BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 57 min. (walking)
TIME BACK: 24 min. (biking)
WEATHER: overcast, 10C, no wind there; a few clouds, 14C, 17 km/hr headwinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
I saw an opportunity, and I took it.
After consuming a couple pints with some co-workers after work and getting a ride home yesterday, I found myself at home and tipsy without my bike. We left it on campus. I saw this as a golden opportunity: given how much I've been craving a good walk, I decided I would leave the car at home and walk to work this morning, and then bike home.
I didn't know how long it would take to walk. I knew it was about 6 km through the river valley, and I knew that when I used to walk 5 km to school it would take me 50 minutes, so I guesstimated it would take me an hour to get to work today. Knowing that there would be some significant hills in and out of the valley that would undoubtedly slow me down, I tried to keep my speed up on the flat parts to compensate. I did pretty well, considering: 57 minutes, door to door, averaging a speed of 3.7 mph.
A number of cyclists blew past me during my walk, but I didn't run into a single pedestrian soul the entire way. It made me lament what they're all missing: the ability to really take in the scenery, to not dread impending hills, to really feel the sun on their faces. Ahhh! It was lovely, and I appreciated every little pounding step I took.
For the first time in a long time, my commute to work actually felt like an accomplishment. I missed that! Perhaps I'll find ways to sneak these walks into my daily commuting routine, like making a habit out of walking one way and biking the other. I burn more calories, I'd spend 50% more time exercising every day, and it would be a good compromise between taking my preferred mode of transportation (my own stubby legs) and not spending too much of my day commuting.
Oh, the possibilities!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Week 41 - Day Four: Rain or Shine
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: (had drinks with co-workers after work, got a ride home)
WEATHER: light rain, 8C, 7 km/hr cross/headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: warm-up pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell
NOTES:
I feel like I've been a bit of a pansy when it comes to riding in the rain. For some reason, I was able to battle my way through heavy snowdrifts and slippery ice patches for the great majority of the winter season, and since we've turned the corner into spring I've become far less resilient in the face of bad weather. If it's windy or rainy or, well, for any ridiculous reason, really, I've sought out rides home or talked myself into driving so that it seems I've been missing more bike-commutes in the fine spring weather than I did all winter. What gives??
At least today I can feel good about myself for being able to say that "rain or shine, I'm a bike-commuter!". The rain fell quietly and clung to the exposed skin on my hands, pooling and dribbling off the rim of my helmet. As I splashed through puddles with no front fender and a fairly useless rear one, muddy droplets and a couple tiny pieces of cut grass collected on my face. I arrived at work with damp hair that quickly dried into a frizzy mess, feeling refreshed and cleansed by my wet commute.
There is something wholly pleasant about biking in less-than-ideal weather. I miss that about winter-biking: how alone and accomplished I felt as one of so few cyclists out there in the cold and snow. When I'm one of many, and I'm not one of the fastest or fittest or most fashionable ones, when I'm just another girl on a bike, it loses its romance. I'm not special anymore.
No wonder my motivation for biking lowers as the weather improves.
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: (had drinks with co-workers after work, got a ride home)
WEATHER: light rain, 8C, 7 km/hr cross/headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: warm-up pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell
NOTES:
I feel like I've been a bit of a pansy when it comes to riding in the rain. For some reason, I was able to battle my way through heavy snowdrifts and slippery ice patches for the great majority of the winter season, and since we've turned the corner into spring I've become far less resilient in the face of bad weather. If it's windy or rainy or, well, for any ridiculous reason, really, I've sought out rides home or talked myself into driving so that it seems I've been missing more bike-commutes in the fine spring weather than I did all winter. What gives??
At least today I can feel good about myself for being able to say that "rain or shine, I'm a bike-commuter!". The rain fell quietly and clung to the exposed skin on my hands, pooling and dribbling off the rim of my helmet. As I splashed through puddles with no front fender and a fairly useless rear one, muddy droplets and a couple tiny pieces of cut grass collected on my face. I arrived at work with damp hair that quickly dried into a frizzy mess, feeling refreshed and cleansed by my wet commute.
