The Many and Varied Miracles Achieved by Biking to Work

I think we've all had resolutions over the years that follow this basic pattern:

1) Inspiration- I am SO excited about cooking healthy meals for self every day/learning to knit and sew/ learning to play guitar/other impressive and/or virtuous new practice

2) Short lived fervor- Buy paraphernalia, read obsessively about subject, daydream, about one week of effort

3) Interruption- busy week at work/indecision re: sewing patterns and inability to read them/ lack of brain for proceeding beyond step 1 of "learn to play guitar" free online lessons

4) Lapse-no further action until paraphernalia is sold or the sight of paraphernalia/article/more virtuous friend inspires me to try again

This is the pattern I have followed many times, especially in regards to biking. I've tried to get in the habit of biking to work for about 4 years, and part of the reason Mike and I bought this house two+ years ago was the idea that we were close enough to work to bike there (3.6 miles). And yet I have never biked to work more than maybe 5 days in a row- and usually it's a day here or there, never more than a couple weeks totaled up each summer.

So I am very proud to say that this is the year I finally biked for more than a week straight. In fact I am entering my 7th week with only 2 off days! I can't tell you how exciting this is for me.

This all started a couple weeks after we got back from Peru in May. Bike to work week was the catalyst (so if you have a job organizing events like this, pat yourself on the back), combined with vexation regarding my bottom-of-barrel physical performance on the Inca trail (so if you are one of the people that was kicking my keister, kudos) and guilt over the BP oil spill (I'm not thanking BP for that one, but rather this blog post- as Garrison Keillor says, "that's guilt friends, it's good for you") .

During that week Mike and I encountered rain, I had to get to work at 6:30am one day, and I had to wear nice business clothes on one of the rainy days. But I was determined for once to not cave in to these things. I knew each was surmountable with a little planning- and in retrospect, with my to do list at work spiraling out of all control, I think my pysche was in desperate need of a readily surmountable problem. (The physical release of pounding up a hill and then gleefully racing down didn't hurt either).

Getting through the whole week despite the obstacles gave Mike and I the inspiration to continue, but the second week was harder than first week. The first blush of excitement over new hobby was fading, it kept raining, and the physical effort required seemed to actually increase. I felt a lot slower. What kept me going was that each day I biked I could tally as a success, and I realize now how much that helps when the fruits of my labor at my job are still months of hard work away.

Usually when work is busy and very challenging, I dig in and start giving things up- time, and all the things outside of work that require time. But thankfully, the fact that biking was something I could consider More Important Than Work (because of Need To Save the Earth) allowed me to justify taking the time. (And it really only takes an extra 20-30 minutes out of my day anyway).

I never realized how much doing this would help my attitude and experience at work; how effectively it would fight depression. It has been an incredible help. Having this other project that is going well outside of work makes so many more things feel possible during the day.

After six weeks I am seeing a lot of other benefits too:

• I am dramatically more motivated to make other lifestyle changes to reduce my environmental impact (and that has led me to create this blog and try writing again)
• Skin clear enough to skip the makeup most days, for first time in decades (Maybe coincidence or due to other changes like eating a lot less meat and a lot more vegetables? Maybe bizarre undiscovered benefit of getting more sun? Hard to say.)
• Defined calf muscles- I didn't even think I was using those!- and other muscles too- took awhile, but they are coming
• Nice tan (due to brief periods of sun exposure early and late in the day-not enough to burn- yes I know this is not good for me but I can't deny enjoying it)
• I am fully awake once I get to work, no matter how little sleep I got
• Better parking spot at work (the bike racks are right by the door on the top floor of the parking garage)
• I'm finally getting faster, and I'm not really winded by the ride anymore- yes!!
• I do something I love every day now- it turns out I really love the sensation of being on the bike and racing along on smooth pavement, the wind in my face, watching fireflies dance in the prairie I ride past. I even love it when it's raining. And I love arriving at work drenched in sweat, ready for the best shower ever (the post bike shower).

Everything I try to do to reduce my environmental impact seems to be based on the simple principle of delayed gratification. Whatever is easy now is usually not the best thing for for me (or the earth) later. In the mornings when I first get up, at least 75% of the time I still want to drive to work. I have to fight that immediate urge because if I do drive, I will trade in that brief comfort for disappointment, lethargy and depression once I get to work. (Not to mention the gas I've burned.) I've found the secret is to have everything planned for biking and set out the night before, so that I have to actually make an effort to change my plans if I want to drive.

The other secret is to pay very little attention to weather reports, and just learn how to bike in light-to-moderate rain. Otherwise you miss out on the 90% of good biking days where it doesn't rain after all (or rains during the day while you're working), and you will probably get caught in the rain at some point despite your best efforts. (If you want any tips for riding in the rain I am happy to share; leave a comment. It's pretty simple and whatever you are guessing is probably what I am going to tell you.) This has got me thinking that there must be a lot of good things to do in life that could be accomplished if we ignored some of those obstacles we anticipate we may encounter. So often they don't appear, or are not that hard to deal with. My mother used to tell me that when you are looking down the road and you see boulders rolling towards you, remember that many of them are going to roll right off the side of the road before they ever get to you. This isn't the best analogy for biking since that usually involves riding on the side of the road, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I am very grateful that so far I have been able to continue biking. I am not sure what I am going to do when winter comes again and I have to stop.

