Daily Challenge 22: Tolmie State Park

Today the whole family went out to Tolmie State Park and took a short hike around on the trails. It takes time, however, moving at the pace of a three-year-old! We walked half of the cedar trail and down to the beach. The log didn't include a short distance down to the trail, and the first part of the trail, because I hadn't started tracking right away.

Daily Challenge 21: Gap

There was a big gap this week in getting out on the bike or running. Lots of reasons, from work and not feeling well. Today I got out and rode to town to pay the water bill and check the mail. There was a flyer from Thurston Here to There, a site designed to promote alternate transportation in Thurston County! Appropriate, then, that I rode the trike into town to run those errands. They also have a Facebook page. It's nice to see some efforts there. I do want to ride to work more, it just takes so much time!

Daily Challenge 20: Getting Colder

Still not feeling the greatest this morning. I decided to go for a ride anyway. It's getting colder now. I bundled up more and still felt cold most of the ride.

Daily Challenge 19: Rest Days

After eighteen days of going out every day, I ended up taking a couple rest days and didn't go out on Friday or Saturday for a ride or run. I actually felt sick this weekend. I'm not sure if I'm fighting something or what, but today I decided that I couldn't let it go without getting out. Days of not riding were getting to me. I took a quick spin around town as the sun set. It felt good to get on the bike! Although I'm trying to get out every day, it's okay if I take days off now and then. I just want the days off to be the exception rather than the rule!

Daily Challenge 18: Long Commute

Today I rode the mountain bike to work, taking one of the longer routes into work (21 miles @ 13.37 avg/mph), mostly on the Chehalis-Western Trail. The sculpture in the picture is at the Monarch Contemporary Art Center and Sculpture Park. It was a foggy morning, but not as cold as it seemed at first. I stopped along the way to take off my outer layers.

It was warmer and mostly clear and sunny on the ride home after work. I felt tired from the morning ride so I took a slightly shorter route with more time on the streets before hitting the trail for the last stretch, which cut off about four miles.

Daily Challenge 17: Light Pollution

After days of clear skies, it was actually cloudy when I went out this morning to ride. Yesterday I looked at my camera manual and figured out how to take a "slow sync" picture for low light conditions. The result, with a little adjustment, is a much closer approximation to what I see when I'm riding. The picture really shows how much even a small town lights up the area and is reflected in the clouds above.

Daily Challenge 16: Too Early

Sleepy dog wants to know why I'm up so early riding! I took a quick spin out around town, stopped at the post office and came home.

Daily Challenge 15: Deer Crossing

I went out this morning for a quick run around the block. Along the way I encountered a few deer near the road and managed to get a picture.

Daily Challenge 14: Plant Identification

Today I took the trike out for a spin. First, I added air to the tires with the new floor pump. It worked really well. The trike rode much better with the tires properly inflated! Since yesterday I headed down the Yelm-Tenino trail to the end in Tenino, today I thought I'd go the other way.

I went all the way to the end of the trail but didn't cross the highway to ride on the Prairie Line trail. I turned around at the trailhead.

Yelm Trailhead

Along the stretch in Yelm they've added plant identification signs along both sides of the trail. I took my time coming back to take a look at the different signs.

Ocean Spray Sign

It's nice to see features like this added to the trail. I'd also like to see artwork added, metal and wood sculptures would be cool!

Anyway, nice ride today. It also marks two straight weeks on my daily challenge to get out and do something each day. I've ridden the mountain bike or the trike, or I've gone for a run, each day for the past two weeks. I'm going to keep going!

Daily Challenge 13: There and Back Again

Wow! It's so nice to ride on warm, sunny days! I'd almost forgotten with my starlight rides. I'd only meant to go out for an hour or so, but once I started riding I just kept going down the trail. I kept going when the paved trail ended, but when the gravel path ended then I turned around and headed back the other way. I stopped over at the Tenino library to say hello to folks, then headed home.

Nice day, nice ride.

Daily Challenge 12: The Mist

I was out early again this morning, riding off into the darkness under a clear starry sky. Although the skies were clear there were long stretches of the trail shrouded in ground fog. It's hard to get a good picture of it. The camera (at least in my hands) doesn't capture the scene the way I see it. One of these days I'll have to do some paintings and see if I can capture it better.

