Day 21

Day after day, I am reminded of the fact that our community is designed with the car in mind. Today I was reminded that employers, even if they do not require a car of their employees explicitly in a job description, still require cars of their employees. For example, I had an off-site management meeting for work today from 7:30am-11:30am. Managers from about 10 sites all over San Diego came together for a quarterly meeting…each in their own car. Going without a car posed a few unique challenges to me today, needless to say.

I felt a little self conscious pulling up to our meeting site on my bike with all my nice clothes gently wadded into my orange (and increasingly dirty) backpack. Years of surfing and towel changes made my transformation from biker to manager in the resort bathroom a snap, and I was able to easily stow my helmet and other commuting “accessories” under a table. The big issue of the day arose for me when the meeting ended, and the other 158 attendees spilled out of the meeting, into their cars, and were on the road back to their places of work. My time was not as efficiently spent as I changed back into my bike clothes, rode 12 minutes to the nearest bus stop, waited for 6, rode for 35, biked for 8, then arrived at work to change back into my work clothes (increasing exponentially in wrinklyness).

Did I mind this delay in getting back to work? Hell no! I loved the fact that I could spend a bit of time to myself, get a bit of exercise, and avoid the driving commute and lack of parking that I am loving not missing. Did my employer mind? Had he noticed he may have…

Here are my suggestions for the necessary (on occasion) group meetings required by most employers:

1) Promote carpooling…does each person really need to drive their OWN car to every meeting? I mean, really…
2) Plan meetings in central locations near public transportation. If we are going to actually make changes in our driving habits, we need to support those habits every day.
3) Create extra time in a day for commuting after off site meetings. Today, our meeting was adjourned at 11:30, and it took me a little over an hour to get back to my office with my changing, riding, bussing, biking athon. I had another scheduled meeting at 2 which was fine, but I know many others were rushing back to other meetings within the ½ hour which would have made the carless commute impossible.

Any thoughts or suggestions?!

Work travel

I spent part of last weekend traveling for work up to Roseville, California. Like many suburban communities, the city was big, lined with shopping malls and restaurants, and totally lacking functional public transportation. I ignorantly assumed that public transportation from the airport in Sacramento to the city of Roseville would not be a difficult endeavor, and paid for my lack of research by spending 6 hours of my day waiting for one of only 2 busses from Sacramento to my destination. Good thing it was not a Saturday when there were NO busses traveling that route!

That being said, I can reflect on what I got out of my 36 hour trip that I would have completely missed had I rented a car and driven directly to the hotel I stayed at. First, I had some free time to check out the local shopping mall (much to my husbands disappointment). Second, I walked, and walked, and walked. After I walked a little bit more, I realized that Sacramento is a beautiful city! I walked right in to our state capitol building, past a few historical sights, and have to say I truly enjoyed the city. San Diego, we have a bit of work to do at becoming as friendly as the commuters in Sac Town. Very helpful people!

On top of that, standing at bus stops and riding busses puts you in contact with some interesting folks. I learned a lot about the city and the surrounding area, and a random woman even gave me a free pass for the bus ride!

Taking a glance at the financial implications of my public transportation option, I paid $2.25 (thanks to the generosity of the lady behind me in the bus line) to get from the airport to downtown Sacramento, then to Roseville. What a steal!

Heavy heart...

The last 36 hours have been overwhelmed with a sense of shock and sadness. The beautiful community where I have worked as a lifeguard for over 10 years is in shock, and I (along with many others) struggle to understand the freak accident that has taken the life of a family friend. My heart breaks for Dr. Dave Martins friends and family, for the lifeguards and the community of Solana Beach, and for the loss of "innocence" of the north county water-loving community.

Happy Belated Earth Day!

This was a big week, an exciting week, and a very "inconvenient" week.

On a collective scale, we had Earth Day and the Pennsylvania primaries. On a more selfish scale, the week was punctuated by my very sore butt, a 6 am 2-mile run (yes, run) to the bus stop on account of my poor planning, and no fresh fruit or vegetables.

Lessons learned, week 2:
1) Bike riding and public transportation take more preparation than driving a car.
2) Make sure your bike is fit to your body properly (see sore butt above)
3) There are plenty of alternatives for construction zones and narrow busy streets, and they are worth the additional minutes!
4) Different bikes do different things...research the best one for commuting (not mine) before you make a purchase!!

Epiphanies, week 2:
1) It feels GOOD to get a workout in before you start your workday...I start the day relaxed, energized, and feeling healthy. Health care blog entry to follow:)
2) 1/2 the stress in a given day comes from driving and parking. Not driving+not parking=mellow commuter.
3) Riding the bus makes you feel like you are part of the community...I feel like my eyes have opened up a bit. Although the people seated around you on a given bus ride could be from dozens of different backgrounds and life situations, the bus brings you all together for a "shared ride."

