Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Commuter Challenge!

[radacrider]

Count me in. Up to 12/20 hope to do 1 commute / week (30mile round tripper). starting 12/27 (after I get back from vacation time) my goal is daily commuting since our corporate office will have moved to a new building much, much closer to home (12 mile round tripper).

[colorisnt]

radacrider,

That's great news on your building!

I have done no commuting this week because of early mornings and now the flu! Life will NOT slow down, but I have to.

[Rebecca19804]

I'm in. I haven't quite formulated my goals for the season. Had arthroscopy on left knee yesterday, not allowed on the bike at least until I see the surgeon 8th Nov to get stitches removed. Then I'm starting physiotherapy at a place that specialises in cycling.

I've got an invitation to start riding out with a south London road cycling club, as soon as the knee is okay. The only group I've been out with before is a social one - about 30 miles over 8 hours with lots of stops. That's becoming frustratingly slow for me. The club I'll be joining has several group levels, are no-drop and sound very supportive - well respected and recommended club. So I'm feeling very optimistic about improving my strength and endurance and generally 'raising my game', as I'd like to have a serious go at audaxing next year.

So - no firm pledges yet on what or how I'll do this winter. But I wanted to get a note down on this thread now, so at least I've committed myself TO SOMETHING -- haha -- and will be sure to come back in a couple of weeks and set out a PLAN. Yay!

You ladies rock and are a constant inspiration. Thank you!

EDIT - and our clocks don't go back til this coming Sunday... which buys me a little time til the TE Challenge starts properly, right?

[girlsubobscura]

It's starting to get cold and dark here, so it's scarf and mittens time, but it's not as rainy as I remember from last october, so looks like the waterproof panniers are working as intended: a city wide weather shield

[Melalvai]

...so looks like the waterproof panniers are working as intended: a city wide weather shield

Yes! That is how my magical goretex rain gear works! I bought it during the rainy fall 3 years ago, and after it arrived? I did not have another rainy bike ride for 3 months!

[colorisnt]

Gah! I bought rain gear, too (it was on sale), but I have yet to have a rainy day in months!

[Melalvai]

The week's not quite over yet but I wanted to report on it because I got really philosophical when considering how this week counts on the continuum between success and failure. I concluded that in some ways, it is more of a success than last week when I was really gung-ho and accomplished all kinds of things, like lifting tall buildings and leaping speeding bullets.

Specifically I want to swim MWF, go to the gym for weights and then run T/Th, do my core exercises every day, go for a bike ride on weekends, and of course bike commute during the week. Technically I did all that except Monday, when we were traveling, I did not swim (although I could have) or do my core exercises.

The problem is, the rest of the week I did a half-hearted job of the running and swimming. The reason I decided this was more of a success than last week's accomplishments is because it is harder to get out there AT ALL when you are having a rough week for whatever reason (I think I was having trouble because it got cold), than it is to do well when you are feeling really motivated.

So I gave myself credit for doing it at all.

I also gave myself credit for doing the core exercises every day. They count for more, to me, because I follow them up with my jaw and neck stretches, and so the whole thing counts more as "taking care of myself" instead of "training for the triathlon". (One is less selfish than the other in my head.)

Finally I gave myself credit for commuting. Not that that is difficult. In fact it is the easiest thing which is why I continued to do it. Each time I might think "It's cold, maybe DH will give me a ride", the next thought is "How will I get home?" and the logistics of that are so complicated that immediately I say "Screw it, I'll just ride, that's easiest". So this 'credit' was earned by the years of bicycle commuting that has made it a habit, and by the investment of ~$500 in cold weather gear three years ago (a lot of money but how much have you spent on your car over three years?), and by the fact that we never did buy that second car.

We're riding out to the corn maze this afternoon, and tomorrow I plan to run again.

Overall, this week was strongly on the "success" side of the continuum. And that makes me feel more motivated for next week's swimming & running.

[bikerHen]

Checking in with a "so far so good" report. I'm long over my cold/flu and riding my 5 days a week. Weather is definitly starting to feel like winter. Cold and almost snow type rain this morning. My evening commutes are now in total darkness. Gotta say I'm loving it!

