I am trying to get myself stoked to ride to work, so I decided to write up a list of reasons to commute – this is more for me than it is for you. If you can think of any more reasons, feel free to leave them in the comments section.
1. My little 1998 Nissan is about dead. The fuel injector is about to go out, among other things. I haven’t been able to drive it on the highway for a year. It has 137K miles on it and every time I take it in for an oil change, my mechanic tells me it’s about to die and I need a new car.
2. My work is less than 7 miles from home. Plus it only takes me 15 extra minutes to bike there than it does to drive. The only downside is less sleep, and the cold air in the morning.
2. My work is one of a handful of “bike friendly” destinations in this city. There is almost always a bike parked out front. A couple of my co-workers also commute so this always makes me feel guilty when I drive.
3. Gas prices have shot up to $3.70 a gallon. DUHHHH.
5. I only work 4 days a week at the most. If I ride to work, this will give me almost 60 extra miles on my legs.
6. There is no snow or ice on the ground. We haven’t had much of a winter, but we did have tornado’s hit less than 30 miles away last Friday. Regardless, this weather is ridable.
7. Riding bikes makes me happy, therefore I am in a better mood at work. I can even ride more miles after work if I feel like it.
8. All that good shit about helping the environment.
9. I have six bikes to choose from and two of them are my official commuter bikes. Dominic just spent 6 hours building this up for me the other night.
10. I work in a fucking coffee shop – it doesn’t matter if I look like crap when I get there.
So I rode to work yesterday morning and it was a breezy 30 degrees when I left the house but I made it to work 10 minutes early. When I got off, it was damn near 60 degrees and I was loving it. Perfect.
Today I was off, so I took the road bike out for some miles. It was windy as fuck, and I thought me and my carbon were going to blow right off the road at some point. I busted out 60+ miles. I hate my road bike right about now. I am itching to get out on the trails and #occupyMTBseat. Soon the trails will be open for riding. I have a date set to ride the Mohican trail in April, that will be fun.
In other news – the MOBO board accepted our proposal for Kid’s Night this summer. Dominic and I will be coordinating the program. We are so super psyched to be a part of this. This gives me something positive to focus on for the entire summer – instead of some stupid ass bike racing bullshit. KIDS + BIKES = RAD
I’ll leave you with this video Dominic recorded of himself last month. He decided to eat two ghost peppers and capture the moment.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjd4jfabX5g[/youtube]
Perhaps you haven’t hear the new rule here at DC:
He who troubleth our house with talk of politics shall inherit a swift ass kicking.
Seriously. No one wins in political discussions, and it’s boring for the rest of us. Go back to your corners kids (MSNBC or Fox News, depending on your inclinations). No one gives a shit about your opinions on gas prices and who is responsible for them.
Yeah, I guess I was pretty loaded last night. Hair of the dog, anyone?
D2, werd. I’ll leave it alone, then. Couldn’t resist.
joe, calling me ‘boy’ is a good way to get my ire up. We’ll call it even on the name calling. Hair of the dog.
Some villages have idiots.
Some websites have trolls.
On DC, Joe is the resident Idiot/Troll. Very entertaining in a “I’m glad I’m not that stupid kinda way”
I can be an idiot myself here but no matter what retarded comments I make, joe never fails to make me look good in comparison.
And the best thing about Joe’s comments is BGW’s analysis:
…yup…joethefuckingpoliticomedian swings for the fences & kinda, sorta, maybe if he’s lucky, dribbles it past the mound…
BGW +10 that was a fookin’ thing of beauty.
Thought we had abandoned politics as a topic. Jeeze, and you call ME an idiot.
Personally, I think the abscence of political talk in these parts is somewhat humorous. I mean, when I started coming here in late ’07, the anti-Bush crowd was QUITE vociferous. Now, since we’ve suffered through 3-1/2 years of a guy who, in my opinion, is an even WORSE speaker (and I was no big fan of Mr. “Nucular) and worse president with NO REAL PLAN (algea for fuel, really?) and are looking in the face of yet ANOTHER trillion dollar deficit…why not ramp up again? C’mon jefe, I know you are up for it! My only wish is that it not denegrate into the incendiary trash-talking and personally-insulting ridiculousness that ensued before…or is that possible in this day and age? I find that actually respecting opposing opinions goes a long way…
Joe…just a suggestion…call Mr. Obama by name rather than the insulting tags you seem to find so humerous. We all know who he is (well…to some degree, anyway…)and he is the president of the country. It wouldn’t kill you to show some respect, even grudgingly.