Daily Challenge 11: Embrace the Darkness

Most mornings, if I get out and run or ride the bike or ride the trike, it's going to be dark. Some mornings like today are crystal clear and I can enjoy looking up at the stars as I run. The moon today is down to a fingernail clipping. Most of the light came from the street lights and the porch lights on at some of the houses and between those, deep pools of darkness. I usually don't have time to wait until it gets light and soon it won't matter. I'll be leaving for work in the dark too. And it won't be long after that before I'm getting home in the dark.

It's time to embrace the darkness and keep going out anyway.

Daily Challenge 10: Smoky

Smoky day today! It doesn't show in the picture but I was riding toward a cloudy, smoky sky. There was a controlled burn and it had filled the air around town with smoke. This morning it was cold, I was tired, and so I didn't get out to ride until after work.

Daily Challenge 9: 43 Shades of Cold

I took a quick spin up to the post office today. It's getting cold! I could have used some more layers on my hands, but it wasn't too bad. 43°F degrees this morning.

Daily Challenge 8: A River Runs Through It

I rode to work today and couldn't have asked for a nicer day! On the way home I stopped at the mechanic's to see if the car was fixed. It wasn't ready yet, they'd run into a couple snags, so I went on home, changed and walked back up to the mechanic's to get the car. It's fixed! I love riding the bike, but it's nice to have options. It took nearly three hours out of my day to commute by bike. If I did that every day it'd really cut into time spent writing and with my family.

Daily Challenge 7: Bent Rider

Yesterday my car broke down on the way to the store. Fortunately, we hadn't gotten all that far from home, just over two miles. My wife and son (only three), walked on home. While they did that I waited for the tow truck to come. This was all a new experience for me. I've never had a car break down like that before!

When the tow truck arrived we discovered that I didn't have an 'I' ring/screw that hooks to the front of the car for them to pull it up onto the tow truck. I gave the driver permission to do what she could and she got it up there without (I think) any damage to the car. We took it in to a shop right there in Rainier but I won't really know what's wrong until tomorrow since they're closed.

The positives with the experience? The help we got from everyone. A couple strong guys pulled over and helped push the car out of the road. The insurance folks I talked to on the phone were very helpful at getting roadside assistance. The tow truck driver made that whole process easy. Ron, the gentleman that turned around and came back to give me a ride when he saw me walking down the street carrying our car seat. And my mother-in-law who graciously came up a day early so that we could still get shopping done before everyone (except me) goes on a trip to the Oregon coast.

The downside? The expense and the unknown factor. Based on reading I did I think it was probably the plastic shift carrier that broke, but I don't know. Even if that's the case, I don't know how long it'll take to get the parts and get it fixed. I can't do anything about that but wait and see.

With all of that going on I didn't get to the trike yesterday.

Today I got up, worked on editing my latest book, and then when everyone else went out to do the shopping I got to work on the bike and trike.

I installed new clipless pedals on the mountain bike. I cleaned it and lubed the chain. Until the car gets fixed it's going to be my primary means of transportation to and from work. That's ~17 miles each way, starting tomorrow. I like riding and commuting by bike but it does take a lot of time at that distance. Plus I'll still have to deal with the car.

I put the other pedals back on the trike, cleaned and lubed it too. The tires needed air after sitting for over a year. I don't have a floor pump yet that works with presta valves but my hand pump worked well enough to get some air. The pressure wasn't as high as I'd like but enough to ride.

It was lots of fun to get out on the trike! I've missed it. Very different feeling sitting, reclined, inches from the road instead of being perched up on a 29" mountain bike! My muscles told me that they weren't used to riding in that position, so I just took a short ride. I passed another recumbent, a hand-crank recumbent.

My plan, going forward, is to alternate my exercise between the mountain bike, the trike, and running. It'll depend on my mood.

On the other hand, if the car can't be fixed, or is too expensive to fix right now, then I'll be predominantly riding the mountain bike, because I'll have to commute and it's faster than the trike. I might use the trike to ride to the store in Yelm because I've got my plastic tub panniers I made that I could carry groceries. We'll see!

Daily Challenge 6: Barely Morning & Chased by Dogs

I like riding when the sun is up. I didn't have to go to the day job today, so I was able to get a bit more sleep and go once it was light. Don't get me wrong, riding in the dark with the stars out is nice too. Given the choice, I'd rather ride once the sun comes up. It's warming up fast today. I stopped on my loop and took off a layer because I was getting too warm.

The dogs were out today too. Two ran out into the street after me but their enthusiasm lagged quickly. Several other dogs 'chased' me within the confines of their yards.

