Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Commuter Challenge!

[hilaryclaire]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

[out_spokin']

Finally a little momentum! I've got 3 in a "row", which for me with my nutty schedule lately is over the past two weeks. Still, it's helping bring my percentage much closer to my goal. A wild mix - one morning it was 15, the next day it was above freezing which is quite rare.

I'm also loving the Christmas lights and am starting to take slightly different routes to take in new ones. I'm not so fond of the singing ones either -- I love basking in the nighttime dark & quiet!

I had my favorite giant orange crescent moon setting over the black silhouette of the mountains the other night, and have been playing the game of "which animal is it behind the eyes reflecting back my headlight??" (usually cats, but last time a raccoon.) I'm almost sorry that solstice is around the corner, because once I get into this winter commuting rhythm there's nothing quite like it to frame my work days.

[Melalvai]

Training: not a complete success, or not a complete failure, depends on if you're a half-full or half-empty person. I'm ok with it. I did get a long run (long for me = 4 miles) this weekend. It was sort of a good run. I was had just gotten some upsetting news and thought the run might make me feel better. Not sure if it did that. It made me feel like I had accomplished something anyway and it was better than banging around the house cleaning.

The upsetting news was not anything earth shattering. Mainly it came at a bad time at the end of a bad week. MoDOT did their traffic study and decided that the speed limit of 55 mph is perfectly ok. Well, I'm not done yet. I still really want to move and if we do, this speed limit issue won't affect us as directly.

Going home when I'm unwell: Again I'm not sure if this is a partial success or partial failure. It was a bad week for me which ENDED with the upsetting news, and this week I'm discovering a few mistakes and omissions I made last week, and I know I spent too much time attempting to accomplish something when I should have given up and gone home. I think my state of mind was mainly hormonal, but it wasn't pretty. This is why I don't eat sugar, which makes that sort of thing worse, and I ate too much sugar last month.

Bike commuting: Once again I'm faced with this challenge when I'm a diehard commuter who shouldn't be struggling with it. I finally made the connection--the flashbacks & anxiety attacks are happening when I'm on my bike. Maybe if I get off my bike for a couple weeks they'll stop. (And I finally called for an appointment with a counselor, as you all have been encouraging me to do. But they have a month-long wait. Eh.) I don't like being off my bike and I don't like being in the car. Even in this weather, or especially in this weather.

[out_spokin']

@ Melavai - hang in there and be gentle with yourself. You're doing great to stay active whether or not you're on the bike. Yay for calling the counselor, hope maybe something opens up before it's expected. And in this season just doing one's best to stay away from sugar takes a LOT of energy! Again, just give yourself time and space and gentleness!!!

As for the week -- I'm psyched to get 3 for 3 this week. I've been super-tired and almost talked myself out of it for the end of the week, but luckily we lent our 2nd car to our car-free friends and partner needed the other so I just made it a priority to plug along, get my food/clothes/bike ready early each evening, and get to bed as soon as possible. This morning I was annoyed by losing sleep to my cat, who's generally a reliable one-time snooze alarm to get in a little purrfest before I head out the door. Last night she thought maybe 11pm was the time....then 1am...then 4am?!! When I dragged outta bed at 5:35 I went to find her and she yawned at me and when back to sleep. Wha???

Luckily there was about a half inch of super dry snow on the ground and light flakes still falling, one of my favorite winter riding conditions. Got all cheerful as I quietly rolled across town in the pre-dawn light...looks like I'll have similar conditions for the ride home, though definitely darker! Yay winter, and yet I'm looking forward to solstice Tuesday!

[blackhillsbiker]

5 for 5 this week. 2 on my new road bike! Today she got a new stem and I put the WTB Deva saddle from my MTB on her. Much comfier!

Deb

[radacrider]

Haven't done a ride to work since the week before Thanksgiving. Work got crazy and, even as I write this, we are finishing up final technology setups and testing for all the staff to be able to work first thing tomorrow (Monday, 12/20/2010).