You can’t deny I’ve been far more civil to the incumbent than the anti-Bush crowd was to his predecessor. But in the interest of comity I promise to make a good-faith effort to honor your request.
I can’t count the number of times when something comes up on this site or somebody posts here and I say to myself, “I wonder what JoethePlumber’s take is.” I can’t count because it is not possible to count to zero. Why do people feel compelled to comment on every fucking thing? What drives that? Maybe nobody to share their thoughts with on a person to person basis? the mistaken belief that people give a shit what they think? maybe something more psychological, deeper and darker? Either way, it is sad. Equally pathetic is the thought of said person waiting around for responses so they can comment again. Has anybody ever changed their mind because of internet forum arguments?
P.S. ALL POLITICIANS SUCK!
…well, ya see, mothra, it all started back in preschool when that incident over spilled milk proved to me, at least, that there’s no crying over it especially after i was forced to give the other kid his cookies back……
…so after years of counseling, i hit 2nd grade mentally fit & ready to take on the world & then that little playground incident with the firecrackers was made to look like i was to blame…hey, it was a joke & i said i was sorry about the fire…besides, the seniors all said the school needed a new gym…
…now, at 13 when that ‘stuff’ happened with my 18 year old big sister & then needless to say, our foster parents got the authorities involved & took my camera away which brought me no end of displeasure & anger…maybe i am still working on those issues but dude, she was hot & the money was good for a 13 year old…
…which led to the drugs but when a budding career is crushed, well that’s not really my fault, is it ???…i simple needed a crutch at that point in my life ‘cuz it’s hard to get booze at that age…
…so, anyway ‘mothra’, maybe you’re right regarding all of us & for me personally at least, there is “…something more psychological, deeper and darker…” to my posting, so thanks for sharing…
…call me if you think you could offer a little more insight…
That ^^^ was fucking beautiful, man. Say hi to your sister for me.
…shhh…i’m trying not to jostle & wake her as i slide silently out of bed whilst waiting for mothra’s reply…
…i’m hoping his internet reply will help change my life…
FUCKER, you!!! Made me snerk booze oot my nose, eh. Thank the Lobster God it was lowgrade vodka.
@sfb, nah, tired of having the same arguments with people, and I’ve got personally more important things to do. Finishing the dissertation being primary. If we were ever in the same room, I’d gladly share a beer and talk politics, but arguments on the intardwebtubes rarely do anything but follow Godwin’s Rule.
That and bgw already took this on the absurd turn it needed (and that so many commenters here are adept at doing)
But you guys have to admit that Dominic was funny as hell with that ghost pepper thing. Ghost Pepper. They come back to haunt you the next day.
I have stayed away from DC for a couple days because all this bitch-fighting is bothersome, at best. But it is my reportorial duty to drop in and let loose the stunning scoop that BGW IS HIS OWN SISTER!
That’s right, and I don’t like it, but the TRUTH must be told! Look at his avatar, for chrissakes! Sorry B (May I call you B?) but I could not maintain my journalistic integrity and let this shocking story go untold.
Meanwhile, and on a more serious note, what has become of Old Triple Letters? He has been catching do much hell lately that I fear he may have…well, let’s just hope for the best.
Your Brother In Lob, TJ
…trailerpark cyclist…well, it certainly spices up those dull family reunions, ya ???…
…hope ol’ triple f/t is just chillin’, finding a balance & workin’ it out…
I will always laugh at anyone willing to inflict a ghost pepper on themselves. I like spicy food, and you wouldn’t get me near one.
(Oh gawd, here I go…) sfb, actually algae is one of the only renewable fuel sources that has the potential to be upscaled enough to offset a substantial amount of our fossil fuel usage. Do a quick search on it. If it got the same subsidies that big-oil got, it would reach parity even faster. Also, Exxon-Mobil and a number of other oil companies are investing in the research. Algal biodiesel (and more refined products) make FAR more sense than corn or switchgrass based ethanol. There won’t be one magic bullet, and we will continue to use oil and natural gas, but if Republicans were serious about energy independence and security they would encourage the domestic development of the technology (Isn’t that truly being conservative?). But they aren’t. They want soundbites, and they want to win (and Newt wants a moon colony…) Blowing it off is truthiness, not science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_fuel
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/410578/march-13-2012/indecision-2012—republican-southern-primary—simplified-speeches?xrs=share_copy
politics off.
I started commuting the 5.7 miles to school when I was 13 and have ridden in under 30 degree weather, just put on some warm clothes and go.