5 Reasons Why I Miss Bike Commuting

I'm linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales & Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0.

Today is National Bike to Work day, which reminds me of my early days in Las Vegas. The first couple months of working at the Review-Journal were spent commuting about 5 miles each way to work. Then winter came, and I got out of the habit. That was back in 2012.

I'd still jump back on the saddle now and again until May 2016 when my office moved to a different area of town - around 13 or so miles from my apartment. That's a little too long of a commute for me.

Since I'm not commuting by bike today, here are 5 reasons why I miss it.

Ultimate Coffee Date - February 2015

It's time for another Ultimate Coffee Date! Whoo hoo!!

So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and join me!

I just finished re-watching my January coffee date, and wow! Was that ever long and boring. Hopefully this month's will be a little better. :)



I don't really have a lot to share today, so this will probably be kind of a quick date.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how bored I am with our coffee cups. There are just 4 of them. All the same solid green. It kinda makes me sad, and I want to get some more to add some variety. I'd ask you to tell me about your favorite coffee mug.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how I got up super early this morning to not only pickup our Bountiful Baskets, but to volunteer with the set-up. It felt great to volunteer, and I'm super glad that I did it, but I'm not going to lie, I'm probably going to go back to bed right after this. Yawn! I'd ask what you like to do to volunteer.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you that I didn't ride my bike to work even once this week. I have a goal of riding at least 4x this month, which would have been once a week, but now I'm going to have to do some doubling up. Hopefully I get in one bike commute next week. I'd hate for the last week of February to roll around with still 4 rides to go. Hope I didn't just jinx that!

Speaking of time slipping away, I have a feel that February is going to both drag and fly! It already seems like it's flying, but at the same time, it also feels like it should be much later in the month than it is. Weird!

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how much fun I had having a drink with a co-worker after work last night. We each only had one drink, but we talked for hours. It was so fun and SO needed! Work has been a little crazy lately, and it was fun to gossip a little a lot.

That's all I've got today! Why not head on over to the Ultimate Coffee Dates hosts (Deb, Coco, and Lynda) to catch up with everyone else, too!

Have a great weekend!
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I often see so many tips for bicyclists on how to be safe out there and share the road, but what about tips for the motorists?

Since I've been biking to work for several months now, I've noticed a few things that might be helpful to share.

Share the Road: Tips for Drivers

Be aware. This is just a good driving tip in general. Pay attention to other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians. Try to anticipate hazards a cyclist may encounter and give them room to maneuver around them.

Know the hand signals that bicyclists use.

If there's an available 2nd lane, use it. If there's a cyclist sharing the lane with you, and there is another available lane, move over to the next lane. Soon, you will be far enough ahead of her to be able to safely move back into your original lane.

Also, if you're approaching a red light, and you see a bike in one of the lanes, and there is an empty lane -- or even if there are only 2-3 cars in the next lane -- pull up to the red light in the lane without the cyclist. Most likely, you'll be well through the intersection before the cyclist is.

Don't use the shoulder as a right turn lane. Most cyclists will use the shoulder if there is a good one available. Remember, a bicycle is consider a vehicle and has the right of way when traveling straight through an intersection, unimpeded by a car turning right.

Don't pace with a cyclist. We know we're going slower than you, and waiting behind us in order to turn right might be a slight inconvenience, but it's really minimal; you'll make it up in no time. If you're turning right and need to wait for a cyclist, just slow down and get behind her - just as if it were another car you were waiting for. When you pace with us, it is often difficult for us to determine what you are trying to do -- cautiously wait behind us, turn right, or get our attention to alert us to something, etc.

Above all, Be courteous. This is kind of a no-brainer, and a good driving tip all in all. I already kind of touched on leaving plenty of room when passing a cyclist, but also avoid honking or yelling out the window. This will likely cause more harm, as it might startle the cyclist causing them to swerve.

More and more people are jumping on their bikes for recreation and/or commuting, so sharing the road is becoming more and more important. Let's work together to makes our roads even safer!

Here is a link with more excellent tips.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/EveryMove/Documents/ShareTheRoad_Tipcard.pdf

What other tips do you have for drivers, in sharing the road with cyclists?
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I ♥ My Bike

It's Monday, which means it's listicle time!! I'm straying off topic today, but I hope you'll stick with me. :)

I want to give a little love shout-out to my bike this week. Y'know, since it is Valentine's week after all. I may do a little running love later in the week, too. Stay tuned.

