May Is Bike Month...

Which coincides with the Austin Commuter Challenge (some of you may have your own commuter challenges in your oh-so-progressive cities). It's given me extra motivation to make the 8+ mile each-way ride to work as frequently as possibly when I don't have the pup.

How's it going? I get to start my day with a metabolism boost. I spend less on gas and less time being annoyed by the drivers on Slo-pac. I get to cruise through some of Austin's finest neighborhoods. Stop at my favorite coffee shop on the way. I hear birds, I breathe the beautiful Spring-time air. On the way home it's usually dusk and honeysuckle is heavy in the air, which is refreshingly cool. Plenty of fresh laundry smells to sniff along the way as well.

It's so, so liberating and simple. Riding home tonight I took a different route than I normally do. At least on the rides home, I try to vary my route just a little each day. More than simply a means to an end, my bike ride provides me with a pinch of exploration wrapping up an otherwise normal day.