However, I did finally get an errand ride in this moring, covered about 15-16 miles.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freeheelgirl/5274910689/

A beautiful, sunny December morning. Later today, it actually rained early evening, and then fluffed up some snow (albeit, wet snow). So glad I went out in the morning.

[Melalvai]

Bike commuting: still off the bike, I have an appointment with a therapist this week. I was lucky to find one who could get me in so early, everyone else didn't have an opening until mid-January. Instead I've been walking or if I don't have time for the 40 minute walk, I get a ride with my husband when he's dropping daughter off at school. (It drives me wild that's how she gets to school. But oh well.)

The walks have been beautiful in the early winter sunsets. I've been meaning to walk since we moved here in June, but who has time for a 40 minute walk when it can be a 10 minute bike ride? So it's kind of nice to be forced to walk at last. I saw a huge herd of deer, maybe 15 or even 20, cross the road, cars on both sides stopped to let them pass. Pretty pests.

It's a good time to be walking, with this weather. 2 miles is not enough of a bike ride to warm up.

My training has changed, instead of running twice a week I've been going to spin class. I never saw the point in spin class. What is the point of riding without going anywhere? But I figured I'd give it a try since otherwise I'm off my bike until my head gets straightened out. And I love it! I even loved having Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" stuck in my head (we sat or stood on our bikes every time she said "romance") because it was SUCH an improvement over flashbacks & anxiety attacks.

I did go for a couple runs, one on the weekend and another on the same day as a spin class. Normally I wouldn't do that but it worked on that day, the run was in the morning and spin class in the evening.

I've changed my approach to swims, trying to incorporate some sprints into it.

I stopped weight training because I injured my other shoulder. I will try to talk to a trainer to find out what I'm doing that is injuring my shoulders. I think it is the rowing machine.

[Crankin]

Good job with the walking, Melavai. I find that I see things when I am walking or hiking that I definitely don't see when I am riding, or even running, because I am just going too fast (well not when running ). If I had a 2 mile commute, I think I might walk it most of the time.

[Biciclista]

well, I rode today, this will be my last bike commute of the year. It's cold and wet here. ugh...

[radacrider]

Since it was our first day in our new office building, even though I am on vacation this week, I rode in to check it out. So much nicer being only 5 miles from work than my previous 15.

Rainy and on the colder side, time to get out the rain pants and booties. Wow, even with the rain it was great, because I knew I would only be out in it about 25 minutes, versus 1-1/2 hrs for the old commute - oh, yeah.

Fortunately since I am more far sighted I rode part of the ride without my glasses, as they were wet and fogging up.

No more commutes this week, next week we have only 3 days of work so I am planning to ride 3 for 3.

Happy holidays all!

[blackhillsbiker]

Coldest commute so far this year. 12° this morning, 12° this evening. I was very thankful for all my wool!

Deb

[girlsubobscura]

Stayed home to write for work twice last week, so had a 3/3 commuting week. Snowstorms on sunday, and my chain froze, but once I got it thawed out and relubed, the rides were fine. I stuck to the plowed main roads and took the lane much more aggressively than usual. I've been on vactaion since last sunday, and have two weeks of vacation now. One in the black hills, SD, and one in the Sandias, NM. I really need to find some relatives in the tropics to visit.

[out_spokin']

New Mexico's gotta be warmer - or at least blue-er sky - than MI, no?

I celebrated Solstice with my 1 of 1 commute for the week. The wool was key, since the first pre-bus part of the commute was much warmer/dryer than the short ride to work an hour and a half later!!

Happy longest night of the year fellow (northern) commuters!

[girlsubobscura]

Not usually warmer, but definitely less overcast and slushy. SD has been warmer than I was expecting though. This is my first visit here, we went to mount rushmore today.

[7rider]

At 32 F (0 C), this morning was definitely the warmest morning I've ridden all month. Or even SEEN all month!
Feet were toasty warm with my new LG shoe covers. I wore DH's Castelli Radiation jacket with it's reflective liner. Whoa. Way too warm. Thankfully, there are vent zips in the front of the jacket so I could shed some extra heat. The Radiation liner is going in a back pocket for the ride home.