Summer Commuting
As I said in my previous post, cycling has taken over my life these last several months. I’m commuting to and from work 4 or 5 days a week. My commute is 15 miles each way (when I take the short direct route), and I’m riding at least one day every weekend. I’m usually riding between 100 and 280 miles every week.
Commuting on a bicycle is a daily adventure. It helps keep your mind sharp (keeping an eye on all the drivers). It’s essentially free exercise. My commute on the bike takes between 45 and 55 minutes each way. Driving in the car takes between 35 and 45 minutes. I’m getting almost two hours of good cardio workout and it only cost me 20 minutes of time.
Fitness and health. I’m 40 years old now and in better shape than I’ve ever been. I’ve dropped from a 38″ waist to a 31″ (and still going). I’ve dropped almost 40 pounds. My blood pressure has gone from consistently high to consistently on the low side of normal.
I’m really worried about the coming Winter season though. I’m not going to ride in the cold, wet, dark of winter (been there done that, don’t want to do it anymore). So I think I’ll work on strengthening my upper body with some weight training and indoor rock-climbing at Club Sport. If you’ve never seen the indoor climbing facilities there, it’s quite impressive.
My favorite online bicycle sites right now: Velog & BikePortland
