Thread: Mr. Manuscript

I bike to work. In late September, shortly after my birthday, I had a troublesome day with my train card, and it was going to be more than a week before my replacement could be found. I had some money in the bank from my grandfather, and I was annoyed, so I went by the bike shop near my house at the time and looked at what they had. I ended up walking out with a good commuting bike, a helmet, pants leg strap, and a basket. Yes, I bike with a basket I need cargo carrying, but I don't like a rear rack because I can't see and wouldn't notice if anything fell off, and of the remaining options, the basket was, like, 40, and the cheapest set of saddlebags was running 100. So I went with the basket, and I don't care that I look like some kind of giant 12-year-old girl. All I need now is streamers on my handlebars... Anyway. So I was asked not too terribly long ago by a dear friend why it is that I bike to work. 1 Expense. They raised train and bus fares to 2.25 this year. I only take one train to work, so it's not as bad as it could be, but that's still 22.50 a week just in transit costs. In a little over five months of riding, I save enough to pay for the kitted out bike. In a year, I'll have all the repairs and upgrades I've done paid off and be saving more actively. 2 Time. My train commute, including walking at each end, is about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how soon the train comes once I reach the station. I don't know if you've ever driven in Chicago, but it would take at least that long, if not longer, to drive in, and then I'd have to spend time finding parking and would have to pay out the nose for it to the tune of 30 or so per day. On the other hand, biking in runs me about 30-40 minutes depending on how much I push it. I sail past car line-ups at lights, and I usually give a bus a run for its money, if the traffic is light... and I outdistance the bus if the traffic is moderate or worse. So it's actually faster to bike in Chicago. 3 Health. I suck at exercise programs. Anything I have to take time out of what I have to or want to do, I can do for a little bit, and then I put it off, and then I just forget about it. But the commuting thing works in exercise with time I'd already be spending in transit, anyway. So it's pretty much the one area where I can do it and not only save money and time but also get my exercise in. My old route used to be five miles each way, but the new route is just under 7 miles down, and if I go via the lakeshore on the way north, it's just over 7 miles back. 14 miles a day is not too shabby it's upping my calorie burn and keeping my arthritic knees limber shut up, lots of people start developing arthritis early, just shut up. 4 Beauty. Okay, the morning commute is not particularly beautiful, unless it's that kind of beauty of not having to slow down as you approach the stoplight and leaning into the turn to curve across the busy street onto your southbound leg. Oh, that's lovely. But in the afternoon, after a long day's... er... typing on BMR... I get to make my way over to the lakefront and just pedal on north, when the wind is right. Oh, it's gorgeous, with the beach and water, and now that the trees are getting leafy... the bike path is crowded with joggers and other bikers and numbnuts who think biking 3 abreast with faster traffic going in both directions is a good idea, but even still, it's mostly an excellent ride. There's clouds and buildings and sometimes an attractive jogger or two, and when the wind is coming in off the lake and there's birds and not too many others around... just gorgeous. It's possibly my favorite alone-time of the day in RL. There's a little competition, but honestly, it really is.