If I have time later I'd like to work on the trike, get the new pedals installed and take it out for a test ride.

Daily Challenge 5: Going Postal

I took a short ride this morning, just down to the post office and back. I'd hoped that the new issue of my indie writer magazine, Exposed Monthly, would have arrived, but it wasn't there. The issues are available free online and as e-books, or in print from MagCloud. I'm working on getting all of my books out in print as well as updating them with new original art.

My new pedals arrived yesterday! This weekend I plan to get the trike up and running again! That'll be fun!

Daily Challenge 4: Moonlighting

My cell phone alarm sounded at 4:14 AM with the cries of seagulls. The Sleep as Android app faded in the seagull cries but I was already awake. I tapped the button to dismiss the alarm and sat up.

Time to ride!

Last night I'd laid out my clothes. I planned to dress warmer today, in layers. I put on cycling shorts, long cycling pants, a short-sleeve jersey, long-sleeve jersey and light jacket. I wore my full-fingered gloves and socks today. It felt pretty warm getting dressed but once I was outside I was cool and comfortable. 

I rode down to the post office first and checked my box. After that I went on down the trail to the intersection with the Chehalis Western Trail where I stopped and took the picture of the bike. It looks really dark, but that's just the camera. Except  for some ground fog in patches, the morning was clear with lots of stars and a half-moon providing plenty of light to see. I also had my light on my helmet, so seeing wasn't a problem.

It was a nice ride and a good way to start the day!

Daily Challenge 3: Running

I'm alternating running, riding the mountain bike, and riding the trike. Over time I expect my distances and time to increase, but I'm trying to take it easy and not push too hard. It was a nice moonlit morning again today. No problem seeing where I was going!

Daily Challenge 2: Chilly Morning

I got up early and rode down the Yelm-Tenino trail to the intersection with the Chehalis Western Trail. It looks really dark in the picture, but there was actually a lot of moonlight and I had a light on my helmet. The batteries weren't doing so great, so the light was dim, but I didn't have any problem seeing clearly. The phone camera just doesn't work well at low light levels!

I took the phone out to take the picture and discovered that I wasn't actually tracking the ride. I started tracking then and doubled the distance time on the entry below. It probably didn't take as long to get there as it did to get back, but that's fine. It's close enough.

Daily Challenge 1: Back on the Bike

Back in July I was planning on doing the Tour Divide next year, in June 2013. Then I changed my mind. It's still a goal of mine, but I have other things that I'm focusing on right now. Mostly my writing and artwork. In June and July next year, right when I would have been riding the Tour Divide, I'm attending too extremely important writing workshops taught by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. No way I could miss those workshops.

Plus I couldn't dedicate the time needed to build my mileage for the Divide. Maybe you can't really train for the ride, but I haven't done over fifty miles in a day yet. I at least need to be able to do a few back-to-back hundred plus mile days. That's only one of the few things I need to do to train for the divide, but it's important.

After putting aside my Divide ambitions I was grieving a bit. That led me to put the bike away for a few weeks. I didn't ride at all.

As I knew it would, that feeling ebbed and went away. I love riding the bike. It's important that I get out and exercise. My day job, and my creative jobs, are essentially sedentary. I need to exercise. I can't always devote the time to ride to work (it takes ~ 3 hours), but that doesn't mean I can't ride.

So I'm starting a new daily challenge. I find challenges helpful. With writing and art doing it each day is crucial. Riding a bike is no different. I was reminded of this recently over on CTRL+Paint.
 
CtrlPaint - The Drawing Habit from matt kohr on Vimeo.

Not only does he mention bicycling, but talks about the need for a daily routine while doing a cool drawing.

The new daily challenge is simple. Get out and ride, or run, each day. At least a half-hour, come rain or sun or snow. If I have the day off the day job I plan to go farther, at least an hour. That means spending 4.5 hours per week, minimum, exercising. I can do that.

Today I went out and rode down to McIntosh Lake and back home. It was warm and sunny without being hot. I saw quite a few other people out on the trail, enjoying the weather. It felt really good to get on the bike again. My ride didn't take me quite an hour, but close enough. I'm not going to stress about a few minutes.

I want to get new pedals for my trike so I can start alternating between it and the mountain bike and running. More variety sounds like it'll be good, interesting and healthy. I'll keep posting about my progress. Most posts will probably end up being short, but I want to keep some sort of a record. If I miss a day, well, then I'll just go out the next day!