So today I FINALLY bit the bullet and rode the 23 miles to work and then the 25 back home (took a different, less traveled way home). It took me 2 hours 20 min. to get to work and about the same to get home- a whopping 10.something mph average. I was fighting a nasty headwind the whole way- sustained at 20 gusting in the 30's. Ridiculous. The ride home was nice with a bit of a tailwind, but traffic was nutty and it got dark on me fast. Funny- I don't mind the morning 2 hours in the dark, but the afternoon 40 min. in the dark scared me something fierce. I think because boogie men aren't out at 5:45 a.m., but they ARE out at 5:45 p.m.

I'll definitely do it again. Here's what I learned:

*I need to eat more when I do this. I burned somewhere near 2500 calories for the 4.5 hours of riding, but only took in about 900 for the day (before dinner). I was HUN-GRY when I got home.

*I'm lit up pretty well. Most cars saw me and gave me good room to breathe. A co-worker followed me for a half mile on a "dangerous" section of road because she didn't want me to get hit. hee hee. Said she could see me from a long ways off.

*I don't mind the morning commute, but I'm tired by the end of the day- so I need to have some extra energy before leaving for the afternoon ride home.

*drivers in the morning are more patient- or just more sleepy and don't want to mess with me as much

*morning darkness really didn't scare me like I thought it would. evening darkness scared me more than I thought it would.

*I LOVED the freedom of biking all the way from home. I've done the "half" commute before- parking halfway and then riding. I don't like that as much. It's much easier to just leave from home (although it's a much longer day).

*I loved freaking out my co-workers. "you biked HOW far?" It's really not that far, but I guess to some people- nearly 50 miles in a day (although spread apart by 7 hours rest) is a lot. To me, not so much.

Thank you all for you encouragement (even though you didn't know you'd been giving it). I kept reading your posts, and although I don't do it often enough to be a "real" commuter. I really think I could get used to this. I chickened out about 4 times before I actually did it. I think the "thought" of doing it was scarier than actually doing it, ya know?

Anyway- thanks again- I love you ladies- you keep me trying new things and pushing my limits. I never would've tried the whole commute if it wasn't for you.