Bike To Work Weak - Day 4 wrap-up

Thanks, Warren. I couldn't resist.

I wussied out and took the bus to JCCC this evening. I had some stuff to do once I got back into Johnson county, so I'll still get some miles. You know how some people thought I was taking Bike To Work Week a little too literally? Well, it's Bike *TO WORK* Week. Not Bike To Home Week or Bike From Work Week. LOL! While I'm at it, I'll participate in "Bike is the ticket to ride" event tomorrow. In other words, I'm tapped. Seriously.

Let's do a recap of my week so far. I've had about 12 hours of sleep and put about 150 miles on my bike since Monday. Put mildly, my current lifestyle is not conducive to this kind of commuting yet. Part of this is family related. I have to wake up at 5:00 to make it out by 5:30, which is basically the latest I can leave. To get enough sleep, I'd really need to be in bed by 10, maybe 10:30.

As it stands right now, my wife gets home around 10:30, and that's the only time I see her. She's asleep when I leave in the morning. If I was asleep when she got home, that would really, really suck. I wouldn't want to simply NOT see her, ever.

There are a few positives to this, though:

First off, I can do the full round trip on occasion, I just can't do it on a daily basis. I've proven to myself that I have what it takes to ride the whole trip. This is a huge mental breakthrough.

Next off, my wife has been accepted for another position in her department that will result in hours that will help me get some more sleep. It sounds like she might even get converted to full time.

Finally, we're moving a few miles closer to both of our jobs at the end of June. I'm not sure what the new route would look like for a full bicycle-only commute, but I'll hash out those details in the coming weeks. This would probably result in about a 15-20 minute difference in my commute time, meaning that I might be able to get to my office in an hour or less once we move.

I've already said that I'm calling this Bike To Work Week a success. This week has been a great growth experience. I've had a several great rides to and from work, a fun group ride with my dad and some friends, and met a few fellow commuters -- even if only to exchange a wave of the hand. Leading up to this week, I had the honor of showing up to a few city council meetings to show my support for cycling. I'll take away a slightly more passionate zeal for cycling from these events.

Riding to the bus in the morning is usually a pretty rushed ride, and I know tomorrow probably won't be any different. It'll be a major change of pace from what I've been doing in the morning lately. I'm usually slow and steady, conserving my energy to get me all the way downtown. I won't have that luxury tomorrow, and I'm going to be doing it on sore legs to boot. Saturday, I'm hosting a slow ride on Indian Creek Trail. I'm going to need a longish recovery ride that's low-stress, low-speed and high on fun factor. If you want to join me in stretching out the legs, and winding down from the Bike To Work Week festivities, let me know, or heck, just show up. Details are in the announcement at the top of my blog.