Friday, May 18, 2007

Bike to Work Day - and glad I didn't have to ride this bike...

Today, May 18th, is bike to work day! I did it. Here's my log;

Totals for the day:

Avg speed: 10.62
Max speed: 32.5
Total miles ridden: 12.93
Ride time: 1:14:10
Approximate money saved on gas? about $1.20 - my Honda gets about 30 mpg city, I pay about 3.60 per gallon...
Satisfaction at getting exercise? Priceless

So, it's not that far from my house to work but I went a longer way so I could visit a "Celebration Station." Bellingham has these stations scattered all over the city to encourage people to ride to work (today only). Problem? By doing that, I doubled the length of my trip and forced myself to ride up a BRUTAL hill. The first 4.1 miles I averaged 12.6 mpg. The next 1 mile (after the Celebration station) I averaged about 5 mph, and had to stop twice. The last part was back to mostly flat.

Oh, and a word on the "Station." They're supposed to be an encouragment and incentive to get people to bike to work and promised of refreshments and the chance to win some cool prizes. So, what did I find at the station? Chocolate/Fudge Brownies, Starbucks coffee, and a couple of muffins. Now I'm no Lance Armstrong but I'm guessing that brownies and coffee at 8:00 in the morning while riding a bike up a big hill isn't a great combination. Needless to say, a little disappointing.

On the flip side, I did get the satisfaction of "looking down" on everyone who drove a car today. It's funny the way that works... After doing this, my goal is bike to work twice a week during the summer. We'll see if I'm able to do it!

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