establishing my base

[bouncybouncy]

i have a suggestion (if there is a feasible way)...

can you incorporate your daughters pick-up with riding? is she old enough to ride? is the distance short enough for her? could you tow her?

i have heard of others doing this...and the kids seem to love it!

not quite $0.02....maybe it was a penny-thought offering?

[weesara]

These are all great ideas. I have to work on it. My daughter is too young to ride on her own (4), and the traffic on the streets near her school make me quite wary of trying anything like a trailer. I think the carpool idea is best. But all of this has to be on the back burner as her school is closing for the summer and she will go to summer camp. I'm getting inspired, though, to try to make something like this work.

As for the log, I am overwhelmed. Do you keep a notebook, computer file, or what?

One last thing: just as I am getting going on this, we're going on a 3 week road trip to see family and friends in NY and New England. Any advice on keeping up your training while on the go?

[Geonz]

OR! Join the unwashed, unplanned, ungeeky (oops, nobody in their right mind would say that)... UNPLANNERS... who still didn't want this bike thing to be a "oh, yea, I was going to do that and it just never became a habit" ... um,... failure would be a strong word but that's srue what it feels like.

I am pretty severely organizationally challenged ... I can do it but only for a few things, and not while I'm doing other stuff. Yes, I have a lot of trouble with follow-through, too.

I log my miles - used to do it on a wall calendar, then on a spreadsheet Mike Bentley did, now it's on bikejournal (but I want to bring my personal spreadsheet up to date). I make big goals like "1000 miles for the year" that I ***know*** I can do... because I like to win by a landslide. Then I calculate how many miles per month, week, and day I'd have to do... and gosh, I'm already ahead. (Okay, yea, I'm a geek :=))

However, that's my personality - I'd rather just ride a little harder and longer today than yesterday, let nature take its course, and then bask in the surprise and elation when yes, I *can* do those long rides. And, of course, every time I *do* one of those long rides and bask in the elation, it makes it easier to do the *next* one~! How many things that let us bask in elation actually are good for us??? Bicycling is LIVING RIGHT

[Starfish]

As for the log, I am overwhelmed. Do you keep a notebook, computer file, or what?

My log is just a plain old spiral notebook, like for school. I record a lot of info, but I have it down to a lot of shorthand, so it really does only take a few seconds at the end of every ride. I have a little system of columns for the heart rate info so it is easy to just total the time spent in the various zones at the end of the week.

[tulip]

As for the log, keep it simple and do what's best for you. If you are a computer geek, or keep other records on your computer, then perhaps a computer log such as a simple excel spreadsheet is the way to go. Or if you have PDA you could keep track of it there. I like bikejournal.com personally.

If you are not a computer person, then perhaps a notebook would be better. Think of it like a ride journal more than a log.

Or if you don't like the notebook, maybe a wall calendar. Wall calendars don't get lost like notebooks can.