Ride last night was pretty good, but at a slower pace. It was pretty hot and after a while the wind starting getting to me. I can see how the evenings are going to be pretty rough. What I really need to figure out is my nutrition during the day so that I'm not starving before I leave. Not sure if a burrito from Qdoba was the best idea. Actually, the chips and salsa on top of the burrito were probably what didn't help.
This morning Nick came over, and we started from the Carmel Community Park Activity Monon Fitness Center Place and Emporium. It shaved about 3.5 miles off the trip (the part we take from my place to the trail that's on regular roads). It took less than an hour, but I was feeling it. I did notice, however, that there is some comfort in pulling the tallest gear I've got at a slow cadence and still getting on at 18 mph. I think that's a good "cruise control" setting for the longer stretches of the trail. Otherwise I pick an easier gear and spin a lot more. I think the change up is probably good for my fitness.
I found a great site to track this madness, too. And now you can play along at home!
The first two rides are a little off, time-wise. But after that I was a little more careful about recording the information off the computer. The only issue I have is that the computer will keep on recording even as you walk your bike through the lobby and then from the elevator. But whatever. It's close enough, and it gets the mileage, which is the most important thing.
I also found out that I will likely be working off and on on a project in Omaha (somewhere in middle America) come July. It'll probably be just a few days a month out there. Otherwise I'll be at the office in Indy and that'll be great since I can bike down.
Not sure what this weekend holds ... I was thinking of a 20-miler around the northside here early on Saturday morning before there's a lot of traffic. The trail is good for the commute, but if I had a choice, I'd hit up the roads.
I think one of the more important things to do is ride assertively on the roads around here. There aren't many cyclists, but it's good for the motorists to see that we are here, and we need our space, too. I haven't been honked at or cursed at, so I see that as a good sign. Overall I've had a positive on-street cycling experience here in Indy. I find if you use hand signals and seem to know what you're doing, people are happy to slow down and give you room. (Very helpful when you need to cross the lane and get into the left-turn lane, for instance.)
Friday, June 15
Thursday, June 14
Commuting Summary, Thursday 6/14
Left at 6:05 a.m., got to work right after 7. The cycling computer says just under an hour -- I think it doesn't count if you're not moving, which is nice. I managed to blow through quite a few red lights and stop signs, so I was pretty stoked. Since Nick wasn't around for the ride, I averaged about 16.5 mph and started out on a nice cruise at about 19-20 mph.
About halfway through, I could feel myself running out of gas (I actually had a bowl of cereal this morning, though) but kept on pushing since I wanted to break an hour.
My ultimate goal from the apartment is 45 minutes.
I ordered some panniers and other stuff but it hasn't shown up yet. I had to carry the backpack again which is rather annoying. I don't think it slows me down per se, but I don't feel that comfortable.
About halfway through, I could feel myself running out of gas (I actually had a bowl of cereal this morning, though) but kept on pushing since I wanted to break an hour.
My ultimate goal from the apartment is 45 minutes.
I ordered some panniers and other stuff but it hasn't shown up yet. I had to carry the backpack again which is rather annoying. I don't think it slows me down per se, but I don't feel that comfortable.
Tuesday, June 12
50 Questions
Well, $9 and 50 questions later, Maria has her learner's permit. I will say that she didn't pass the exam the first time around -- missed by two questions. I would give her crap about this, but, oh, wait, I failed my written test the first time, too. (Passed the road test first time, though. Shocker.)
Anyway, that was on Saturday morning. So of course, we took a quick lesson around a neighborhood right after that. We didn't hit anything. She stayed on the right side of the road. Good and good.
Sunday we went for a longer lesson (Asim cried throughout the entire Saturday lesson) and Asim was a bit more calm. We went around a parking lot nearby a couple of dozen times. While she's driven in Pakistan just a little bit, we were basically starting from scratch. And I didn't realize how much I took for granted driving. For instance, try to describe in words to someone else where you put your hands when making a sharp right turn. And no, palming the wheel with one hand is not the answer.
After a while I got a better idea of hand-over-hand and we just kept on going around and around the parking lot. Again, we didn't hit anything. Then we went out onto a mostly empty road for a little bit. Around the back of the Meijer, past our apartment, through a (green) light and onward. We decided to end the lesson when Asim started screaming again, and Maria tore into a parking lot. I just started laughing. It was pretty impressive, really.
I am trying not to yell too much. I think doing the same thing over and over is good, too. The car is insanely easy to drive (automatic) so that's not a problem. I think the next thing will be some more road driving where there's not a lot of traffic.
On Friday we went to the Design Studio (finally!) to pick out our colors and faucets and all that stuff. It went very smoothly and very quickly, and the woman wasn't nearly as big of a bitch as she has been. The only snag was that we want a custom microwave cabinet, and she has to get the price this week sometime. You see, we don't want the microwave above the stove -- we want a vent hood that sucks the air outside instead. And we don't want their microwave, we want to use ours since it's only about two years old and quite dandy. So we thought that having a cubby hole for the microwave would be nice so it's off the counter.
