Hello, friends!
Sometimes in life there are moments when you realize that you are not as young as you used to be. There are times when you come to the conclusion that your body can't do the things that it used to be able to do. Today was one of those days.
Today, I tried playing basketball. Actually, I didn't play too badly. We played one game of "21" and 2 games of "2 vs. 3." I won our game of 21 and won the game of 2 vs. 3 when I was part of the 3. Except for the last game when I missed everything, my jump shot has gotten better and I even had a few nice drives to the basket for some layups. My passes were mostly spot on too. If you look at it, my basketball game has actually gotten BETTER since high school, when all I had was a baby hook and a jump shot that looked like a knuckleball.
Except in one area. I have no endurance anymore. We hadn't played for more than 15 minutes before I had my hands on my hips and was panting like a dog. Normally I pride myself on my defense and rebounds but today I couldn't seem to stick with anyone or box anybody out. We ended up playing for about an hour and a half and I was pretty gassed for most of it. I re-aggrivated a tendon in my foot and was playing a little bit gimp, but that doesn't change the fact that my conditioning isn't what it used to be.
I'm not saying that I'm a marathon runner, or ever have been, but things were never this bad. I competed in a triathlon just last year. I used to run 3-5 miles without much trouble. I once held my breath for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I used to at least be an athlete.
But it seems like not so much anymore. If the most exercise I get in a day is riding my bike to campus then something is wrong. If my idea of cardio is golf (I love it, but it isn't exactly the most strenuous of activities), then maybe I am not putting in the work I used to. Something needs to change.
101 days from now I will be married (crazy, righ?!). For the next 100 days, I am going into hardcore "get back into shape" mode. I'm not going to hurt myself trying to go too fast too fast like in previous times, but I am going to eat better and try to get myself back to where I ought to be health wise. It won't be perfect. My trip to California is still going to consist of eating a lot of delicious things that are bad for me but I only get to eat once or twice a year. But, so long as I know that now, I can plan accordingly.
Who knows how much biking I am going to get done these next few weeks and months. It may be a ton, it may be just a little. But, it won't be all. Let's do this!
Stats:
Places Traveled: Plasma, Campus, and Home.
Distance Traveled: 4.0 miles ($.38)
Meters: 2 hours downtown ($1.20) + 5 hours on campus ($5)
Total: $6.58
Grand Total: $251.65
Left to Save: $325.95
Happy Biking!
~Adam
The story of a guy trying to rationalize the money he spent on his bike and other random thoughts.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Stats
Hello, friends!
You know what? Biking during the summer is hard work! It's hot. It's humid. I have to bring 2 shirts because the first one gets all sweaty. Is it fun? Absolutely! Am I saving money by not driving? You betcha! But, it's hard work. I guess I am earning my pennies, eh? =0).
Stats:
Places traveled: Doctor's Office, Home, Campus, Bengals, Post Office, Home, Campus, Plasma, Back to Campus, and finally Home.
Distance traveled: 10.9 miles ($.97)
Meters: 7 hours on campus ($7) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $9.17
Grand Total: $245.07
Left to Save: $332.53
Happy Biking!
~Adam
You know what? Biking during the summer is hard work! It's hot. It's humid. I have to bring 2 shirts because the first one gets all sweaty. Is it fun? Absolutely! Am I saving money by not driving? You betcha! But, it's hard work. I guess I am earning my pennies, eh? =0).
Stats:
Places traveled: Doctor's Office, Home, Campus, Bengals, Post Office, Home, Campus, Plasma, Back to Campus, and finally Home.
Distance traveled: 10.9 miles ($.97)
Meters: 7 hours on campus ($7) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $9.17
Grand Total: $245.07
Left to Save: $332.53
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
I probably need to post more often...
Hello, friends!
One month later, we are back to it! Guess who got to ride a little bit yesterday?! That's right, this guy!
For those of you who may not know, I am living in Saint Louis 5 days a week. I am getting married in September (hooray!) but still have stuff to do on campus at Mizzou, so I will be commuting a few days a week back to Columbia. What I haven't figured out yet is how all my biking is going to play into this.
See, as it stands, right now I have no reason to bike in Saint Louis. My current apartment is about 15 miles from Meg's place and I don't do a ton down there, so I don't have huge incentive to bring my bike over. Added to that, there is more free more free parking in Saint Louis (or at least the places I go) than in CoMo, so I wouldn't be able to save a ton on meters, which we know is where the money is.
However, I can still save myself a few dollars a week with my 2 days in CoMo, so long as I spend time on campus (which I should be doing anyway)...
Fear not, dear reader, we'll keep peddling and keep posting until we have reached our goal. Huzzah!
Stats:
Places traveled: Just to campus and back
Distance: 4 miles ($.36)
Meters: 5 hours on campus ($5)
Total: $5.36
Grand Total: $235.90
Left to save: $341.70
Happy Biking!
~Adam
One month later, we are back to it! Guess who got to ride a little bit yesterday?! That's right, this guy!
