Simple commute is best commute

I started riding into work a few days ago, and I have to confess, I don't know why I didn't start doing it sooner. It's not distance. My commute is just over 30 minutes each way. Nor is it the fact that I'm scared of the dark, cuz I'm totally not. I think it was just laziness, honestly. See, here's the deal. I'm not a morning person. Never really have been. I'd much rather stay up until 11pm and wake up at 7, than go to bed at 9 and wake up at 5.

Seriously, this was my alarm some days.

But the other day I figured, I'm already technically waking up stupidly early for work. Why not stop putting it off, and go apply Rule #5 to my mornings? So I convinced myself to do it. I said, "self, quit being a whiny bitch, and go out there and Rule V this shit!" And thus, it was so.

Don't get me wrong. That first morning was not one of my finer days. My alarm went off. I smacked my phone. I rolled over. But then part of my brain kicked in and woke up me. That son of a bitch. I keep trying to kill him with beer, but he keeps sticking around.

OK. I was up and awake. Man, this sucks, I thought to myself. But I pressed on, undaunted. Then I realized I'd broken my one cardinal rule of commuting via bike. I hadn't packed my work clothes in my commuter bag the night before. OK. No biggie. So long as I left by 5:25, I'd be good. It was only 5:10. I was golden.

Somehow, though, I managed to leave at 5:35. I blame some kind of weird time vortex manipulation BS that exists only because I woke up at 5am. It definitely wasn't the fact that I wasn't prepared to ride my bike to work, or the fact that I walked back and forth in my apartment about 97 times. Definitely couldn't have been those. Had to have been time manipulation. Anyway, yeah, I got to work late.

But that hardly matters. Waking up in the morning and going for a ride before you really do anything else is friggin' awesome. It woke me up more than my usual morning coffee (grande iced coffee with an add shot, FYI), and resulted in that day being one of the most productive days I'd had all year. And it put me in a good mood, which is a miracle unto itself.

Yup. Kinda like this, but MOAR BETTER.

Best part is, the roads are in pretty decent condition and there wasn't any real traffic to speak of. So I guess my question is, why don't more people commute to work via bike? Or any real kind of alternate transportation? And why the hell did I stop?

Every day that I commute, it saves me gas, it saves me wear and tear on my car, and it keeps me from getting stressed out. If you've ready this post, then you know I kinda sorta already talked about how working out helps make you happy. Didn't read it? Shame on you. Did read it? Thumbs up!

Then there's the fact that one more bike on the road is one less car in its place, of which there are already plenty. I mean, there are a lot of people who do my same work commute. But I think the worst parts are the fact that 1) the traffic is always inconsistent. One day it'll take me 15 minutes to get to work. The next it could take me as many as 30. 2) There's quite a few douchenozzles who'll cut you off. Why? To be a douchenozzle, that's why. If I ride my bike, I solve both of those problems. My commute time will be consistent, and because I take bike paths most of the way, I don't need to worry about people cutting me off.

Will it last? Will I continue this new system of travelling to work? I don't know. But I'm gonna try. And that's where you, my dear reader, come in. I issue this challenge. For every view this post gets, I will commute to work for one day. If it gets 30 views, that's 30 guaranteed days of commuting. 80 views is 80 days. 1 bajillion views? Well, that's pretty much commuting for forever, times infinity. And I challenge you guys to try it, too. If you're not comfortable riding to work, then find another means of transport. Join a carpool. Take the trolley. Do something other than your usual morning routine. Give it a try. If you don't like it, switch back. But no harm ever came from trying.

Till the next time, keep the rubber side down, and your skin off the ground!

Why riding your bike is the best thing you can do with your time

Any of you guys seen this image pop up on your Facebook feed anytime in the last, oh, I dunno, ever?

If not, go ahead and look at it again. Finished? OK. Look at it one more time, just to be sure you bask in the simplicity of what it's telling you. Feel like you've got it? Alright. Let's continue.

It may come as something as a shock to some of you, but I'm something of a biking enthusiast. And for good reason. Beyond getting me outside to enjoy this gorgeous San Diego weather, there's a ton of benefits to riding your bike. I'll try to stay away from the obvious ones. Or if I touch on them, I'll expand on them, and hopefully you'll learn something new. Let's go for a ride, shall we? Pun intended.

First off, riding your bike improves not only your leg strength, but also improves heart health and strengthens your core. Yeah, that "core" thing that you spent so much time in yoga class developing? Go ride your bike. It'll help. But wait. I said that it also improves heart heath, right? It does. Just doing the equivalent of three, 45 minute rides per week can not only increase your hearth health by 3-7%, but you'll also be "biologically younger," which has even more benefits. In short, though, it makes your body more efficient at regenerating cells, fighting off illness, it keeps you looking younger, and it helps you live longer. And finally, it reduces the risk of heart disease by nearly 50%. Yeah, you read that right. That's 50%. Cheerios, your move.

Next, a fairly obvious one. Cycling reduces your stress levels. Now, first off, I don't want to claim that that's something only cycling does. Working out in general will help reduce your stress levels. I don't know about you guys, though, but I, personally, hate going to the gym. Mainly because it feels like a chore. I feel like it's something I have to do. It's hot, the A/C can't quite keep up, it smells like sweat, and some other person keeps hogging the machine that you need to use so you can just finish up and go home. But none of that applies to riding a bike! First off, riding a bike outside helps your body reset its internal clock, which helps you get a deeper, more restful sleep. Plus, it helps flush out the chemical your body normally produces when it's stressed, which is part of the reason you feel happier, more relaxed, and energetic after a ride.

Ride your bike. Get smarter. Don't believe me? Researchers have shown that a 5% increase in your cardiovascular health not  only helps out your heart (like I said above), but that it helps boost your brain by up to 15%! You see, by taking part in a low to mid intensity exercise, the added flow of oxygen to your brain helps it not only regenerate current cells, but also produce new ones. Most commonly, the largest increase was in memory retention, something that starts to deteriorate once ya hit 30. Ride your bike, remember more things more better!

None of this convincing you? OK. I've got one last argument. Save money by riding your bike. Now, numbers here are a bit tougher to calculate, simply because there's a lot of factors that come into play, so your mileage may vary (Hah! Another pun!). People in larger cities like New York and London see the biggest benefit here, but in numerous cases (and cities), commuting via bike tends to actually be quicker than travelling by car or public transit. Plus, because you don't have the gas, oil, and maintenance costs associated with driving, that's money that gets to stay in your wallet. 

Let's use me and my car for example. Round trip, I have a commute of about 16 miles. Assuming 25 mpg, that's $2.33 per day spent on gas, based on gas being about $3.65/gallon. (16/25=0.64. 3.65x0.64=2.33) Assuming I drive twice a week, obviously that's $4.66 a week (2.33x2). Let's multiply that times 52 (52 weeks in a year), and see what we get. $242.32 saved per year, and that's just in gas, assuming I ride my bike to work twice a week. Starting to sound more appealing yet? 

Obviously, there are a plethora of reasons why you should ride your bike. Frankly, I could probably triple the length of this post, and still not touch on all of them. But don't just take my word for it. Try it. Go out, and ride your bike. You won't regret it. Your wallet, your mind, your heart, legs, and many others will thank you. And hey, you may make a few new friends out there, too. So, as it was so elegantly put in the beginning of my post.....

Till the next one, gang! Keep the rubber side down, and your skin off the ground!