She also told us that we have to pay, in cash, for our custom options. What? Salesguy never mentioned this. So that's $3,000 for the insulation, $2,200 for the tankless water heater, and probably $300 for this cabinet. Ouch.
We went to see Salesguy afterward, and he apologized about it. He said that he should have told us that. And here's the thing -- had I known, I could have saved up for it. But I was under the impression that we were just cruising toward only having to pay closing costs (less than $2,000) so I could go ahead and start killing some credit card debt.
Well, hopefully he can work something out and we can pay a little bit very fortnight or something. Otherwise it's back to cash-advancing a credit card (ick) to appease them.
Not to mention that on Friday I also signed papers locking in our interest rate for 180 days. So the house better be done by then, otherwise I'm out a couple hundred more bucks!
Of course after making our selections, we thought about colors and whatnot even more and now need to go back and change some stuff. I'm hoping they don't give us a hard time about this. Particularly because nothing is set in stone, and we know exactly what we want to change to. (All the changes are color-related. Like, the color of the house.)
And no, we're not getting a blue or green house. Those aren't options.
Asim is still doing very well. He behaved nicely during the Design Studio appointment. I continue to feel bad for him because the apartment is heinously small, and I imagine he must get bored very quickly. (You know, like me.) He can crawl ridiculously fast now. I like to try to tire him out by walking across the apartment from one bedroom to the other so he has to crawl after me.
Work-wise, things are going well. I should be done with the long commute at the end of June still. There is work back in the office to go to, so I'm stoked about that. I'm more stoked at the possibility of bike commuting every day. I guess I'll start out at every other day and then go from there. I've ordered some panniers and new cleats for my shoes, so I'll be better equipped to handle the commute.
Anyway, that was on Saturday morning. So of course, we took a quick lesson around a neighborhood right after that. We didn't hit anything. She stayed on the right side of the road. Good and good.
Sunday we went for a longer lesson (Asim cried throughout the entire Saturday lesson) and Asim was a bit more calm. We went around a parking lot nearby a couple of dozen times. While she's driven in Pakistan just a little bit, we were basically starting from scratch. And I didn't realize how much I took for granted driving. For instance, try to describe in words to someone else where you put your hands when making a sharp right turn. And no, palming the wheel with one hand is not the answer.
After a while I got a better idea of hand-over-hand and we just kept on going around and around the parking lot. Again, we didn't hit anything. Then we went out onto a mostly empty road for a little bit. Around the back of the Meijer, past our apartment, through a (green) light and onward. We decided to end the lesson when Asim started screaming again, and Maria tore into a parking lot. I just started laughing. It was pretty impressive, really.
I am trying not to yell too much. I think doing the same thing over and over is good, too. The car is insanely easy to drive (automatic) so that's not a problem. I think the next thing will be some more road driving where there's not a lot of traffic.
On Friday we went to the Design Studio (finally!) to pick out our colors and faucets and all that stuff. It went very smoothly and very quickly, and the woman wasn't nearly as big of a bitch as she has been. The only snag was that we want a custom microwave cabinet, and she has to get the price this week sometime. You see, we don't want the microwave above the stove -- we want a vent hood that sucks the air outside instead. And we don't want their microwave, we want to use ours since it's only about two years old and quite dandy. So we thought that having a cubby hole for the microwave would be nice so it's off the counter.
She also told us that we have to pay, in cash, for our custom options. What? Salesguy never mentioned this. So that's $3,000 for the insulation, $2,200 for the tankless water heater, and probably $300 for this cabinet. Ouch.
We went to see Salesguy afterward, and he apologized about it. He said that he should have told us that. And here's the thing -- had I known, I could have saved up for it. But I was under the impression that we were just cruising toward only having to pay closing costs (less than $2,000) so I could go ahead and start killing some credit card debt.
Well, hopefully he can work something out and we can pay a little bit very fortnight or something. Otherwise it's back to cash-advancing a credit card (ick) to appease them.
Not to mention that on Friday I also signed papers locking in our interest rate for 180 days. So the house better be done by then, otherwise I'm out a couple hundred more bucks!
Of course after making our selections, we thought about colors and whatnot even more and now need to go back and change some stuff. I'm hoping they don't give us a hard time about this. Particularly because nothing is set in stone, and we know exactly what we want to change to. (All the changes are color-related. Like, the color of the house.)
And no, we're not getting a blue or green house. Those aren't options.
Asim is still doing very well. He behaved nicely during the Design Studio appointment. I continue to feel bad for him because the apartment is heinously small, and I imagine he must get bored very quickly. (You know, like me.) He can crawl ridiculously fast now. I like to try to tire him out by walking across the apartment from one bedroom to the other so he has to crawl after me.
Work-wise, things are going well. I should be done with the long commute at the end of June still. There is work back in the office to go to, so I'm stoked about that. I'm more stoked at the possibility of bike commuting every day. I guess I'll start out at every other day and then go from there. I've ordered some panniers and new cleats for my shoes, so I'll be better equipped to handle the commute.
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