When I'm 64

#365daysofbiking status: 64 days

Because I love statistics, here are a couple quick hits:

• According to my Strava profile, I've logged 417.6 miles in the month of May
• According to my blog, I logged 572.6 miles in April for #30daysofbiking
• I'm not sure what I logged from March 28-31 (when I unofficially began 365 Days of Biking), but let's assume it was 40 miles (10 miles a day, which is about average)
• Total so far for 365 days of biking: 1,030.2 miles

That's pretty staggering for a little over 2 months. I wish there was a way to figure out what I've done so far for the year. Time machine, anyone?

I thought it would be a good time to check in, because recently my schedule has gotten kinda hectic (in a good way). Wash Cycle Laundry has started servicing a new hotel client, and yours truly was given the reins. It's required me to spend some more time in a car, but as you can see, I've still found time to get on the bike. What I haven't had time to do is write. So here I am.

I took the above pic when I was visiting my Dad during 30 Days of Biking, and forgot about it until I was "cleaning out" photos just now. Kinda reminded me that I've forgotten about this blog over the last couple weeks in the midst of the organized chaos of hotel linen management. There haven't been very many epic bicycle-related adventures in my life these days, which is totally fine for now. The Summer is still looming large and I have a list that will get cut down in due time.

What was also looming large was one of the largest hurdles I will probably face during this challenge: vacation. Every June, I go to Canada for a week with some family, and our cars are usually packed to the gills with gear and humanity, leaving little room for anything else, much less a bicycle. Tonight, my cousin told me we can "make it work." I'm doing a happy dance right now.

In addition to new work, things are happening on the musical front. Beer Money (my co-run acoustic duo) returned to the stage earlier this month. I've started playing Open Mics again. I've played a couple campfires haha...but more importantly, I'll be playing a showcase at the Raven Lounge in Philly tomorrow night (Wednesday - come out if you're free). You can bet that I'll have my bike in tow.

So that's it in a nutshell. I admittedly have been bad at keeping up with this blog, but know that I'm keeping up the good fight. Cycle on, everyone. And Happy June. Anyone have any big cycling/adventure plans for the Summer?

Mann Up

#365daysofbiking status: 46 days

I have absolutely no way of knowing if this is true or not, but I'm pretty sure that today I logged more miles on a work day than I ever have: 35.5. It might be true, it might not be, but either way, even I'm a little sore right now.

I owe this tremendous log of mileage in no small part to a same-day service to the Mann Center:

You can't tell how overcast it is - thanks Instagram

Going there and back twice in the same day alone is over 15 miles (I forget the exact total and I don't feel like opening up Strava). Even with e-bike assist, it's still a workout. West Philly hills are no joke. Random note, check out this sign and see if you can spot the typo:

Mann shouldn't have 2 N's, right?

I'll give you a hint: I rode on the typo in question last month...

Thankfully I came in early today, and my laundry staff was super on top of everything, because just after this pic was taken, it started POURING. I got a little soaked, but at least the laundry got there while it was still dry. Silver lining, right?

Which is good because coming in early today was...not enjoyable. That old saying about rough mornings following good evenings is true. I played 2 consecutive open mic nights on Wednesday and Thursday, and of course I rode my bike to both:

True rock n' roll, or something like that

Pretty excited about that. I spent so much time biking and blogging over the last month, I seriously didn't have time to work on music. For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook, I did promise to have new stuff soon, and I'm keeping to that, so stay tuned.

I wasn't allowed to take pics of this, but I biked up to see a friend and co-worker in a play tonite, which was also pretty awesome. It's called "The Christians" and it's at the Wilma Theatre all month if you happen to be in the city.

Anywho, the 35.5 miles today is a pre-cursor to what is shaping up to be an epic Monday, where I'll be re-visiting The Mann Center, picking up another large haul from Outward Bound, doing my usual service in Fishtown/Northern Liberties AND hauling ass up to North Philly AND out to Swarthmore. I may regret working this weekend, but it should be worth it. If I don't blog for awhile, I'm sure you'll understand.

Tunnel Vision

My #365daysofbiking quest has reached 41 days as of today. While I'm not blogging every day, I am riding every day...according to Strava, nearly 100 miles last week! Oh, and in case you didn't see my last post, follow me on Strava (you can use that handy button I installed on the sidebar :D). It makes it way easier for me to keep track of my mileage with app, though logging it myself was kinda fun.

I took my bike on the road this weekend (well, duh, right?) as part of a brief vacation "home." Played an awesome gig on Friday nite with my partners in rhyme Vinny, Ric, and Scott, plus a few extra guest participants, including my Dad!

However, the weather was still kinda crappy on Saturday, and I was pretty exhausted this morning, so, sadly I didn't do much riding this weekend until tonite. This was pretty neat on the ride back to Philly tho:

The last time I had a bike on the roof of my car, I was traveling cross country. Sign?

No, I didn't ride thru the tunnel. That would just be stupid. This also happened this weekend:

Another sign...

It's been just a little over 2.5 years since I crossed over 100k. Wonder how many miles I've logged on a bike since then...

Thankfully we all survived the dreadful conditions of last week. Can Summer-like weather finally begin? That would be nice. Let's have a good week, shall we?

Everyone Loves a Blog

We're talkin' cycling...

In the midst of some unenjoyable yet tolerable weather today, I paused briefly in West Philly near the Mann Center for a break and the pic above, which showcases the Philadelphia Negro League team (in case you didn't know we had one of those, or if you didn't know they existed - we've come a long way).

I was telling a co-worker how excited I was to be returning to the Mann for our Summer deliveries simply because of how much I enjoy the ride, and I started reminiscing about the first time I rode out there last year. It was a day not unlike today - gray, overcast, humid, yet tolerable, and the ride wasn't bad, all things considered. I've also come a long way since then, if you'll indulge me...

I started this blog back in January of last year. In January of this year, I thought about doing an anniversary post of some sort, but ultimately, I felt it was futile. I think all of you who read this regularly can appreciate how much this thing has meant to me and what kind of impact it's had on my life. That goes without saying. I now get paid to write blog posts on the Wash Cycle Laundry company blog, and it all started because I wanted a simple way for me to get some things out of my head, attempt to be creative and also share stories with others. Thankfully they (and all of you) noticed.

It's meant so much to be a part of a larger movement towards cycling awareness, environmentally friendly business, sustainability and social change. I never would have been inspired to do #30daysofbiking without my co-workers, or to attempt to continue on with #365daysofbiking (more on that in a moment).

I owe a ton to my family (of course), my friends, macrobiotics (which brought me to Philly in the first place), and most certainly Wash Cycle Laundry. Consider this my anniversary post, overdue but right on time, and many thanks for reading, as always.

By the way, I'm still on track for 365 days of biking, but I can't possibly keep up with this blog every day. I joined Strava to make logging my miles a little less labor intensive. Follow me, I'll follow you. I'll try to post regular updates on here every so often.