I really love being self-sufficient and living a car-free lifestyle. We've had rain for the last few days and I just can't bring myself to wake up my poor husband at 6:45 am to drive me to the train station.
Yesterday, I just got soaked - I really didn't realize how hard it was raining. Not that hard, actually, but riding for two miles I still got quite wet. Luckily I had packed an extra pair of pants, and made a mental note to buy a pair of rain pants.
Today it was raining again, and it suddenly occurred to me that I already have pants that are more or less water-proof (or water resistant) - my ski pants! They're not downhill ski pants, they're more like a stretchy water-resistant shell under which I normally wear long underwear. But for biking to the train, they're perfectly sufficient by themselves!
Of course, the train was 20 minutes late when I checked, and getting later by the minute, which foiled my plan. So I biked to the bus instead. And didn't totally embarrass myself by not being able to use the bike rack this time, too.
Ingenuity wins again!
My space to share my love of gardening, cooking, crafting, swim-bike-running, nature, hiking, climbing, and my kids.
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transportation. Show all posts
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Harvest day
Just a quick note about the garden today. I picked several handfuls of green beans, two cukes, two zucchini, five beets, and a small bunch of carrots (to add to the carrots already in the fridge). And the only thing in the harvest we ate for dinner was a cucumber. I guess we better get busy.
On a side note, the current spate of wildfires (over 800 at last count!) is putting a crimp in my biking to work plans. Luckily I still have the parking pass until Monday.
On a side note, the current spate of wildfires (over 800 at last count!) is putting a crimp in my biking to work plans. Luckily I still have the parking pass until Monday.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The new commute
My commute plans are shaping up, despite some current set-backs – I’m so sore from climbing Mt. Shasta that I can’t possibly ride my bike, I have a flat tire waiting to be repaired, and one of the main roads I prefer to use is closed for construction. I can’t complain though – they’re constructing decent bike lanes.
However – the experience is going well so far. I’m getting up around 6:15 and trying to leave the house by bike around 6:30. It takes me about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes to get to work. If I leave on time, I’m here by 7:45. Usually it’s closer to 8. The weather is great right now – I’m a little cold when I leave, but as soon as I warm up, it’s perfect biking temperature. My route is a bit altered b/c of the aforementioned construction, but it doesn’t really add any time to my ride.
Coming home is nice, too. I pedal about two blocks to the Amtrak station, hook my bike up to the on-board bike racks, and settle in to read for the 15 minute ride to Davis. Then I bike about 10 minutes through the university to get home, or I go 5 minutes in the other direction to the garden.
And every once in a while ... I just take the bus.
However – the experience is going well so far. I’m getting up around 6:15 and trying to leave the house by bike around 6:30. It takes me about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes to get to work. If I leave on time, I’m here by 7:45. Usually it’s closer to 8. The weather is great right now – I’m a little cold when I leave, but as soon as I warm up, it’s perfect biking temperature. My route is a bit altered b/c of the aforementioned construction, but it doesn’t really add any time to my ride.
Coming home is nice, too. I pedal about two blocks to the Amtrak station, hook my bike up to the on-board bike racks, and settle in to read for the 15 minute ride to Davis. Then I bike about 10 minutes through the university to get home, or I go 5 minutes in the other direction to the garden.
And every once in a while ... I just take the bus.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Biking
May is National Bike to Work month, and I did my part a couple times. My house is almost exactly 16 miles from my office on my biking route (according to my bike computer), which takes me a little over an hour. Traffic lights can sometimes add 5 to 10 minutes. It's a long, boring ride, completely flat and almost completely straight. Four miles of it is on the Yolo Causeway, the elevated freeway that crosses the Yolo Basin, and the bike lane actually shares the roadway with the cars, separated only by a three-foot wall and a chain-link fence. Another long section is through West Sacramento, the land of semis, trailer parks, and rent-by-the-hour motels.
I pledged 120 miles for May, and as of today I will have done 107. So I just need 13 tomorrow to make my goal! I didn't actually bike 120 commuter miles, though. Loris and I did a 35-mile loop a couple weeks ago, and a lot of the rest is from running errands around Davis. I’ve actually only biked to work twice this month (that I remember).
For a year and a half, I actually rode the bus from Davis to Sacramento and back, every day. It added about an hour to my workday, but it gave me a lot of free time to read. It was fine, except for occasional days when it would add more than an hour to my day, when I would grit my teeth in frustration. The final straw came when the Tower Bridge into Sacramento, which is the usual bus route, was closed for construction. My commute was starting to regularly add two hours to my day instead of just one. Since I bake all of my own bread and grow my own vegetables, I just couldn’t afford to lose that extra hour. I started driving to work, and I never went back.
It’s funny how things in life often come full circle. For the next month, a portion of I-5 will be closed through Sacramento. I generally use this section of I-5, but it’s not essential to my route, and I can easily just drive a different way to work. Unfortunately, the impact of this construction is going to affect traffic throughout the area. I’ve even heard rumors that commuters should expect to add up to an hour to their commute. Like I said, I only go about 16 miles. An extra hour is just crazy. So now the plan, generally, is to bike to work in the morning, then schlep myself and my bike over to Amtrak for the 15-minute train ride back to Davis. I won’t be able to put it into action completely until July, because of the stupid rules for parking at my office – so update in July! Right before I leave for Italy!
I do all this inter-city riding on my bee-you-tee-ful Specialized road bike. What about my crappy bike? I still use it around Davis, and it comes in handy. The baskets fit a TON of stuff – backpack, books, groceries, veggies from the garden, climbing gear, etc. The main drawback is that it is really heavy. But it’s good exercise, right?
I pledged 120 miles for May, and as of today I will have done 107. So I just need 13 tomorrow to make my goal! I didn't actually bike 120 commuter miles, though. Loris and I did a 35-mile loop a couple weeks ago, and a lot of the rest is from running errands around Davis. I’ve actually only biked to work twice this month (that I remember).
For a year and a half, I actually rode the bus from Davis to Sacramento and back, every day. It added about an hour to my workday, but it gave me a lot of free time to read. It was fine, except for occasional days when it would add more than an hour to my day, when I would grit my teeth in frustration. The final straw came when the Tower Bridge into Sacramento, which is the usual bus route, was closed for construction. My commute was starting to regularly add two hours to my day instead of just one. Since I bake all of my own bread and grow my own vegetables, I just couldn’t afford to lose that extra hour. I started driving to work, and I never went back.
It’s funny how things in life often come full circle. For the next month, a portion of I-5 will be closed through Sacramento. I generally use this section of I-5, but it’s not essential to my route, and I can easily just drive a different way to work. Unfortunately, the impact of this construction is going to affect traffic throughout the area. I’ve even heard rumors that commuters should expect to add up to an hour to their commute. Like I said, I only go about 16 miles. An extra hour is just crazy. So now the plan, generally, is to bike to work in the morning, then schlep myself and my bike over to Amtrak for the 15-minute train ride back to Davis. I won’t be able to put it into action completely until July, because of the stupid rules for parking at my office – so update in July! Right before I leave for Italy!
I do all this inter-city riding on my bee-you-tee-ful Specialized road bike. What about my crappy bike? I still use it around Davis, and it comes in handy. The baskets fit a TON of stuff – backpack, books, groceries, veggies from the garden, climbing gear, etc. The main drawback is that it is really heavy. But it’s good exercise, right?
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