Week 2 - This Is How We Do It

It's week 2 of bike adventures, and I'm really starting to love it!  I don't miss the car at all, and I've enjoyed the extra bit of exercise I get each day.  Here's a quick recap of the week:

Monday was a lazy day.  I took the car to work since Jason had his work truck for the day. It worked out okay, though, because it allowed me to bring packing boxes home from work, and take more lunches to store in the break room fridge.

On Tuesday, I got to try out my new bike panniers! I was a little nervous about using them the first time because it was really windy as a cold front blew in.  I was worried that the bags would provide too much wind resistance.  They were awesome, though!  It was so great to ride in without a heavy bag over my shoulder.  Even though I was probably carrying more weight overall, the ride to work felt lighter.  There were a couple times on the ride home when I felt like I might blow over because of the wind, but I just tried to be extra careful. Here's a pic of my bike all loaded up with the panniers I bought from Performance Bikes:

Wednesday I survived my first bike commuting with hangover adventure. I had spent Tuesday night at a new book club, and had a little too much to drink. It was pretty tough to get on my bike Wednesday morning, but I had no choice. Wednesday night was girls' night at Paggi House (for a little hair of the dog).  Ginny and I had a nice ride from work, just down the street to 1/2 price apps and wine. Wednesday was also "talk to Lindsey about bike commuting day" at work (or so it seemed).  At least 4 people came into my office to ask about my route, how far I go, why is there a green wheel on the front of my bike, etc.  I guess now that I've been doing this for a week, people are starting to notice.  As Ginny likes to put it, "we're heroes, Lindsey; bike commuting heroes."  I don't know about all that, but...

The Thursday morning commute was pretty uneventful, although the weather was in the 50s, and I should have opted for a wind breaker instead of my hoodie.  It took a few hours at work to finally get the chill out of my system.  I did a little planning for next week to figure out how I'm going to get to and from the airport for my work trip to El Paso.  Not having a car requires me to plan ahead a little more, but hasn't posed any major problems yet.  It's actually exciting to have to think about transportation in a different way!

The Friday morning ride was pretty routine, but Ginny had a small crash on the way home (we rode to my condo to carpool up to a company bowling event). Her wheel got caught in a crevice in the sidewalk, which caused her to tip over.  Luckily, we weren't going too fast and she only got a little bit of road rash on her shoulder.  Of course this had to happen close to a stoplight where there were several cars waiting for the light to change.  Oops!

Saturday was super fun!  It was my 3rd Tour de Fat to attend in Austin. This event is put on by New Belgium brewing, and it's basically a bike carnival.  Live music, good beer, interesting bikes, and a few sideshows make for an interesting day at the park. In the past, I volunteered to pour beer at the beer tent, so this was my first time to attend without volunteering. We got there late but still had enough time to enjoy the last hour of the event. 

So far, it's been really great not having a car.  I feel better when I get to work each day...I really love being out on my bike!

Bike Commuting - Week 1 Adjustment

So, it's only my 2nd day without a car, but so far things are going really well.  I think I'm really going to like the new lifestyle, even if it's only through the end of the year.  Here's a quick snapshot of the week:

Tuesday we dropped off the VW at Car Max, and left $11k of debt there with it.  I have to admit I was pretty nervous when we left the dealership.  I was having some doubts...why hadn't I tried commuting for a week or so before just jumping right in?  I guess that's just how I roll.

Wednesday was my first day to commute to work.  That's not exactly true, I guess.  In the 3.5 years that I've lived a short 2 miles from the office, I've probably ridden here about 6 times.  So, I knew which route to take and how long it would take to get there...or so I thought.  I started off on my normal route that would take me on a trail under Barton Springs road, then through Zilker.  Under the bridge I ran into my first road block.  There was a huge tree branch that had fallen into the sidewalk, and because there were railings in this particular area, I couldn't go around...so I had to backtrack up a hill and reroute myself in the dark.  From there, it was smooth sailing, and my first day as a bike commuter was a success!  My bike rested happily in my office until it was time to pedal home.

Thursday brought about another interesting morning.  About 5 minutes into my morning ride, I rode through a huge swarm of gnats and got more than an eyeful, which led to a few seconds of blindness.  I think some clear riding glasses may be in order!  Shortly after, I came head on with a lady who was walking multiple dogs.  I ride on a sidewalk through the park for some of my route, and this lady was definitely irritated that she had to take 2 seconds to step her dogs off the sidewalk so I could pass.  I received an irritated eye-roll as I went by.  Oh well!  When I arrived to work, I realized that I forgot to pack my purse, so I didn't have the access key to get into the gym to shower and dress for work.  I stood in the hallway for about 10 minutes, waiting for a coworker to arrive so someone could let me in.  Then, the smell of bacon reminded me that there were a few employees who came in early to cook for our United Way benefit, so I was able to secure a badge from one of them!  Luckily, I have several lunches saved in the work fridge, so the fact that I don't have my wallet wasn't a big deal.  Thursday night we hit up TNSR for some social cycling.  We had a blast riding through the hills until a girl crashed her bike while going downhill over a speed bump.  We found out later that she suffered a broken jaw, concussion, cracked ribs, and major road rash.  Medics said that she would have probably died if it weren't for her helmet.  Luckily, she's on her way to recovery.  This gave everyone quite a scare...we'll be riding with helmets from now on.

Friday, I didn't have to go into work, so I skipped the morning commute.  I did have a 10:00 hair appointment about 5.5 miles away from home.  I debated riding my bike or taking a Car2Go, but in the end opted for the Car2Go adventure. My legs needed a break from the hilly ride the night before, and I was still a bit hung over from too many vodka and vitamin waters.  The Car2Go experience was super fun!  I had downloaded this new app that shows where the closest available car is located. I just clicked a couple buttons, and used the directions on my phone to walk a few short blocks to the closest car.  So easy! Plus, the car is just so cute:

Week 1 living the bike commuter lifestyle = success!

Car-Free

Well, I'm officially car-free!  We sold the VW to Carmax yesterday.  I'm a little excited and a little scared.  More to come soon...

Goodbye, old ride.