There is something wholly pleasant about biking in less-than-ideal weather. I miss that about winter-biking: how alone and accomplished I felt as one of so few cyclists out there in the cold and snow. When I'm one of many, and I'm not one of the fastest or fittest or most fashionable ones, when I'm just another girl on a bike, it loses its romance. I'm not special anymore.
No wonder my motivation for biking lowers as the weather improves.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Week 41 - Day Three: Cadence
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: n/a - got a ride home from my new man - any excuse to see me, I guess ;)
WEATHER: overcast, 9C, 15km/hr headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I recently read a blog comment that suggested the ideal cadence is 80-100 rpm. I'm not really sure what that looks like, but it sounds like it's a whole lot faster than the cadence I've been keeping so far in my bike-commuting efforts. So, this morning, in an effort to ease the soreness that's been seeping into my thighs lately, reduce my worries about having overly-muscular thighs, and get closer to an ideal rpm, I tried biking in a lower gear and at a higher cadence today.
I found my ride to be simultaneously easier (i.e., my thighs didn't ache and burn with the effort) while it felt like a better workout (with my legs pumping faster, my heart rate felt sustained at a higher level for longer). Unfortunately, what suffered was my time - I took 25 minutes to get to work when I've been beating that by 2-3 minutes most days. It's not a big difference, certainly not enough of one to make me want to revert back to a higher gear again, but I have to admit it did bug me a little bit. Combine that with generally feeling tired and hungry these days (I'm gonna chalk that - along with my insatiable desire for sweets - up to PMS), and saddle sores that just seem to be getting worse and worse, and you've got yourself a bit of a cranky bike commuter.
I'm going to switch Mike's saddle onto Eastwood tonight and see if that makes a difference. Here's hoping! There's really only so much abuse one nether-region can take . . .
TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: n/a - got a ride home from my new man - any excuse to see me, I guess ;)
WEATHER: overcast, 9C, 15km/hr headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I recently read a blog comment that suggested the ideal cadence is 80-100 rpm. I'm not really sure what that looks like, but it sounds like it's a whole lot faster than the cadence I've been keeping so far in my bike-commuting efforts. So, this morning, in an effort to ease the soreness that's been seeping into my thighs lately, reduce my worries about having overly-muscular thighs, and get closer to an ideal rpm, I tried biking in a lower gear and at a higher cadence today.
I found my ride to be simultaneously easier (i.e., my thighs didn't ache and burn with the effort) while it felt like a better workout (with my legs pumping faster, my heart rate felt sustained at a higher level for longer). Unfortunately, what suffered was my time - I took 25 minutes to get to work when I've been beating that by 2-3 minutes most days. It's not a big difference, certainly not enough of one to make me want to revert back to a higher gear again, but I have to admit it did bug me a little bit. Combine that with generally feeling tired and hungry these days (I'm gonna chalk that - along with my insatiable desire for sweets - up to PMS), and saddle sores that just seem to be getting worse and worse, and you've got yourself a bit of a cranky bike commuter.
I'm going to switch Mike's saddle onto Eastwood tonight and see if that makes a difference. Here's hoping! There's really only so much abuse one nether-region can take . . .
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Week 41 - Day Two: I Miss Walking :(
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 27 min. (really???)
WEATHER: overcast, 8C 19 km/hr crosswinds there; overcast, 13C, 7 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
The saddle sores are acting up again. I'm feeling muscle-tired and sore. I terribly miss walking, and I fantasize about leaving the bike at home one of these days and taking up walk-commuting. Of course, I can't quite do that because it would take at least a solid hour of walking each way, and my daughter's daycare isn't open long enough to allow me to do that and work a full day. So I'm stuck. I want to get out and enjoy a good walk the way I used to, especially on those beautiful sunny days when I really want to take in the scenery and the sunshine, but it seems I just can't these days. What a shame.
For the first couple years that I lived in Edmonton, I lived 5 km from the university and would walk either to and from school, or just from (I'd take the bus in the morning and then walk home in the evening). I loved this: I love the pace of walking, how I can take in the scenery while keeping a decent pace, how I can take a good long look at the things around me without fear of getting into a high-speed collision with anything, how I can listen to music instead of having to be keenly aware of traffic sounds at all times. I loved that when I walk-commuted - whether I was in Edmonton, or that summer I spent living and working in California - I was in really good shape and my body had a very balanced, well-maintained look to it. Right now I'm feeling pretty damn bottom-heavy as my thighs get heavier and more muscular. I didn't have that when I was walking - not much muscle build-up, and lots of fat loss. Sigh! I miss that!