Environmental savings:

• At 7.2 miles per day round trip, and 25 mpg (that's generous for our cars when driving under 5 miles at a time; they are pretty inefficient for those trips), we're saving about .3 gallons of gas a day, or 1.4 gallons of gas a week. Over the past six weeks, Mike and I have saved at least 8 gallons, but actually more because of all the days we have had to leave work at different times (meaning I had to work late or he had to leave early) and thus would have driven separately.
• According to this website, if we saved 8 gallons that adds up to about 30.6 pounds of CO2 emissions kept out of the air each week, and over 180 pounds for the six weeks we've biked so far. (We've saved more than Mike's weight in emissions, awesome!)
• According to this calculator, when other costs of driving are figured in, we're saving almost $3 a day by biking, over $84 so far. Not a ton, but it adds up and we can spend it on buying more things organic, so that fits in this category, right?

Of course, I think we have spent that much on bike paraphernalia. :) We got these gift certificates for $20 off a $50 purchase at Trek thanks to Bike to Work Week, and it sucked us in. What I really want is a radio because I do sometimes miss listening to that on the way to work in the mornings. That, and ergonomic handlebar grips. They didn't have those in stock at Trek so I was forced to buy what is, as it turns out, the BEST TANK TOP IN EXISTENCE.

Just another one of those silver linings that I've been noticing a lot of lately.

The Pleasures of Cool Water

Hello friends. I am starting this new blog because I have lately been inspired to live more lightly on this earth and in a way that is more compassionate towards my fellow creatures (human and otherwise). Seriously guys, I hear "Man in the Mirror" and start choking up. It's pretty ridiculous but also feels awesome. For some reason, I got a burst of energy in this direction after seeing As You Like It performed at the American Players Theater (APT), and the name of this blog comes from that play. So far, each time that I try to do without a certain environment-harming convenience, out of the adversity of the experience I have reaped spiritual benefits from the most mundane things. I hope to use this blog to share the things I'm trying, to encourage myself to keep pushing myself to keep at it, and to reflect on the surprises I'm finding along the way. I hope my friends will add comments to give me advice and that we can learn from each other!

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So anyway, Mike and I have been seeing how long we can go without turning on the air conditioning. We've not turned it on yet this summer; we have just been leaving the windows open when it's not raining and using a box fan downstairs, and wearing little clothing. A tiny fan by my bedside helps keep me comfortable at night. (Mike claims he can feel the breeze from it; I don't see how this is possible but he seems to be doing ok.) We are lucky to live where we feel comfortable leaving those windows open all the time with just the screens on. I am also lucky that I am cold all the time so this isn't a huge sacrifice for me.

I'm not opposed to putting the thing on if we get really uncomfortable, but so far we've been (surprisingly) doing fine. One of the "sermons" I've gotten from this experiment so far has been the joy of really experiencing summer. Having the windows open all the time and relishing in high-70's temps and tropical-style humidity makes it unmistakable; winter is NOT HERE and this is DIFFERENT. I smell grass and plants and rain and cedar decking throughout the house, and I can hear our wind chimes. My chronically dry nose is happy as a clam without any treatment. And the other day I noticed my skin has been feeling incredibly moisturized and soft- I think it must be the humidity, since I'm not using any lotion and my skin is usually on the dry side. I've also found I have no problem with stopping the water in the shower while I'm lathering up- it's warm enough in the bathroom that I don't get chills.

On the downside, if there is anything stinky in the house (like a rotting onion not discovered for a week), there's nothing like high humidity and heat to make a bad smell worse. I also feel a little concerned about what the high humidity is going to do to the house long term (mold??).

Anyway, today I was covered in itchy mosquito bites, sweaty and a bit muddy from a bike ride home, and just generally grumpy- and the house was 81 degrees and humid as all get out. I thought about putting on the AC but was too lazy to do anything about it.

I first ran the two inches of cold water into the bathtub with the plan of rinsing my poor, hot, mosquito bitten feet and then putting them in socks to keep from scratching the bites. (I did do that later and it's very helpful.) But as the cool water flowed over my toes, I realized I had stumbled onto something wonderful.

I took a washcloth and started giving myself an old fashioned sponge bath. At first it was shockingly cold, the contrast between the cold washcloth and my warm skin, but soon enough either I cooled down or the water warmed up, and the washcloth just felt deliciously cool and refreshing. Through the bathroom window a fiery pink sunset blazed through steamy wisps of cloud, and filled the room with a soothing, otherworldly glow. Outside was quiet, I heard only a few bird calls and the tinkling wet sound of the water in the tub. After I was all clean I sat down in the tub, let my head sink back into the soft coolness, and marveled at how much pleasure there was to be had in two inches of cold bath water.

Lesson: Water cools you down and you don't have to go to the lake or the pool to experience it. You also don't need a lot of it.

Environmental Impact:

I know that when my heat and electric were on the same bill, I always paid a lot more in summer (with AC) than in winter (with heat) so I figure the energy savings are probably pretty substantial, especially the longer we are able to leave it off. I tried to do some research for this post and the best I could find was this highly suspect blog: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html, but apparently heating and cooling are a pretty huge part of household energy use, and we could be saving something like 3500 watts of electricity for every hour that we don't use the AC. By contrast, it appears that a box fan uses something like 100 watts. Nice.

Other Lessons Learned:

• To save your lintels from water, you need to be vigilant about closing the windows when leaving the house if rain may come while you're gone.
• For best results, throw the windows wide in the evening when it cools down outside and blast the fan at that time to bring in cool air. We should probably try closing the shades during the day to keep it cooler; for some reason I didn't think of that until just now even though I think I've read a million pamphlets that tell you to do that.
• I read somewhere that the main thing a fan does is make you feel cooler through the breeze, but it doesn't actually cool the air down much- so unless you have it right in front of an open window to pull in cool night air, it doesn't make sense to leave it on when you're not in the room to enjoy it. Good to know!
• Our cat is really cute when she is stretched out on her back to expose her belly to the fan breeze.