Melalvia, I feel your pain with trying to fit in all the other "stuff" with commuting. Three days a week I ride to the gym, do weights, walk/run on the treadmill, ride to work then ride home at the end of the day. On the other three days I do weights at home then ride to and from work. On the seventh day we take the dogs for a long 3-4 mile walk. I'm looking forward to my surgery in January so I can take a few weeks off. But then as my shoulder heals I'm going to have to figure out how to fit swimming into the daily mix. I tell ya this getting into shape is not for the timid. It's darn tough!

[Melalvai]

This week is neither "success" nor "failure". The terms just don't apply in a crisis.

I didn't think of commuting as a goal for me, because it is just something I do all the time. But after my daughter's wreck last week I was scared to ride on That Road. So commuting did become a goal for me, and I am proud to report that I rode my bike today! Not as a commute but as a recreational ride with my dad. And not only did I ride the bike, I rode on That Road. Having done it once, I know I can do it again, even coming home and making that fateful left turn. (I might do it as a box turn the first few times.) I plan to commute as usual from now on, and I don't think it will be a problem.

I didn't even think about exercise for several days. I didn't care either. Then I read an article that PTSD can be improved with exercise. So on Thursday, I drove to the gym, did weight machines, and ran on the trail. It felt very strange to drive to the gym, but it felt really good to run.

Then on Friday I drove to the pool and swam, and that didn't feel so good because instead of getting into a good zone I got into a bad zone and got angry. Hopefully next time I swim will be a happier experience.

I did my core workout on Thurs, and I plan to do it tonight.

As far as taking time for myself for my daughter's health, and my own health, I did very well at that. As she got better I slowly got back into work and was even kind of productive on Friday. I'm looking forward to getting lots done next week, and then we go on vacation to Costa Rica!!

[malkin]

Good for you!!!!!

[blackhillsbiker]

4 1/2 days the week before last, 4 days last week. Today was sleet, wet and cold. I was glad of my wool layers. Still, I'm surprised it has been so warm up until now.

Deb

[radacrider]

gee, been posting some in the other commute thread

So far, I've been able to get my 1 commute per week in. It's given me some trial and error on my lights, clothing layers, night traffic. Even with the weather getting wetter and cooler, still enjoy the time on the bike.

[bikerHen]

((( sigh))) . . . It's starting to look like it's going to be another one of "thoses" winters. It's not even December and we're already starting to talk about feet of snow instead of inches. The snow plows are starting to fill up the bike lanes with snow and there's about a three foot berm of snow blocking the bike path. We had to dig a path for our short legged dog to go pee this morning! As much as I like snow . . . this much, this early sucks! Barring a sudden warm-up, it looks like my commuting days may be over for the year.

[Melalvai]

My report on this week's goals: vacation in Costa Rica!

I had toyed with the idea of renting a bike but I'm glad that didn't pan out. We had also intended to rent a car and I'm glad we didn't end up doing that either, we hired a driver for our 2 excursions. Costa Rica roads are crazy! So many cyclists and pedestrians and dogs on very narrow roads, every car drives as fast as it can in between speed bumps (muertos), and my heart just about stopped several times per mile from fear that we were going to hit a person or dog.

So, the only biking was one short trip this afternoon. I jogged a couple times, and swam in the ocean a bit, mostly I played with the tide in the ocean. I was excited to have a chance to practice swimming in open water. I walked a lot. I always woke up so early in the mornings that I had time to check my email and go for a walk or jog before DH & DD were awake, and catch a glimpse of monkeys.

Of course I didn't stick to any kind of regular training schedule. I did do my core exercises approximately every other night.

[blackhillsbiker]

Only one day last week. My bike was in the shop.

I decided to ride this morning despite snow, drifts and winds. About halfway there I was seriously questioning the sanity of that decision. I didn't want to turn around, though so I pulled my Buff up a little higher on my frozen face and finished the commute. The ride home was a little better (wind died down to about 20-25 mph). Some of the drifts were a bit extreme. I even had to walk a bit. Still, I was glad to be back on my bike.

Deb