As most everyone knows, this week is bike to work week. I'd bike to work everyday if I lived closer, but work and home are in two different towns in two different counties. It's good to have a special week to get me motivated for the ride to work. The weather is getting pretty nice now, so a wind vest, arm and leg warmers, and skull cap were all that were needed. I take the long way to work when on the bicycle. The traffic is light, and the scenery is awesome. I saw lots of birds and deer. I even saw Marcus at the county line today. 
Total bicycle miles today: 50 - Total car miles: 0
I rode a little bit at lunch today too. I rode with the Mountain Bike gang at lunch, but then Jon broke his chain. We dinked around fixing that, and then Todd and I ended up just doing the Kings Canyon road climb. The ride home was a bit more challenging. The first order of business was rounding up a mother duck and her ducklings. They were attempting to cross a busy street, and I chased them back out of traffic. I doubt I did any good though...they probably just crossed when I left. There was sagebrush on both sides, so I'm not sure where they were headed.
All westward roads had a strong headwind that made it slow going. Conversely, all east bound roads were fast. Top gear screaming fast.
Genoa makes a good rest stop on the commute. They have nice tables and bathrooms at the park.Tomorrow is the Ride of Silence in Carson City at 7:00 PM.
"On May 16, 2007, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence™ will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn't aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves. Join this national event by meeting in the Capital Complex Park north of the Legislative Building in Carson City (Stewart Street Side) for a slow and silent ride around town - about one hour long..."
More details about Bike to work Week can be found at the Muscle Powered site.
I'll be adding Bike to Work Week photos to Flickr throughout the week.
15 comments:
nice! that's a good amount of miles on a work day!
i think our bike to work day is thursday. i guess i should check for sure.
I will be riding to work all week. 13.5 miles each way, headwind each way, different city, different county, I played soccer tonight, I have a game Friday, 2 games on Saturday, and Sandie and I will do Diamond Valley on Sunday! Jeez I hope I live through it! I still wish I had a scenic route to work like yours Jeff. The Redneck Highway is all I have to look forward to. Prolly why I run as hard and fast as I can. I passed an old friend on Monday... might have to do a post on his story it's pretty interesting.
Oh and I decided to take the racing seat off the Masi tonight. Put my softer, more comfy commuter seat on. Update tomorrow...
I would like to bike to work, but the idea of riding on a shoulderless busy road while sleepy people sip coffee and put on make-up just doesn't appeal to me.
Lauren - Yeah it was a lot of miles. I'm a bit worn out today. No way I could do that every day.
Brent - I threw in the city/county thing for dramatic effect, and to gain sympathy from the folks that ride to work everyday. You are going to be toast come Sunday night! You might have to call in sick next week. At least the Redneck Highway has some pretty good speed controls for the cars. 45 mph zone through Moundhouse?
Chris - I understand. I went way out of my way just for a safe route. Although Friday I make take the main hiway to save time. Free coffee in Carson for cyclists...
I have my Childin's in the morning. I was considering having us all ride to work/school one morning, but even when I put the flags on thier bikes, some streets are a little too crazy for them. They dont understand the rules of the road enough yet. Maybe next year.
Update... The alarm went off this morning and I rolled out of bed... my body said, "Hell no! Not today, Cowboy." Knees were stiff, back was stiff, and head was FOGGY. I reset the alarm and got 30 more minutes of sleep and drove to work. I feel much better now and am ready for the ride tomorrow. I also plan to ride to work at least 3 days a week for as long as the weather holds out. On wet days I may even dust off the old commuter to keep the Black Pearl clean.
Side note... most drivers consider the 45 mph a SUGGESTED speed. I rode your stretch of highway a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't much worse than what I deal with. It just takes some getting used to. At least it's got a rumble strip to keep the groggy ones awake! Still, if I had an alternate route...
p.s. I threw all that stuff in for dramatic effect too. I did take some writing classes back in the day. You and your noble steed impress many... myself included.
I hated writing classes growing up. It wasn't until college (my short time there) that I discovered that I liked to write. The class I was dreading the most, English 101, turned out to be pretty cool.
I'm sore too...sorta secretly dreading tomorrow's commute. I should've thrown a rest day in somewhere this week, but I was having too much fun. Maybe an iPod will drown out tomorrow's traffic. That kind of sounds dangerous though. Then again, would it matter if I could hear the semi truck that was about to run me over?
Jeff- its a long straight haul. I vote for the ipod except when you are in town. Nothing like some good tunes to give you that extra push! I will grab Elaina and Jared we will pick you up from work and drive you home as your bonus for riding to work and back all week. That will be your rest.
I never ride the road with my iPod. Although with today's headwind I couldn't hear the traffic at all anyway.
41 minutes to get to work, 62 minutes to get home. Seat worked out well but is a little taller with the extra padding.
My HS English teacher used to read my papers to her friends then tell me what they thought. It made writing very fun for me. I wish I had more time for it now.
Marcus...I only rode from home to work and back one day this week. The rest of the week was spent playing around on fat tire bikes. However...I might take you up on some kind of shuttle trip. Maybe just to Indian Hills...the top of Jacks Valley Road.
Brent...I was thinking about you after work when I was loading my bike on the roof of my car. That was a strong wind from the west! I can see why it took you that much longer to get home!
Brent- you must be in great shape. I cant believe how the wind howels around here in the afternoon. It sounds like your HS english teacher dug you.
Jeff- I'll talk to you tomorrow about the shuttle.
Let me get this straight... Marcus is going to drive to Jeff's office, pick him up, drive him home, then drive back to Carson? Reverse Carbon Offset!!!
Nahhh...I wouldn't get a ride home! I'm getting ready to shoot a Hammer Gel with 50 mg caffeine! It should get me at least up Indian Hills.
Damn wind...
Rock on, brother! Proud to be your friend!
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