As you know, I'm a runner. I've always been a runner not actively, but it's always been my #1 choice of exercise, and resisted riding a bike for many years. Even as a little girl, I never really liked riding bike. I'd much rather walk.

Whenever anyone would ask me if I would ever consider doing a triathlon, I'd say, I'd love to except for the whole biking and swimming parts. I'm still not on board with the swimming, but I've really come to love my bike.

10 REASONS I LOVE MY BIKE

1. It's pretty. I like the green color and the overall design.
2. It's fancy. When we got rid of our car back in Aug 2010 and bought our bikes, we spared no expense and got a little fancy. It's got disc brakes and an internally geared 8-speed hub. That's about as technical as I can get and yes, I had to look that up to get the terminology right.
3. It allows me to slow down. Commuting by bike is definitely more strenuous physically, but it allows me to notice the mountains more and other things in my surroundings.
4. It helps save on gas. This is better on our pocketbook as well as good for the environment. Win-win!
5. It's fun! There isn't a lot of things that Jeff and I can do together outside he's not really a runner or a hiker, but we can enjoy a nice bike ride together.
6. It's cheap. Well, the bike itself wasn't, nor were the accessories, BUT I don't have to pay to use it. I just jump on and GO.
7. It's accessorizeable. yeah. I know that's not really a word. From panniers to pouches to safety lights and bells, there are so many cool things to make biking even more fun and convenient. Jeff recently ordered me a bunch of new stuff, and I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival.
8. It gives me bragging rights. You commute to work?! How many miles?! Wow! I'm jealous! I wish I could do that! I love hearing things like that.
9. It makes me a better driver. The more I bike commute, the better a driver I become. I've become more aware of what else is going on around me when driving - watching for cyclists, walkers/runners, and, of course, other drivers.
10. It gives me an excuse to eat more. This might not be such a good thing. ;-) Honestly, though, I think it helps me crave healthier, better energy burning snacks.

All that being said, I'm driving to work today. It's only 42°F feels like 34 outside with a 15 mph wind. Um. No, thank you!

Now, why not pop on over to The good life to read lists about top “OH NO YOU DIDN’T” GIFTS for Valentine's Day. I bet they'll be a lot of fun and will probably make you laugh a lot more than this one did.

If you bike ride, what do you love most about your bike?
What would be on your list of "Oh, no, you didn't" gifts?
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5-minute Rant

I'm linking up today with Jana from Jana's Thinking Place for Stream of Consciousness Sunday. The topic for today is about careers or majors and why we chose what we did.



This is my first time linking up, and I'm totally going to break the rules and do my own topic. Here we go... 5 minutes starting now...

As you know, I'm officially becoming a bike commuter beginning tomorrow. I'll be biking roughly 5 or so miles to work each way. Not bad.

Except it's all on city streets - only one of which (a very small section of the route) has an actual bike lane.

Now, I've done this ride a couple times already. Once for the job interview; once for the drug screen. The thing is... my husband has always gone with me. Yes. He biked with me to my job interview. Yes. He met my eventual boss. At least not until after the interview. :-)

Anyway, the plan was for him to ride with me tomorrow, too, and then bike back at the end of the day to bike with me home again. Well, something has come up and now he won't be able to come with me in the morning.

This totally freaks him out. He's so worried something will happen. Cars won't pay attention. blah blah blah.

We even biked a safer route this afternoon and tested it out. The thing is, it adds about 15-20 min to the ride - with one scary-ass hill with NO shoulder.

We've decided it's okay for me to ride the original route tomorrow morning.

The thing I hate about it is he wouldn't give anything thought to HIM taking this route, but he doesn't want ME to do it. So frustrating!!

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I promise to wear my bike helmet and be extra cautious!

What are your thoughts on bicyclists on the roads vs the sidewalks? Biking on the sidewalks seriously freaks me out! I avoid it at almost all costs.

Should I be nervous about riding tomorrow? I'm really pretty confident about it - despite the fact that I am not the most adept cyclist out there. I really think I'll be okay.
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