I know this blog is not a cycling blog, but utilitarian biking is now a part of my journey to overall fitness for the Big Race. Note I did not call it cycling. That because there's a difference.
Cycling implies a road bike, like Lance Armstrong rides. Skinny tires. Shaved Legs. Lycra body suits. I have neither the free time or money to explore that colorful, speedy world.
My new lifestyle includes trying to go from point A to point B on a bike- for running errands. Hence, Utilitarian Biking.
I drop off and retrieve my daughter from preschool by bike by pulling a Chariot kid carrier behind me. Her little brother can't get enough of it, thankfully, so he tags along (I got a double-wide). We go to the grocery store, library, farmer's market, and Rec Center all by bike. This is possible only because a determined acquaintance decided to educate me on the merits of biking, and bribed me with his paniers.
Paniers are not panties. So stop. They're saddle bags for bikes. And his happen to be water proof, so I have no excuse not to keep on peddling all winter. Other than being a wimp, which is true enough. My goal is to eliminate almost all local driving, with the exception of sickness or extreme snow conditions.
To that effect I am now, unexpectedly, the neighborhood coordinator for our Neighborhood ECO bus pass, which should allow us to pool our resources and get a nice big discount on buying a family pass. I'll add bus to my list of transport and just have to walk a bit to bus stops. Dragging the kiddos. They'll adapt.
So essentially what I've discovered is that it is doggone impossible for me right now to carve out traditional exercise time on a consistent basis (one limiting factor is not being able to afford a gym membership with childcare). So I'm building it into our lifestyle instead. I go to tai chi twice a week still, and now I ride 40-60 miles a week on the bike, too. It's not much, but it will add up over time. Did I mention that I'm pulling about 90 pounds of kid-carrier, kids, and gear behind me when I ride? Uphill? It's a pretty good workout.
I haven't lost sight of The Race. I will make it.
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Woo hoo! I was worried it wasn't happening because I hadn't heard from you in weeks. Did you manage to solve the issue of your heels running into the panniers?
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about the whole gym membership thing. It turns out most people don't ever really carve out the time to use them even if they can afford them. Working activity into your everyday life just puts it in the background. It's efficient multi-tasking.
Ha! I hadn't written anything because the biking was leaving me too tired to stay up later than the kids! I'm dreadfully behind in my writing.
ReplyDeleteThis gentle autumn is providing me with more opportunities to be outside than I could have hoped for. :) Thanks for getting me going!
Yay! Glad that you're enjoying biking, too! Let's go for a ride someday....
ReplyDeleteYay! Glad you're enjoying biking, too! Let's go for a ride someday....
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