Yet another reason to bike commute: Parking

I work for the Federal Government, Department of Defense to be specific. And as a Government employee I do appreciate having a job. With 10% plus unemployment I am thankful for my cube, and don't want to come across as whining about trivial matters. One of the side effects of high unemployment is a surge in government hiring, which is great. I moved over from the private to public sector for better job security and better benefits, so I can't blame others for wanting to do the same. But with employment at capacity, parking has become a nightmare.

One of the perks of my job is a rather flexible work schedule. As long as I put in 80 hours every two weeks, and I'm there roughly between at least 9-3 each day I don't have to take vacation, or sweat it too much. I usually get in around 8, but when you have 3 kids sometimes it's harder to get out of the house in the morning. The Washington Navy Yard has 1 parking spot for every 5 employees, as it was described to me by the Management. Some drive, some take the Metro, and others car pool. Of late though I think more people have been driving in and avoiding the cold 4 block walk to the Metro Station. The Parking Garage across the street from my office used to fill up at 7:15. Base parking use to fill up around 8:45 most days, and would never fill up on Friday. Since the start of the year, the close garage is jammed by 6:30, and the base is full by 8:00. Each week the times seems to get about 5 minutes earlier. By spring we will all have to be there by 6 to get a spot! Last monday I pulled in at 8:15 and circled till 10 looking for a spot. I ended up having to park illegally so I would't miss a meeting, and then go back out at lunch to repark.

When I bike in, I get to lock up my bike in the close garage, no matter when I get in. I don't have to sit in traffic waiting to drive on base. When it takes longer to drive and park than it takes to ride in, I need to be biking more. Maybe 4 buck gas isn't that bad after all. At least more people carpooled.

The Great Weigh-In -- 201 lbs

Unfortunately, there is too much emphasis on "great".

The holiday season has come and gone, the new year is upon us so now it is time to put the resolution to the test. And with any challenge there must be a first step, a hideous "before" to go with the glorious "after". So without any further ado, as of Friday January 8th 2010, I weigh 201 lbs. *GASP* I have not weighed this much before in my life (unless you count the 207 I weighed in over Christmas vacation at my father-in law's house, but that was a different scale, right?) When I was in the Navy I was required to weigh less than 201 lbs for my height and never really had a problem with it, but as my job now has me sitting behind a desk all day I have put on about 20 lbs since leaving the service.

One of my challenges is to lose 20 lbs. My ideal weight is around 175 lbs. I think I will need to make the goal to lose 26 lbs.

Now that I am back at work I am itching to get started with the challenge. There are still piles of snow on many of the area sidewalks and roadsides from the epic "SNOWPOCOLYSE (R)" that gripped the Nation's Capital a week before Christmas. Most of the 20 inches of snow that fell are gone, but some 1-2 foot icy remnants remain, unable to melt with the consistent sub-freezing high temps over the last few weeks. I am figuring that if there is snow on my sun-drenched sidewalk, there is probably still snow on the shaded portions of the W&OD and Custis Trail. I am most worried about the Custis, with it's steep hills, narrow lanes, and limited sight lines.

The weather should turn warmer next week. I think I will inventory my equipment this weekend and plan on biking in sometime next week.