I did make it…

I did survive the ride home, and weather wise, it was a lot nicer than this morning! I found the first part of my ride rather amusing. I am riding along Park Meadows Drive, cruising at a nice pace, feeling great to be outside. It is almost 6pm, so traffic is really heavy, wanting to get to I-25. I pass cars left and right, dead stop in traffic. I see some drivers dosing off, some just staring blankly at the car in front of them, and quite a few who are screaming at no one, more than likely due to their frustration from sitting in traffic. I felt sorry for them. They were really missing out. I wondered how many people only live a few miles from where they work, yet still put themselves through the stress of driving…

The route that  I take to and from work consists of 6 different trails/sections and a little over 25 miles. On the way home, I deal with the worst part first (fortunately), which is riding down Park Meadows Drive. Too many cars and traffic. I then meet up with Willow Brook, which is just a short trail that leads to the C-470 trail. I get on the C-470 trail close to Yosemite and head west for a while. I am not too fond of this section, either, because it runs right along the highway and all you hear are cars. But it is not long before I can turn off onto Lee Gulch Trail, which starts about 1/2 mile west of University. This is where the fun begins… It is mostly all dirt with lots of rolling hills. I  beat the crap out of the beast on this section, but he handles it very well. It passes little ponds, and baseball fields, where the last few times there have been little league going on. Lee Gulch is definately my favorite part of the ride. I love dirt. It eventually meets up with the Platte, which I take a few miles to Bear Creek, which then brings me right to my home near Kipling. Fun ride.

It was a faster ride tonight, made it home in 1hour 40 minutes. Not too bad for the 25 miles. I feel good, and can’t wait for the next ride! I hear Thrusday is supposed to be colder, and could possibly rain… Bring it on.

I did it (well, halfway there…)

I have been at work for almost 4 hours now, and I am still not thawed out. I was out the door by 5:15 this morning, bundled up and on my bike. It was cold. I don’t think it was more than 25 out. It didn’t take long to get the blood flowing, and I started to enjoy the ride. It was still dark, so I had a headlamp, although it really wasn’t needed because it was almost a full moon. Riding along Bear Creek in the morning is like nothing else you will ever experience. The full moon illuminated all of the dense brush along the river, leaving behind some incredible shadows. There was thick fog over the creek, which almost made the whole scene spooky. The only sounds I heard were my own breathing, and the songs of the birds. There was not another soul out. I felt like I was alone in my own world, which, I guess in a way I was. It felt right to be there, and experiencing that made the thought of the cold exit my mind. It was a great way to start the ride, and continued to be good. I saw the sun rise, which was beautiful. What a different way to commute. I feel I am so fortunate to have this opportunity, and am so grateful to live in such a beautiful amazing place. How can a ride like that not put a smile on your face and make the rest of your day great? How does it get better than this? Ah- by knowing I have another spectacular ride on the way home…

Is it possible…

Our society has become so caught up in status, with how much money they make, how big and expensive their house is, how nice their car is, etc. that they have forgotten what life is about. Even the people who struggle, seem to be struggling for those same things, maybe just not as nice. Why is it that we cannot really survive without money, a car, or a nice warm home? We used to be able to do it, just live with what is available to us, and be satisfied with that. The funny thing is, none of the people who have lots of money, the nice house, and expensive car, are actually happy. In my opinion they are not getting the most out of life. They live for those things. They spend their time being miserable because they don’t have enough money or a high enough status. The thing is, when you die, your money, house and car are not going with you.

I will admit that I have fell into this trap. I have felt before that I am not satisfied with where I am with things. I haven’t been happy in my career, I spend money on stupid things, I now have two cars, one of which is a gas hog and the other leaks oil it seems out of every nook and cranny in the engine, and is so not good for the environment. It smokes, is loud, and although it may get better gas mileage than the Xterra, I spend probably just as much on oil and other fluids it leaks. I am starting to get a swimming pool size of oil in my parking spot. Oh, and when I leave in the mornings, the lack of a muffler sets my neighbors car alarm off. Kinda embarrassing…

Anyways, today I decided to take the bike on my errands today. Left my place and headed south to the bike shop. Then I passed my place to head north to my bank. Then I came back towards my house and proceeded to head east to the library. Headed home, and then about an hour later, headed up to Mt Falcon to get a mountain bike ride in. All of this, and over 60 miles. It made me really see why I have to get gas so much! On top of that, my work is 30 miles each way. I have rode my bike to work once, this last Tuesday, which the bike trails make it only 25 miles. But I realized today that there are bike trails EVERYWHERE. I didn’t even get out a map, just left my house and started riding, and was always on a bike trail. Minus the fact that I didn’t eat enough for the 60 miles today, I felt pretty good, and even better when I rolled up to my place at the end of the day, and saw both cars still sitting there.

So I made a decision, and with Earth Day being tomorrow, what better time than now! I will not drive my car for 2 weeks. I would like to make it the whole summer, but baby steps. My goal is to stick to 2 weeks. It is a small enough time where it is very doable, and long enough to know if I can survive. I will go from there, and then hopefully make it the whole summer! We wont talk that far ahead though… I will ride to work, if I want a mountain bike in, I have Falcon only 7 miles away, and Green Mountain only 5, so I will ride there. As for my continued road training, what better way to prepare myself than ride from my place to Lookout, ride Lookout and back? Perfect. I am sure there is a trail the whole way. Will look into that this weekend. I will ride my bike to the store, and any other errands I have. I am looking into panniers and bags. Another plus to this is I can only buy what I can carry on my bike. So no extra spending on stupid things I don’t need. To me this seems so perfect. Getting great exercise doing something I love, seeing different parts of the city, being outside, saving money, and living more green! It will definitely be an eye opener. I will have to second think about things when I am heading out. Be more cautious of what I do. I think I will learn a lot about myself doing this. It might mean I go out less, or even see people less, but it might be a good thing to get some of you out to ride with me!

I did not enter my car today, so I was successful in my first day. J Tomorrow will be interesting, for it is really cold out now, and could possibly snow tonight, and I have to leave by 5:15am. It is my first true test… Wish me luck!