Thinking About Next Year Already . . .
I know - Yoda would criticise me for not focusing on the present, but, well, I had this thought . . .
On Phil Sabin’s great Fitness Over Forty blog today, he was quite rightly celebrating hitting his January target of 300 bike miles. Well, waistloss left a comment, saying that he’d
” . . . be pissed if I had to drive that far . . . ”
Now last year I drove about 9,000 miles a year for work. That’s set to come down this year, as I’ll be clocking up around 2/3 - 3/4 of my target 3,000 bike miles on work related journeys. But with some changes in lifestyle, would it be possible to still do all the kind of ‘local’ travelling I do (mostly within 20-40 miles of home), and ride further than I drive?
It would probably mean taking things up (yet another) level, even assuming that I make this year’s target in the first place. For people like El Zappoman, and Adrian Finch, this might already be a possibility . . .
. . . so waddya think - Fantastic Big Scary Goal that’s got the kind of appeal to sweep the globe, creating an army of ride-further-than-I-drive fanatics, or a Mad As A Box Of Frogs Pipe Dream?
I have barely driven my car this year… but I haven’t been keeping track exactly. I know that I got gas this morning, and reset my trip odometer… it was at 209miles. I am going to check my gas receipts, I bet I got that last tank of gas LAST YEAR, which means I have driven less than 209 miles in my car so far this year…
And I have ridden over 350miles on my bike this year…
So that’s it, I am going to keep track for the rest of the year… we’ll see where it lands.
Zappoman -
There are three types of people:
o 10% are PIONEERS, who make the trails, and discover new territories.
o 80% are SETTLERS, who, once the pioneers return, will make wagon trains, and go where they’ve discovered.
o 10% are CAVE (Completely Against Virtually Everything) Men, who’ll always knock new ideas down, and spend their lives wanting things to be how they [never really] were in the past.
I guess you’re in the TOP 10% - out there discovering the places where the rest of us will soon be heading!
I always heard there were two types of people in the world… people who divide the world into two types of people, and people who don’t.
But I’ve also heard there are two types of scuba divers, people who pee in their wetsuits, and people who lie about it. Does that hold true for triathletes?
Not having a car helps get those bike miles up.
I got rid of mine eight years ago but I realise not everybody can do that.
For me it works because I live close to the centre of London, my workplace is very central, I don’t have any children and London has a great public transport system.
ZappoMan -
I used to dive when I was at school. My buddy, Barry, was swimming head down onto a wreck (The Breeder) off Scotland (cold - no, REALLY cold) with me, and apparently took advantage of ‘nature’s central heating’, but found the warm area seeping down over his body . . . and his kneck . . . I was really surprised when we got down to the deck, and he un-zipped his wetsuit almost to the waist to remedy is error. It was shortly after that, that I stopped diving.
As for triathletes . . . bearing in mind that I’m just going up to the need-a-wetsuit category . . . there are those that pee in their wetsuits, and those who realise that it’s a rented wetsuit, and SOMEBODY ELSE has worn it before them. Eeeauuuuu!
Adrian -
(Adrian FiTch, not Finch - sorry). My friend Seth lives in London, and also junked the car a couple of years ago. Having just driven a 400 mile round-trip to visit a client’s potential customer I’ve just exceeded both yours and ZappoMan’s combined car-miles for the year in a single day. I am VERY jealous . . . . but that’s what I meant by “some changes in lifestyle”.
How does it feel for you both to have someone, who in the words of “King Louis” just wants to be like you?
After the world report on global warming, it would be a good idea if we all rode our bikes a bit more.
Next week I take a motorcycle safety course. Then I will be trading in my car driving to work for mostly cycling - albeit a lot of it coming from a motorcycle. As I see it, I will be contributing my small part to making the world a better place - and I just love the two wheel life…
Phil
Hmmm…who knew an off-handed comment could be come someone’s goal. Go for it! I’ll cheer for you!