I think I just need to pick a day when I don't have anything scheduled right at 9:00 am and just walk. I've been fantasizing about it long enough. I want to see how long it takes me to walk 6 km to work going through the river valley. I want to see if my feet and my hips can handle that much walking now that I'm older, I've given birth, and I haven't invested in really good walking shoes lately. I think that will be a very nice change of pace, and a very welcome change of scenery.
Maybe I'm just getting sick of bike-commuting. Could it be???
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 27 min. (really???)
WEATHER: overcast, 8C 19 km/hr crosswinds there; overcast, 13C, 7 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
The saddle sores are acting up again. I'm feeling muscle-tired and sore. I terribly miss walking, and I fantasize about leaving the bike at home one of these days and taking up walk-commuting. Of course, I can't quite do that because it would take at least a solid hour of walking each way, and my daughter's daycare isn't open long enough to allow me to do that and work a full day. So I'm stuck. I want to get out and enjoy a good walk the way I used to, especially on those beautiful sunny days when I really want to take in the scenery and the sunshine, but it seems I just can't these days. What a shame.
For the first couple years that I lived in Edmonton, I lived 5 km from the university and would walk either to and from school, or just from (I'd take the bus in the morning and then walk home in the evening). I loved this: I love the pace of walking, how I can take in the scenery while keeping a decent pace, how I can take a good long look at the things around me without fear of getting into a high-speed collision with anything, how I can listen to music instead of having to be keenly aware of traffic sounds at all times. I loved that when I walk-commuted - whether I was in Edmonton, or that summer I spent living and working in California - I was in really good shape and my body had a very balanced, well-maintained look to it. Right now I'm feeling pretty damn bottom-heavy as my thighs get heavier and more muscular. I didn't have that when I was walking - not much muscle build-up, and lots of fat loss. Sigh! I miss that!
I think I just need to pick a day when I don't have anything scheduled right at 9:00 am and just walk. I've been fantasizing about it long enough. I want to see how long it takes me to walk 6 km to work going through the river valley. I want to see if my feet and my hips can handle that much walking now that I'm older, I've given birth, and I haven't invested in really good walking shoes lately. I think that will be a very nice change of pace, and a very welcome change of scenery.
Maybe I'm just getting sick of bike-commuting. Could it be???
Monday, June 7, 2010
Week 41 - Day One: All the Different Muscles
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 27 min.
WEATHER: a few clouds, 14C, no wind there; partly cloudy, 13C, 15 km/hr headwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I spent the weekend in Calgary visiting my baby-daddy. This meant leaving early from work on Friday afternoon, going straight to Sophia's daycare to pick up my daughter, and hitting the highway before the major traffic started building up. Sophia was such a trooper - I was so proud of her for travelling as well as she did on that three-hour road trip. Nevertheless, the trip didn't bode well for my efforts to get fitter. I didn't bike-commute to work on Friday, I sat on my ass for most of the weekend either driving to or from Calgary or hanging out at baby-daddy's house by myself while he went out to spend quality time with our daughter. Also, between the constraints of traveling and our sheer laziness, we ended up eating mostly fast food all damn weekend. And chocolates. An entire box of chocolates.
When stupid, horrible habit woke me up at 6:30 am on Saturday (even after going to bed after midnight), I realized that this early wakening was a gift in disguise. Sophia was still sleeping and her dad was in charge of her care for the weekend, so I could do whatever I wanted with myself. I was overcome with delight: would this mean that I would get to go on a walk? By myself??? First thing in the morning????
I quietly got dressed and headed out the door, reveling in this rare freedom. I never go for walks without pushing a stroller, which inevitably turns into my daughter demanding to walk herself, which inevitably turns into the sloooooowest walk in the history of the world punctuated by short bursts of chasing her down as she giddily bolts for the busiest road in sight. It's really not that pleasant, and unless I'm walking to the grocery store or the park I quite rarely go for walks anymore. And that's a damn shame, because walking is my all-time favourite mode of transportation and way to pass time.
