17:15

Thats how long it took me to get home last night. Still trying to break the 17 minute mark but its definately my best time yet. I thought I would be pretty beat last night especially since we had a group of 14 people walk in at 10:02 ( we close at 10:00) we got them sat and fed as quickly as we could but they didn't leave until 11:20. Thats fine with me we will take any business we can get especially since they spent over $325.00. I left the restaurant around 12:30 and once I got on the bike I felt good. In fact as I got on the road I was right behind a semi truck and tried drafting him on my mountain bike but when I got up to around 30 mph my gears wouldnt let me keep up so I lost him but I kept catching him at every light up to Tates Creek. I am going to start to give you my opinion on whats wrong with this world and people in future posts.

Motivation

I just went outside to get the mail and it is so friggin hot. I was actually thinking about taking the car. Then I decided to get some inspiration from the Internet and found this article on the web.

http://environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=5480

If these guys can do it so can I.

Plus I have a great wife who supports me in my commuting and that is so awesome.

Cool Old Guy

As I got stopped on my way home tonight at the light a little west of Tates Creek and MOW I saw this old guy trying to cross from the Taco Bell side to the Shell Station Side. Now I will be honest with you and I am not proud of it but my first reaction was like "wow what a piece of crap bike" because he was riding a Wal-Mart bike with a Wal-Mart helmet and long blue jeans and a yellow backpack. But as he crossed the street something changed my mind. He got about 3/4 of the way across and was just about to cross the right turn lane when this guy in a big a** silver pickup came rolling up and cut him off. The guy on the bike started yelling at the guy in the truck in a very controlled manner. Things like "please stop I'm to cross here" now in a situation like that I probably would of blew my lid. As the guy rode passed me we exchanged pleasantries and he went on his way. As he did my opinion of him did a 180. The rest of my ride home I had a different attitude about things and it must of shown. Instead of getting yelled at and honked at I got two Whoo Hoo's and a Way to go out of the passing cars. Thanks cool old guy.

Dog Days Of Summer

Man is it HOT. I rode to work Sat morning about 6:30 am and it was quite pleasant. On the way home about 6:00 pm I walked outside and at first I couldn't breath it was so hot. I immediately started sweating. The humidity was so high that the sweat wouldn't even evaporate. I can't wait till it cools off a bit. makes those spring and fall rides in the coolness seem quite pleasant.

The end of a era

Well it seems like we are a two car family again. We just bought a 97 pathfinder with 102000 miles on it for 4500. I feel like we got a good deal its really clean on the inside. We took it to the mechanic for his 52 point used car inspection and he gave it a good look up and down. He said it was pretty solid for a ten year old car and there was a list of things that may need to be addressed over the next couple of years. He did say that the rear axle seal and the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced in the next few months. Now let me say that I am not very good at negotiating so when we went back to finalize the deal I didn't know what to expect. The car was listed for 5400 and the KBB was 5600. We offered 4500 cash and then tried to work out a deal on the valve cover gasket and rear axle seal. First we offered to buy the parts and hoped they would take care of the labor but the parts were only 40 bucks. then we offered to split the labor and they said no. So i asked them if they wanted a 1988 Accura Integra with no exhaust and they said sure you have a deal. So the way I see it I just sold my piece of crap car for 380 dollars. I am still riding my bike all over because I like it so much.

Basic Economics

I should teach a class in Economics 101 at UK. Just the fact that I have eliminated my gas consumption for a few weeks has lowered the price of gas from $3.09 to $2.66. I have single handily saved many people so much money. Its a simple case of supply and demand. You can all thank me when you see me.

Open letter to the lady in the Ford Escort

Here is a quick note to the lady who came up behind me and laid on her horn. Took about 30 seconds to navigate around me and then in a most classy way told me I was #1.

The lanes on Man O War are about 10 feet wide.
I was riding on the white line 18 inches from the curb
That left you 8 1/2 feet of lane to navigate around me. (plus one more full lane)
If the construction trucks and 18 wheelers can get by me with no problem and you are having trouble getting your 5 foot wide compact car around me then I suggest you find a parking lot somewhere and practice your driving skills.
I hope your life is really not as unhappy as you look.
I hope you have a great day.

On another note I did set a personal record on my trip home, 18:11 including getting stopped by both lights by Kroger near Tates Creek

Sunday Traffic

I don't know what was going on yesterday but the traffic on Man O War was ridiculous. The wave of cars would not stop. The good thing about it was that I kept catching up to the same cars at the stoplights. But I finally got annoyed enough to get off the road and cut through the subdivision by veteran's park. I did have a thought on the ride yesterday morning though. There are always random things on the side of the road. I found a brand new pair of gym shoes, there is a lot more stuff to, like socks, a hat, some boxers etc. Someday I may just ride around until I get a whole new outfit.

Perfect riding weather

It was the perfect temp on the way home tonight. the only thing that was a little annoying was the slight headwind. Not exactly what you want after working 11 hours. Got a couple of leads on some cars. We are looking for something like a 98 Pathfinder for around $4000. Its very relaxing to not "need" a car. And it is also very relaxing to know that the money is in the bank and when the right deal comes around there will be no payments. We don't do payments. No debt for us. Been there done that got the t-shirt.

Nice storm

I got lucky yesterday. Went to work before the storm went through and went home after the storm. I did get to see quite a few trees blown down across the sidewalk and sticking out into Man O War. Something has happened over the last 4 or 5 years. I have gotten fat. even thought I have stayed active I have gained a few pounds a year and now I am fat. If I remember right in 2000 I weighed about 195 lbs and now I am up to 215. This means that one of the many other benifits of riding to work every day is that I am going to shed some of those lbs. Dont get me wrong I think I am still in pretty good shape otherwise. I can hike all day or go on a 3 to 4 hour ride. my blood pressure is good and my resting heart rate is often under 60. But like most Americans I have a bunch of fat that needs to go.

The Beginning

Let me start by saying I have always been an avid cyclist. I love both road and mountain biking and my focus has switched between the two depending on where I was living at the time. Living in Memphis I would spend hours on the roads of Mississippi and nothing can compare to the hills and single track of Knoxville and Chattanooga. I have lived in Lexington for the last two and a half years and have found that there is no mountain biking around here so my rides have consisted of mostly road rides on my mountain bike since I am currently searching for a new road bike. Before our move to Lexington I moved six times in five years because of my employer. My route to Lexington looked something like this. 1998 Memphis, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, Knoxville, Lexington 2004. I have always picked my apartment or house location based on the fact that I wanted to ride to work a few times a month. My easiest ride was when I first lived in Knoxville it was about 1 1/2 miles each way. My longest ride was in Chattanooga and it was about 20 miles each way. Recently on my way to work in my trusty 1988 Acura Integra the muffler fell off. Now the Kelly Blue Book private party sale price of a car like that was $0.00 that just hurts. But it has presented me with an opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do, that is ride my bike more. Now what I am being "forced to do" is ride my bike to work and on short errands. The way I figure it I save about $1.25 in gas every day I ride to work (5.5 miles one way). Now I will be honest with you there are some days when I have to work till about 12:30 am and if my wife offers to let me take the car I may take her up on it but the fact is I have been riding to work over 85% of the time over the last month. I will be recording some random thoughts and observations as my commuting continues over the next few months.