The numbers:
Since the challenge started, I have put in 128.9 miles - 28.3 of them this week! I have lost 10 pounds without changing diet or exercise outside of my rides to work. The ride to work is right at 5 miles, so I figure that is about 25 trips in the car that I have replaced with a bike. In my first week, I was struggling to go 5 miles in 30 minutes with an average speed around 9 mph. Now I am pretty steadily making the ride in less than 25 minutes with an average speed around 11 mph. I had one ride this week where I made it home in 23:10!!!!
The other stuff:
I feel less hypocritical. I feel less animosity toward others since I am not mixing in traffic so much. I enjoy the days more when I ride. And I do more bird watching. I also spot more cool stuff. Yesterday it was a snowy egret, today it was a green 14' Old Town canoe at a garage sale, snagit! (38th Street between Quaker and Salem - in case you are tempted too.)
And better yet, over the last few years I have found my physical limitations to be much more evident. But I am pushing back on that decline. Mowing the grass and walking the dogs doesn't wind me as much. Roofing no longer makes my chest hurt. I am still pasty, round, and overweight, but I am moving.
And I believe my phone a little more when it says, "You are acting as Mesquite Hugger."
May you find a set of (metaphorical) pedals in your life!
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