For those of you who may not know, I am living in Saint Louis 5 days a week. I am getting married in September (hooray!) but still have stuff to do on campus at Mizzou, so I will be commuting a few days a week back to Columbia. What I haven't figured out yet is how all my biking is going to play into this.
See, as it stands, right now I have no reason to bike in Saint Louis. My current apartment is about 15 miles from Meg's place and I don't do a ton down there, so I don't have huge incentive to bring my bike over. Added to that, there is more free more free parking in Saint Louis (or at least the places I go) than in CoMo, so I wouldn't be able to save a ton on meters, which we know is where the money is.
However, I can still save myself a few dollars a week with my 2 days in CoMo, so long as I spend time on campus (which I should be doing anyway)...
Fear not, dear reader, we'll keep peddling and keep posting until we have reached our goal. Huzzah!
Stats:
Places traveled: Just to campus and back
Distance: 4 miles ($.36)
Meters: 5 hours on campus ($5)
Total: $5.36
Grand Total: $235.90
Left to save: $341.70
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Monday, May 7, 2012
Hiatus...
Hello, friends!
Guess who is going away for a few weeks? That's right. After 1 week back in CoMo, riding around and enjoying the biking experience, tomorrow I will be heading to Catalyst, our Spring Conference. So, for the next 2 weeks, I will be without bike, or at least without opportunities to Penny Peddle.
So, much like the past few weeks, I will be gone and this blog will be on hiatus. I promise to be back though. I always come back...
Stats:
Places Traveled: A couple times to campus and one trip to Sam's Club.
Distance Traveled: 14.4 miles ($1.36)
Meters: 12 hours on campus ($12)
Total: $13.36
Grand Total: $230.54
Left to Save: $347.06
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Guess who is going away for a few weeks? That's right. After 1 week back in CoMo, riding around and enjoying the biking experience, tomorrow I will be heading to Catalyst, our Spring Conference. So, for the next 2 weeks, I will be without bike, or at least without opportunities to Penny Peddle.
So, much like the past few weeks, I will be gone and this blog will be on hiatus. I promise to be back though. I always come back...
Stats:
Places Traveled: A couple times to campus and one trip to Sam's Club.
Distance Traveled: 14.4 miles ($1.36)
Meters: 12 hours on campus ($12)
Total: $13.36
Grand Total: $230.54
Left to Save: $347.06
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Monday, April 30, 2012
Lessons from the year...
Hello, friends!
It has been FOREVER since I last posted. My apologies. I have been traveling the world these past 3 weeks with no opportunties to bike. Thus, the blog has laid dormant. We are coming up on the end of the school year, which means that soon I will be out of opportunties to pedal in earnest for a bit. So, I figured I would throw down a few lessons that I learned from the past 8 months of biking.
1) Miles mean nothing. METERS are how you make the big bucks. In CoMo, the cheapest meter you are going to find is $.60/hour. Given my current calculations, I would have to bike a little over 6 miles, or 1.5 trips to campus in order to get to $.60, which is great exercise, but it doesn't do much for my job. Definitely the more efficient thing to do is to park Sulu behind the student center for 8 hours (at $1/hour) and let the pennies add up. =0).
2) Biking in the rain isn't the worst thing in the world. I think the best investment that I made this year was getting fenders for Sulu. Before, even if it wasn't raining, biking after a rain sucked because of all the puddles and such. Now, it's actually somewhat pleasant. That was definitely money well spent.
3) Blogging keeps me honest. Thanks to you, my faithful reader(s), I have much more motivation to ride than I did before. There is a certain accountability that comes from knowing that I get to write about my "adventures" and that I also have a goal in mind. So thanks!
Ultimately, these past few months of riding have been great. I am glad that I started, and am looking for many more miles (and pennies) to come!
Stats:
Places: Campus, Jingo's, Campus, Plasma, back to Campus, Bengals, and home.
Distance traveled: 11.4 miles ($1.14)
Meters: 2 hours on campus ($2) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20) + 2 more hours on campus ($2)
Total: $6.34
Grand Total: $217.18
Left to Save: $360.42
Happy Biking!
~Adam
It has been FOREVER since I last posted. My apologies. I have been traveling the world these past 3 weeks with no opportunties to bike. Thus, the blog has laid dormant. We are coming up on the end of the school year, which means that soon I will be out of opportunties to pedal in earnest for a bit. So, I figured I would throw down a few lessons that I learned from the past 8 months of biking.
1) Miles mean nothing. METERS are how you make the big bucks. In CoMo, the cheapest meter you are going to find is $.60/hour. Given my current calculations, I would have to bike a little over 6 miles, or 1.5 trips to campus in order to get to $.60, which is great exercise, but it doesn't do much for my job. Definitely the more efficient thing to do is to park Sulu behind the student center for 8 hours (at $1/hour) and let the pennies add up. =0).
2) Biking in the rain isn't the worst thing in the world. I think the best investment that I made this year was getting fenders for Sulu. Before, even if it wasn't raining, biking after a rain sucked because of all the puddles and such. Now, it's actually somewhat pleasant. That was definitely money well spent.
