Borrowed Time

Well, sort of.

30 Days of Biking usually takes me all over the place. This weekend, it has taken me back home for a busy weekend of family festivities. Of course, there's always time for a bike ride:

I didn't ride all the way back to PA on a bicycle, just FYI. We didn't have room for bikes in the car, so I borrowed my Mom's mountain bike (as has become routine on home visits). I had just enough time for a few short laps around the old neighborhood in between sprinkles today on day 20:

Hey, whatever it takes to keep the streak alive, right?

We spent most of this afternoon at my nephew's birthday party. I'll have more tomorrow after I sift through the photos. For now, enjoy your Saturday evening!

30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 279.9

Garbage Time

I'm not going to have much time for riding on day 19 of 30 Days of Biking, but I did get out this morning to handle a short ride to take care of our recycling:

It's just as well, because the riding conditions aren't the best. I've been pretty good about sneaking my rides in between the worst of precipitation this month, but April showers are inevitably going to be a factor for anyone attempting to ride their bike for 30 consecutive days. The pictures really don't do it justice (I mean, how do you take pictures of wind?). My usual lap around the park was not as leisurely as it looks:

Despite the garbage weather (and being soaked after only a few minutes outside), of course the only thing that matter is that I rode today! We'll be heading out to visit family shortly, so we'll see if I have time to get in another ride after we arrive. If not, day 19 has still been a success.

30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 278.1

Out to Pasture

April/30 Days of Biking is a time of change, renewed energy, and whatever other metaphors you can come up with for the first full month of Spring. One member of our family is about ready to make a major change, by finally putting this old girl in the past and beginning a new journey with a new bike:

That's right, Faith is finally getting a new bike! It's exciting, but a bit bittersweet for several reasons. I personally will always have fond memories of her re-learning how to ride last Summer, all the short little fun rides we took (including school rides), and seeing her really grow into a confident young cyclist on this little bike.

That said, it's a little bike, and she's outgrown it. It's now been donated so it can be rehabbed and made perfect for another future cyclist. We got her fitted for a bike that's just barely a little too big for her, which means it will be just the perfect size sooner or later.

BUT, we didn't get it today. It's been ordered and should be here next week, which means she'll still be riding Mom's bike for now. She'll eventually be riding a bike very similar to mine (albeit a bit smaller and without all the accessories, for now):

I'd hoped to have a picture of Faith riding her new bike today, but in due time. And now we play the waiting game, and ride on until it arrives...


30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 274.9

Ride for the Moment

Awhile back, someone told me that one of the best things about riding a bike as part of your daily lifestyle is that it essentially forces you to be more connected with your surroundings. I've been constantly reminded of this throughout the first 17 days of 30 Days of Biking, when I see the trees gradually starting to bud and grow leaves, when I smell different kinds of pollen in the air, and when I see sights like I did this morning:

That was taken near the end of my morning commute, around 6:45AM. The previous couple days of commuting weren't nearly as pleasing to the eyes, and as such, I was quite awestruck when I happened to see that gorgeous sunrise to my left. The phone camera really doesn't do it justice:

I'm pretty sure I "autopilot" my way through most of these moments when I'm in my car. That could just be me being me, but I know I tend to appreciate them more when I'm on my bike. I appreciate them even more when I think about how this same area looked just two weeks ago at the same time of day:

As the days "get longer," these moments will be rarer to see unless I start my rides a little earlier each day. For right now, I'll enjoy the early Spring 6:45AM sunrises when I get to see them. They're also especially pleasing because my morning commutes start out looking like this:

Sadly, I won't get to see another sunrise like this for a few days, as the weather is supposed to be rather lackluster tomorrow morning, and I'll be heading out of town for a few days after that. But hey, I got a couple nice pictures to hold me over for the time being, right?

And by the way, for those of you who are interested and have been following along, Faith has been riding after school every day. I've not been getting home early enough to catch her before she heads out, but she's keeping the youthful spirit of 30DoB alive and well. I promise I'll have more soon.

Until tomorrow, and day 18, happy riding.


30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 267.9

If you Feel so Inclined...

...ride a bike! See what I did there? Anyway...

That pesky storm from Sunday lingered around until this morning on day 16 of 30 Days of Biking. No flurries or rain to speak of, but plenty of wind greeted me on my morning commute. I'm glad I toughed it out again, because it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. So much so that I took one of my favorite short detours on my commute home to a couple parks near our house:

That inclined bench you see in the first picture is just that, an inclined bench on the fitness trail in Thompson Park. I ride through here a few times a month and I'm always tempted to try the obstacles, but I've yet to do so. I guess I feel like I get enough exercise in my daily life in most cases. Still, it's a pretty neat thing to have available.

I don't have much else to report from the cycling world today, which is a good thing. I had a somewhat challenging day at the office, so two uneventful (and one beautiful) commutes helped to balance out the day nicely. On to day 17 tomorrow...

30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 248.3

I was Told that Winter was Over

I mean, in real life. Not Game of Thrones life. Anyway...

Some pretty serious thunderstorms and even a few tornadoes whipped through parts of Ohio yesterday evening. Columbus mostly escaped unscathed, and the worst of our severe weather seemingly had moved out overnight. With little precipitation in the forecast, I decided to commute via bike again on day 15 of 30 Days of Biking:

As you can see, we didn't skate by completely damage-free. This was one of several downed trees I witnessed today, and the remnants of the storm seemed to stick around longer than expected. I faced some pretty fierce swirling winds on both commutes and throughout my work day, and I even saw a few snow flurries in the early morning.

Needless to say, it wasn't the most fun day to be on a bicycle, or to be outside in general. It felt more like early Winter than mid-spring. While battling a stiff headwind this morning that forced me to pedal at full bore on a downhill less than 2 miles from home, I actually thought about turning back and getting in my car. For whatever reason, I kept going. I guess I felt like I had to?

I knew deep down, I had to because I always feel better working after a good morning ride. And then I realized that I've actually done more commuting by bicycle than car this month, something I haven't done since moving to Columbus. I decided to have a little fun with that thought.

According to Strava, I've commuted more than 120 miles via bicycle this month, which means I've spent that much less time in a car. But, the car mileage I've avoided doesn't really stop there. My commute via bicycle is about 8.6 miles one way. By car, that number grows to 13. I've commuted via bicycle 14 times this month, so I've actually saved 180 miles in gas expenditures. If I keep that up over the course of the month, I may not need to buy gas for an entire month, which would be pretty awesome.

With a proposed gas hike coming this Summer, I may work a little harder to keep that flow going after this month is over. Speaking of, we're halfway home in 30 DoB. How ya doin? Still riding along?



30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 228.4

Sneaky Sun Day

I didn't have a ton of time to ride today due to time constraints and weather-related issues, but I did sneak in some quick errands on day 14 of 30 Days of Biking. By contrast to yesterday, I awoke to downpours and gale force winds that stuck around until mid-afternoon. The weather did break for about an hour (it was even sunny for a while), so I headed out to take our recycling to the center:

After a quick lap around the park next door, I headed to the store to re-stock my fridge. I like to keep variety in my life, and fittingly I chose some of my favorite bike-centric beer this time around, from New Belgium:

I returned home to my girlfriend informing me that there were tornado watches in effect. I guess it's a good thing I didn't have any more errands planned. It wouldn't have been the first time I've risked my life on a bike... And if you're curious, I didn't take the kiddo with me today. I'm crazy but not that crazy.

We're halfway home tomorrow. I swear this month seems to go by faster every year.



30 Days of Biking 2019 Mileage Total: 208.6