Posts Tagged ‘ bicycle ’
Training: Try It
Kid With the Comeback The other day, at school dropoff, one of the kids came up to The Assistant: “Why do you ride your bike every day? That’s so stupid.” He practically spit out the last word. “And you’re a stupid dumbhead for doing it.” I was enraged. I was defensive. I wanted to scream, “Nuh-uh! […] Read More
Training: How Far?
Bike Errand Distances I’ve had quite a few of you email me and ask questions about the bike riding. Things like: “Riding your bike? Don’t you live in the suburbs? That can’t be practical.” The flatter roads of my town seem vastly more practical than riding the hills of San Francisco, but that doesn’t stop […] Read More
Training: Monthly Bike Stats
Replacing the Car The stats are in for May: I logged 129.5 miles on my bike that would have otherwise been spent in the car. That was over the course of 20 days; the remaining 11 days of the month were spent in Texas (seven days) or on day or weekend trips to bikeless locales […] Read More
Training: Skip the Runs, Run the Races
I Like Racing Better Than Training I have been an abysmally bad runner lately. Sometimes I struggle to think of myself as a runner when I can’t drag my butt out for even the shortest training run. Naturally, I have registered my ill-prepared self for three 5k races this month. Wait, what? Naturally? Hey, I like […] Read More
Betty Says: Look Around
Appreciate Your Surroundings The Assistant has changed everything. With his new bike, he wants to ride everywhere. As a result, I reorganized the shed to make the bikes easier to access, and the almost daily rides mean that I’m keeping the bike well maintained so that the tires never go flat. Fifteen minutes of prep […] Read More
Training: The Social Media Diet
Obsessing Over Breaking News Hell of a week, eh? Ever since noon on Monday, my week has been pretty much limited to work, steering the Tiny Kitchen Assistant away from all news sources while simultaneously obsessing over every incorrect bit of breaking news, and snacking like my life depended on it. The latter was the […] Read More
Training: The Ride/Walk Challenge
Everyday Exercise I’ve been trying to remain faithful to The Assistant’s goal of walking and riding more frequently. This past week, I had two days where the car never once backed out of the garage. This is a pretty significant accomplishment out here in suburbia where people look at your strangely if you’re not in […] Read More
Betty Says: Park the Car
Walk More, Ride More Last weekend, the Tiny Kitchen Assistant got a new bike. Naturally, as any kid with a new toy, he’s looking for every excuse to ride it. On Sunday, we rode to the ballpark for baseball practice (the long green park at the top of the outer circle), with me towing two […] Read More
Training: The Cycle of Life
To my bicycle: You appeared in my garage on my birthday in 1998, a gift from my new husband. You tooled around north-central New Jersey for a year, spent a little bit of time touring our first neighborhood in the east bay the following year, and then sat neglected for the five years that we […] Read More
Training: The Universe Works in Mysterious Ways
Back in April, I was talking with a friend who happens to be a cycling aficionado, logging several hundred miles per week. “I want to find time to ride more,” I told him over lunch. Dear universe: I meant in addition to running, not in place of it. This marks the second consecutive week where […] Read More
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