Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Commuting

You may recall from earlier posts that I've been trying to reduce the using my car while commuting. I'm still at it. I did not do as well in September; I used my car five times to commute.

With school back in session I do not have the time to wait until the next bus. I need to leave work on time to get to class on time. This is really a bad excuse, and I should be at taking the bus on the days that I drive.

Getting up to bike is much harder now than it is dark when I leave. The colder temperature does not help either. Luckily I have a bike commuting buddy who harasses me if I sleep in instead of riding in. I splurged on some cold weather biking gear to get myself motivated to get out there.

It is not going to get any easier to use alternative transportation to get to work. If I ride I have about 25 minutes of being out in the elements. If I take the bus I have a 5 minute walk and a wait of up to ten minutes for the bus. That does not sound so bad now, but when the temp dips below freezing a warm heater and seat warmers will surely be calling my name.

4 comments:

Jdfreedom said...

Ahhh...so many excuses! I'm just as bad. My ride in is 15 minutes, and I don't even have to be put-together! I ride to work around twice a week tops. What's worse, oil is now becoming cheaper; which will soon make gas cheaper. Maybe we are just waiting for the city to build us some bike lanes?

essjay said...

5 times isn't that bad - but that is just me! I drive every day. I looked at taking the bus, but from my side of town the first one wouldn't show up until 8 AM, which is when I have to be at work :( Sending warm thoughts your way for those cold mornings!

crosenfe said...

I f'ing hate taking buses, especially in the winter. So when I was a student in Minneapolis and lived a mile and a half from school, I would walk rather than endure the motion sickness of being protected from the elements in an always overheated bus that constantly started and stopped abruptly. I had waterproof pants that I wore over my jeans that protected me from wind. Then I had my Columbia jacket that covered my butt. Then a wide polar fleece scarf that I tied in the back, but covered my nose and mouth with. And a hat with ear flaps. And, of course, stretch gloves covered with fleece-lined mittens. My eyes were my only exposed part. For the most part, it worked quite well. Just when it's really cold, the condensation from my breath froze my eyelashes together. So good luck with winter. I know you can do it.

Winky333 said...

You all are waaayyyy more committed than I am....happy biking, walking, busing, sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, skating, and whatever else, to work.

I don't have a bus stop very close on my side of Indy, and there is a neighborhood or two on my way to work that I wouldn't be caught dead biking through (or I might be caught dead. lol)