rants, raves, & randoms

You may recall that I used to walk/skateboard/bike to work.  This semester, though, I have been driving.  We moved quite a bit farther away from the college during the Christmas Break.  We used to be a little over a mile from the college; now we are a little over seven.  But, the distance isn’t as much the problem as is the topography.  Pretty much nothing in San Diego is flat.  In fact, there are several places along the coast where the elevation rises to a few hundred feet above sea level only blocks from the water.

So, I haven’t gotten up the guts to try riding my bike to work.  I know that I could do it, but I am worried about the practicality.  Given the hills between me and the college, I’d likely arrive at work quite unpresentable: sweaty, disheveled, tired.  Of course there is always the option of bringing clothes, even showering once I get there, but that extends the time commitment quite a bit.  I know, you can’t “have your cake and eat it too,” and I shouldn’t complain about having a 7-mile commute.  I do miss the time I spent on foot/skateboard/bike; it was kind of meditative and invigorating (though sometimes, after a long day, it was annoying and exhausting).

Here is what my old “commute” looked like:

And here is the new one:

Granted, the ride on the way to work would end with a pretty good downhill stint, but only after a 7%+ grade in the miles before…