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.

Neither, rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night. . .

Well, actually that's not true, all of those things impact my ability to ride into work. The reality of a 2-2.5 hour bike commute is that on most days I will have to ride in the dark for part, if not most of my ride. That is unless I want to show up to work around 9:30 and leave around 2:30, and in that case there wouldn't be much reason to go in at all.

Riding in the dark is more about equipment and attitude than anything else. I found that a good headlight is not enough. Headlights serve two purposes, illuminate the area in front of you, and provide warning to other bikes and cars of your presence. To be useful in the first way, the light has to be pointed downward at a spot about 10 feet in front of the bike, which makes it pretty useless in the second way. Also, how fast I ride determines where in front of the bike I would like to see possibe hazards. Ten feet may work for level ground, but when zipping down a big hill I naturally look farther in advance, and a stationary light doesn't quite work. The solution -- a head lamp, one of those camping hands-free spelunkeresque lights. They work great, are very bright, and solve all of the problems that my simple fixed light can't. It shines light wherever I direct my eyes; down the hill, at the startling noise I heard on the side of the trail, at the scary glowing eyes in the bushes, at the driver of the car who is trying to turn on red while I'm crossing the intersection. I use both, a headlight to be seen, and a head lamp to be able to see. I also use a blinking red tail light so that I don't get run down from behind.

Lastly, I think the most important thing to remember about riding in the dark is to know your limits. There are parts of the trail that I don't want to be on in the dark, and other parts that are okay. For example there are 4 miles of the Custis trail in Arlington, VA that are hilly, full of blind turns, and possibly covered with leaves and tree roots. I time it to ride this section only after it is bright enough to see where I am going. At an hour before sunrise you can discern shapes well enough to avoid them. This is called, "Nautical Twilight" or the point in which the horizon can first becomes visible. I have found it is okay to ride the W&OD trail in these light conditions, because it is straight, and relatively hazard free. I can see just make out other bikers and walkers with enough time to adjust to them, but I can't really see if there are tree roots or branches down that would impede my progress. At a half hour before sunrise you can see figures clearly, and colors. This is the start of "Civil Twilight" otherwise known as dawn. I know I know I'm a geek; the only reason I mention this is because you can look these times up for specific places to plan out the trip. For example, I know that to make it to the Custis trail with enough light to not fall, I need to leave the house no earlier than an 90 minutes before sunrise. That works out to about 5:45 in January. Brrrrr.
It also means that since I don't want to be riding the streets of Fairfax in the dark I need to leave work at around 3:30 in the afternoon. Summer is a lot easier. Day Lights Saving makes for dark mornings, but light evenings.

I can't wait for the year to start, and the snow to melt. Merry Christmas!

The Rules

One Year, 2000 miles. That's pretty much it. But this challenge is more than just riding my bike more. It is also to drive my car less - to be kinder to my waste-line and the planet. It's my low-car diet. So I am only going to count miles on my bike that I would normally drive. Bike to church, bike to get groceries, bike to work, bike to REI, etc. Living in Northern Virginia, my family and I are blessed with a fairly good trail system. Most things we need are within about 5 miles from our house, and accessible without traveling in traffic.

To help me achieve my goal I have set up some little goals that will make the challenge more manageable and easier to track. I set up the monthly goals based on available daylight and possiblity of good weather. They are as follows:

JAN 50 mi FEB 75 mi MAR 100 mi
APR 150 mi MAY 200 mi JUN 250 mi
JUL 275 mi AUG 300 mi SEP 250 mi
OCT 200 mi NOV 100 mi DEC 50 mi

I also have some personal goals:

I want to lose 20 lbs. While I will mostly bike commute only one time a week, I would like to do at least 7 "double" weeks, and 1 "triple" week. Finally, I would like to save at least $150 in gas money.

I will keep a running total of my milage at the top of this page. I will also post some photos of my favorite parts of the trail, and those things that catch my eye. I can't wait for the new year to start!

The Challenge: 2000 Miles of Bike Commuting

Well, here we go again; the end of the year. Time for reflection, introspection, life-yardsticking, and waist tape-measuring. I have resolved this year to use my bike more, and my car less, 2000 miles less to be exact. I love the idea of bike commuting. It provides great exercise, a chance recharge my batteries, and clear my mind. I can also save some gas money, and do my part to lower my carbon footprint. All of these factors are great, inspirational even. So why am I not biking to work right now. Oh, I can think of 26 reasons to be exact. See, I live 26 miles outside of the city, even if I were in good shape that's 2+ hours each way, nearly 5 hours total. I just haven't had the motivation or time to commit to this endeavor in the past.

2009 was going to be the year. 2500 miles was the goal. At roughly 50 miles a day it worked out to about 1 bike commute day each week for a year. No problem I thought. Two years ago, my wife and I rode our bikes everywhere. We bought two trailers, one for the kids and one for groceries. We had paths and trails that could take us just about anywhere in a 5 mile radius. That was before the new job, and the new baby. I got off to a good start, nearly 115 miles by February. 115 miles of cold, pre-dawn blackness. Then I got sick, and hurt my hand. Then we had Jack, and quickly I was so far behind my goal that it made no sense anymore.

Jack is now 8 months old and by spring he will be old enough to ride with us so 2010 is the year that we fall back in love with pedal powered transport. My new job is much more stable, and my legs are itching to get back out there. I will take you along for the ride as I log my rides, my miles, and what I learn biking 2000 miles 2 work. Lets get cranking!