners today. I will install them and hopefully it will help prevent my tires from getting destroyed.

And to clarify, I did not wear spandex to work. I did, however, tuck my right pant leg into my sock like Steve Carell in the 40 Year-Old Virgin.

This commute got me to wondering. How much gas could we save if we walked and rode bikes more places? My drive to work involves me driving around construction and taking massive detours plus I have to sit at lights forever and stop for school busses. With my bike, I just have to stop at lights and the only thing that happens is I get to catch my breath. Not only would we save gasoline, we would also help the air quality. Boise is currently rather hazy due to the wildfires north of here. I believe the car traffic is not helping any. The final benefit would be the exercise. We could burn more calories and move from our sedentary lifestyle that many of us (myself included) become accustomed to. I have been trying to lose "the last 10 pounds" and I have tried various ways of going about it. I think this will probably help more than anything.

I more people will hop on bikes and get out of cars. Plus it is so beautiful outside it is hard not to enjoy the weather.