I'm traveling for work tomorrow...anyone know about the bus routes from Sacramento to Roseville??

The cost of the commute

In the United States, approximately 6.6 tons (almost 15,000 pounds carbon equivalent) of greenhouse gases are emitted per person every year. For every mile that a person avoids driving their car, just about one pound of carbon equivalent can be saved.

The financial costs to avoiding the use of a car are becoming quite apparent to me right now, as the price of gas keeps climbing higher and higher. The average price has increased by $.16 over the last 2 weeks. Wow. With my commute of 24 miles a day and my moderately efficient Honda Civic, I would still be paying about $4/day on gas. That is $120/month, and $1,440 on gas for the commute alone.

Mammoth

I'm in Mammoth with my family this weekend, and no, I did not ride my bike up here...

I got an email from a friend when I started my month without my car who said that he could never give up his car because of the distance that he had to travel to work, but that he carpooled with a coworker, "does that count?" Of course it counts. The whole point of the carless month is to take another car off the road...to lessen the impact and to see what sacrifices need to be made to live without a car. That being said, I am up here in mammoth, I rode the bus to get to my ride to the mountain, and I am still not using my car.

Being in the Sierras is one of my favorite places to be, and it is one of the best to consider our environmental impacts. As far as places that will be impacted the most severely by the increasing earth temperature, the mountain areas rank among the highest. From the diverse weather patters to the dynamic ecosystem, and considering the water supply created for much of the state of California by these mountains, my time up here makes me want to work harder and do more to protect this unbelievable place.

Day 6: Commentary

Day 5

I thought I was in good shape. I was wrong. Very wrong.

As I sit here tonight on the couch with an aching low back and an exertion hangover, I am humbled by what a bike ride has done to me.

I've been researching lately (for obvious reasons) about other people who don't use their cars for their commute, and it is inspiring. I read a story on the web about a couple who sold their cars to save money and gas...an inspiring testimonial about a man who used his biking to help him give up smoking, and...and finally came in contact with a woman planning to ride her bike from San Francisco to Portland with the hopes of raising money ($7,000) for the Surfrider Foundation. It's the stories, the individual motivations, and the knowledge that all the individuals doing little things to keep their cars off the road is adding up to something that mad me look forward to getting back on my bike at 6:30 tomorrow morning...

Day 2: The Commute

Running totals: 10 miles on the bus, 26 miles on the bike, 0 in the car

Lessons learned:

1) Don't wear wide leg sweat pants on a bike without a chain guard:(

2) Don't underestimate the value of being kind to the bus driver.

3) Getting honked at sucks.

All in all, I have learned that the bus system is much better in San Diego than I anticipated it would be, and the biking conditions much worse. While my bus ride was comfortable and relaxing, I have found drivers on the road impatient and the road conditions less than optimal for a daily commute.

I must admit, as a driver, I have been quite frustrated with bikers who ride in the traffic lanes when there is a perfectly good bike lane available, or when they travel huge gaggles of spandex and create traffic jams in their wake. That being said, I consider myself a quite courteous bike rider, wearing an enormous orange backpack so I am easy to see, always staying as far to the side of the rode as I can, and even getting on sidewalks when possible. Sometimes when the roads lack a bike lane and there is no sidewalk to escape to, there is not much to do besides rely on drivers to have a few moments of patience to allow you to get to where you need to go.

Off to research bike etiquette...stay tuned for the helmet cam next week.

Changing Times

I filled up my car today on $3.76/gallon gas, then got back on the road to hear yet another update on NPR about the tanking US economy and uncertainties in the future of our water supply. How long will we as Americans keep the luxury of driving...not to mention the multitude of other luxuries we accept as the norm in our lifestyles everyday? It seems that the breaking point must be close...increasing complexities in the middle east indicate gas prices have not nearly hit their peak, while the bursting of the housing market bubble has created a ripple effect of job losses, budget cuts, a falling dollar value, and increasingly difficult financial times that have been felt not only here it the US but across the globe.

April 10th is coming soon...

Preparation

Preparing to give up my car has already posed more challenges than I anticipated. I got my bus pass, filled the tires on my bike, adjusted my schedule...and then got sick. I don't know about the rest of you, but hopping out of bed and onto a bike to get down to CVS to fill a prescription of antibiotics does not sound like a hoot to me. We made a small adjustment and pushed the Support the Ride campaign back by 10 days to start April 10th, and end on May 10th.

Anther interesting learning experience has been navigating the bus schedule! When I lived in North County San Diego, I had an easy ride on one bus from point A to point B. With my new location down in Mission Beach, I recently discovered that there are a minimum of 3 busses that need to be ridden to travel the 12 miles along the coast to my work! The bike is looking better and better all the time...