3) Blogging keeps me honest. Thanks to you, my faithful reader(s), I have much more motivation to ride than I did before. There is a certain accountability that comes from knowing that I get to write about my "adventures" and that I also have a goal in mind. So thanks!
Ultimately, these past few months of riding have been great. I am glad that I started, and am looking for many more miles (and pennies) to come!
Stats:
Places: Campus, Jingo's, Campus, Plasma, back to Campus, Bengals, and home.
Distance traveled: 11.4 miles ($1.14)
Meters: 2 hours on campus ($2) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20) + 2 more hours on campus ($2)
Total: $6.34
Grand Total: $217.18
Left to Save: $360.42
Happy Biking!
~Adam
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Front End of Daylight Savings...
Hello, friends!
It's been a few weeks since Daylight Savings began and most of the US was thrust forward into the future one glorious hour. From my understanding, Daylight Savings was started back in the day as a way to keeping down energy costs. I'm note entirely sure of the logic, but I think it has something to do with business hours and keeping stuff running during particular times. Either way, we've moved ahead one hour and it is getting darker much later in the day.
However, the front end of that means that it is also getting lighter later in the day. Since I have been out of town and not on my bike for a while, this wasn't a big deal. But, this morning I went to work out early in the morning and I realized how dark it still was outside. What is the deal?!
From my understanding of the earth spinning on its axis, as well as observation from the past 27 years of existence, the days are going to get longer on both means, meaning that more time will be added on the front end and the back end of the day, but it was still a bit of a shock to bike out in the dark this morning. I guess that's my fault for trying to get an early start on the day. =0).
Stats:
Places traveled: Campus, Plasma, Campus a few more times, downtown for lunch, and campus again.
Distance traveled: 21.4 miles ($3.04)
Meters: 17 hours on campus ($17) + 6 hours downtown ($7.20)
Total: $27.24
Grand Total: $210.84
Left to Save: $366.76
It's been a few weeks since Daylight Savings began and most of the US was thrust forward into the future one glorious hour. From my understanding, Daylight Savings was started back in the day as a way to keeping down energy costs. I'm note entirely sure of the logic, but I think it has something to do with business hours and keeping stuff running during particular times. Either way, we've moved ahead one hour and it is getting darker much later in the day.
However, the front end of that means that it is also getting lighter later in the day. Since I have been out of town and not on my bike for a while, this wasn't a big deal. But, this morning I went to work out early in the morning and I realized how dark it still was outside. What is the deal?!
From my understanding of the earth spinning on its axis, as well as observation from the past 27 years of existence, the days are going to get longer on both means, meaning that more time will be added on the front end and the back end of the day, but it was still a bit of a shock to bike out in the dark this morning. I guess that's my fault for trying to get an early start on the day. =0).
Stats:
Places traveled: Campus, Plasma, Campus a few more times, downtown for lunch, and campus again.
Distance traveled: 21.4 miles ($3.04)
Meters: 17 hours on campus ($17) + 6 hours downtown ($7.20)
Total: $27.24
Grand Total: $210.84
Left to Save: $366.76
Monday, April 2, 2012
A Sunday Joy Ride...
Hello, friends!
After a fun Spring Break without Sulu, I returned on Sunday, ready to come back and get back to riding daily. I had the chance to use a stationary bike every now and then, so I still got some pedaling in, but I wasn't really going anywhere so I can't count those as real miles.
When I returned on Sunday, I was back home getting some work done when my roommate called and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner when he got back from Ohio. I was totally in and waited for him to come home. When he got back, he had a great idea. Why don't we bike to the restaurant instead of drive?!
So, we biked. It was only a 5 minute ride, but it was totally worth it. Getting back on Sulu and pedaling again was seriously a rush. After a week gone, it felt good to get back to it. This next week is going to be full of riding, I can tell you that!
Stats:
Places traveled: Jingo's and campus.
Distance traveled: 5.4 miles ($.45)
Meters: 3 hours on campus ($3) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $4.65
Grand Total: $183.60
Left to Save: $391.03
Happy Biking!
~Adam
After a fun Spring Break without Sulu, I returned on Sunday, ready to come back and get back to riding daily. I had the chance to use a stationary bike every now and then, so I still got some pedaling in, but I wasn't really going anywhere so I can't count those as real miles.
When I returned on Sunday, I was back home getting some work done when my roommate called and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner when he got back from Ohio. I was totally in and waited for him to come home. When he got back, he had a great idea. Why don't we bike to the restaurant instead of drive?!
So, we biked. It was only a 5 minute ride, but it was totally worth it. Getting back on Sulu and pedaling again was seriously a rush. After a week gone, it felt good to get back to it. This next week is going to be full of riding, I can tell you that!
Stats:
Places traveled: Jingo's and campus.
Distance traveled: 5.4 miles ($.45)
Meters: 3 hours on campus ($3) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)
Total: $4.65
Grand Total: $183.60
Left to Save: $391.03
Happy Biking!
~Adam
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