During my 45-minute outing on Saturday, I started off walking, then I picked up into a jog for about 10-15 minutes until my knee started getting sore. Then I continued walking, but punctuated the walk with short 1- to 1.5-block sprints, which was somehow easier on my knees (and a hell of a lot of fun!!!). By the time I got back to baby-daddy's house, I felt free and refreshed and delighted to come home to my daughter's happy little face.
The problems started the next day. I woke up feeling kind of sore in muscles that I don't really use for biking but that I must have used quite a bit on my walk-jog-sprint. The muscles around my hips and ribs, my calves, even for some reason my abs, all of these were sore. By the time I got back to Edmonton on Sunday afternoon, my muscles had clenched up even more - who knew that sitting in a car for three hours straight wouldn't help the problem??
It made me realize that I should probably expand my exercise horizons. Sure, the biking is wonderful during the week, but there is so much more I can be doing that works all sorts of other muscle groups and gets my heart pounding. And what about strength training? I'm not doing any of that! Maybe on the weekends when I have the time I can take my daughter into the river valley and go on nice walks with her. Maybe in the evenings I can be doing abdominal exercises and push-ups and all sorts of splendid things.
Of course, not starting tonight. Dear Lord, no, not tonight! But maybe . . . tomorrow . . .
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 27 min.
WEATHER: a few clouds, 14C, no wind there; partly cloudy, 13C, 15 km/hr headwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I spent the weekend in Calgary visiting my baby-daddy. This meant leaving early from work on Friday afternoon, going straight to Sophia's daycare to pick up my daughter, and hitting the highway before the major traffic started building up. Sophia was such a trooper - I was so proud of her for travelling as well as she did on that three-hour road trip. Nevertheless, the trip didn't bode well for my efforts to get fitter. I didn't bike-commute to work on Friday, I sat on my ass for most of the weekend either driving to or from Calgary or hanging out at baby-daddy's house by myself while he went out to spend quality time with our daughter. Also, between the constraints of traveling and our sheer laziness, we ended up eating mostly fast food all damn weekend. And chocolates. An entire box of chocolates.
When stupid, horrible habit woke me up at 6:30 am on Saturday (even after going to bed after midnight), I realized that this early wakening was a gift in disguise. Sophia was still sleeping and her dad was in charge of her care for the weekend, so I could do whatever I wanted with myself. I was overcome with delight: would this mean that I would get to go on a walk? By myself??? First thing in the morning????
I quietly got dressed and headed out the door, reveling in this rare freedom. I never go for walks without pushing a stroller, which inevitably turns into my daughter demanding to walk herself, which inevitably turns into the sloooooowest walk in the history of the world punctuated by short bursts of chasing her down as she giddily bolts for the busiest road in sight. It's really not that pleasant, and unless I'm walking to the grocery store or the park I quite rarely go for walks anymore. And that's a damn shame, because walking is my all-time favourite mode of transportation and way to pass time.
During my 45-minute outing on Saturday, I started off walking, then I picked up into a jog for about 10-15 minutes until my knee started getting sore. Then I continued walking, but punctuated the walk with short 1- to 1.5-block sprints, which was somehow easier on my knees (and a hell of a lot of fun!!!). By the time I got back to baby-daddy's house, I felt free and refreshed and delighted to come home to my daughter's happy little face.
The problems started the next day. I woke up feeling kind of sore in muscles that I don't really use for biking but that I must have used quite a bit on my walk-jog-sprint. The muscles around my hips and ribs, my calves, even for some reason my abs, all of these were sore. By the time I got back to Edmonton on Sunday afternoon, my muscles had clenched up even more - who knew that sitting in a car for three hours straight wouldn't help the problem??
It made me realize that I should probably expand my exercise horizons. Sure, the biking is wonderful during the week, but there is so much more I can be doing that works all sorts of other muscle groups and gets my heart pounding. And what about strength training? I'm not doing any of that! Maybe on the weekends when I have the time I can take my daughter into the river valley and go on nice walks with her. Maybe in the evenings I can be doing abdominal exercises and push-ups and all sorts of splendid things.
Of course, not starting tonight. Dear Lord, no, not tonight! But maybe . . . tomorrow . . .
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