The Warm Up

Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow I officially swear off cars for a month. Technically, I'm also supposed to give up my motorcycle, but my friend Connie tells me that if I don't ride the motorcycle in June, I may not get much riding in or at least much dry weather riding. I'm going to proceed as if I won't be using the motorcycle.

I've been riding a little to prepare me for tomorrow and the days to come. I rode downtown (100+ blocks or about 15 miles round trip) the other night for dinner at the Vegetarian House, an all vegan Chinese food joint. I rode to the office a couple of days ago (about 14 miles round trip). It's been good so far. Tough to get back into the routine of riding, but not as hard as I thought - you just have to remember to leave super early for appointments.

The toughest thing so far honestly has been getting used to being in traffic again on a bike. After having been hit by a car at an intersection some four months ago, it's a little scary being at intersections with cars. I can't say I've had close calls yet, but I have had people pull out in front of me and ease into several intersections as I approached. It's frightening when people aren't looking at you and are easing out into the roadway ahead of you. It only takes a second or a few feet to completely ruin your whole day.

This morning I'm riding down to Veganopolis to meet my friend Dani for lunch. It's downtown across the water about 7-8 miles one way. I have a few errands to run afterwards so I'll probably rack up 20 miles or more total. I probably should get a bike computer and count my mileage. Maybe I'll add that to my list of errands.

Car-Free June

I had a bit of an epiphany a few days ago - I would go the month of June by bike and bike alone. Now, I realize this may not sound like a huge deal - I realize there are hundreds, thousands even, just in Portland that bike it every day. My disadvantage? I'm terribly, terribly lazy. And while I'd like to believe I'm a rugged, out-in-the-elements kinda guy - truth is I'm a complete pussy. I'm a creature of habit and at the moment my habit is lazy, comfortable and above all, dry. And riding a bike in Portland means hills, discomfort and rain - basically the opposite of everything I hold so dear.

Follow me on my path to a car-free June.