One of the side benefits (or if my perspective was different, a main benefit) of biking to work is getting more fit. Healthier. And one of the side effects of more exercise for me has always been that I crave “real” food. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains. Nuts and seeds. As a former sugaholic, I find this good-food craving to be pretty cool. My body seems to know what is the best fuel, and makes sure that I’m craving the good stuff instead of the crash-and-burn stuff.
Mostly.
I was also craving cookies today. Craving them something fierce.
I had picked up a couple of Liz Lovelies at the store yesterday – partially, I admit, because Liz Lovelies were in the store! I’ve never seen that before, wasn’t even aware that stores (other than a couple online retailers) would be carrying them, so I wanted to support this phenomenon. (It makes a fantastic excuse, anyway.) Regardless of the reason, I now had two lovely cookies…at home. And so I thought about those cookies all day, and had to wait until I finished my 2nd ride of the day to have them. And then I waited until after dinner, and I had them with a small bowl of coconut nice cream
I have a feeling that supplementing my healthy diet with a bunch of cookies negates the health benefits of riding to work!
The good news is that cookies make me happy, and so does riding my bike to work. A match made in heaven.
My ride home was both good and bad in several respects. I got honked at a few times, but I also negotiated with a driver on a busy street and was able to get into the left turn and then the middle turn lane in time to actually make the left turn I needed. The traffic was fast and heavy, and a few cars chose to not let me into the left lane, so it was a pleasant relief when an SUV did let me in. It was also nice that I was making such good and immediate use of skills I’d learned last night in the bike safety class.
It was good in so many other ways as well. There was the fact that my legs were super tired when I first started out, but that they eventually lost most of the tiredness and moved me along at a pretty nice pace. There was the fact that even though I wasn’t sure I’d be able to face the biggest hills, I was able to get them done. There was the fact that I, again, rode in 1 hr and 20 minutes, despite legs that were already exhausted when I got on the bike!
It felt good. The honking, the ignorance of the people I’m sharing the road with…that was bugging me, yet not enough to diminish my grin as I arrived home. (And it wasn’t because I was in proximity of the cookies either!) The best I can explain it is that at the end of these 14 mile rides, I feel like I’ve been playing. It is a good way to start and end the day. Yesterday I had to drive to the bike safety class, and the traffic was horrible, and I have not been that cranky in a while. Yet I’m always on the verge of it, when I’m driving!
I was tempted to write a post about the rude, impatient, ignorant honking, but one of my new favorite blogs to read posted about the very same thing, and in a way that was way funnier than I could have ever managed, and he made all the points better than I could have while being entertaining enough that I was laughing out loud. So, read up about NYCBikeSnob’s commute this morning!
unrelenting ambiguity 
August 1, 2008 at 2:31 pm
You know, somedays I try to eat good, especially on Tiesday’s ~ my fitness calss day. Some days I ruin a good ride or a good workout by eating a Totino’s Pizza. Oh well. It happens to the best of us. Moderation is the key. 🙂
Anyway, I’m trying to be a more curteous driver (not stopping in cross walks…) and I do pay attention a bit more to the bicyclist and mortcyclist around me.
Good job!
August 1, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I think that we have to expect to have splurges, but I do know that what we think we splurge on “occasionally” is usually better described as “often”! It is hard to be honest with ourselves about these things. 😉
Mostly I know that I feel better when I eat healthier, even though it is sometimes a struggle to convince myself to bring a salad for lunch. Once I start eating it though, I’m so glad that’s what I’m eating! It is like a part of me gets junk food in its sights, but my body actually is happier to get the real stuff. 🙂
I have found, even just bike commuting 2x so far, that it is already changing my driving, a bit.
Clearly the solution is to get more people on bikes, at least some of the time! They’ll be less cranky (because who isn’t more cranky when stuck in traffic in a car?), and they’ll be more understanding, so it is a win all around!
August 4, 2008 at 11:08 am
Side note, I’m sure you have, but have you seen this blog yet? http://drivemybike.wordpress.com/
August 4, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I hadn’t seen that blog yet! Thanks for posting it. Most of the blogs I read are long-time commuters, which is helpful in its own way, but pretty cool to read a blog for a newer commuter as well.
August 7, 2008 at 2:57 pm
[…] but then I started thinking, “Why shouldn’t I ride my bike?” I was thinking of Deb and Scott when I headed off. Besides, we didn’t ride the bike this morning to bring the […]