What gets you out the door?

Oooh White Castle. So much better than Krystal – although I did visit the one in Bristol, VA.

Generally, as long as I don’t feel really tired, it’s a joy to get on the bike and just pedal off. Having a GPS and actually logging miles motivates me because I like seeing maps/data, and I also have slight hoarder/OCD tendencies – every new bike ride is an addition. 😮 I’m still also amazed at how easy and cheap it is to get miles out of a bicycle.

Most weekdays, having to get to my office on means either driving, metro, cycling or a combination thereof and there’s really no contest. It’s motivation enough knowing I get to ride in to start and finish my work day. Something else that really helps is having quite a lot of route options to get home so I can mix up the riding.

Another motivation is of course health/sport. I’ve been never terribly athletic and definitely not built for rugby or anything like that – but cycling fits my body type quite well, and doesn’t jar my knees like cross-country running did. So the fact I can push myself and get positive feedback mentally and physically helps a lot as well.

It’s also great that maybe a couple times a month I’ll run into someone else I know on my ride. Never did that in the car.

The abort/retry/fail? days are when something feels really wrong, like a sharp knee pain, etc. Something that could be made worse by riding on.

Here’s DaveK’s favorite motivational quote:

“I do today what others won’t, so that tomorrow I do what others CAN’T!”

On good days: I know I *have* to ride on good days. The longer I go without a ride, the more my back hurts me. If it’s a good day out, I know I need to take advantage of it or I’ll be hurting later.

On bad days: My hard head. Though “bad days” for other people aren’t always bad for me. Last Tuesday’s rain was awesome, I felt incredible after the ride. Despite being completely soaked from head to toe. Bad days for me would be really hot days, or really cold days. I’m a California boy, and don’t like extreme temperatures. I just know I can temper the extremes with common sense, e.g. lots of water, or layered clothing. So it’s also about just conquering what I see as a challenge.

On the worst days: I don’t mind driving as much as some people do. My drive from Bethesda to Bowie can be as short as 25 minutes (20 if traffic is really flying). I haven’t tried commuting in snow for 10+ years, and that commute was only about 5 miles. This year I’m determined to ride in any weather, and my motivation is knowing that I need to be on the bike or the pain starts building.

On the dangerous days: Dangerous days to me are the threat of lightning. I’m sort of scared of it, so if there are severe t-storms I’ll drive. If I get a nice ride in the AM, only to see severe t-storms or other dangerous issues in the PM, I have the motivation that knowing I can get out of trouble using Metro. When my spoke broke, I took a bus home because it was before 7pm. It was a long ride, but I got home. Knowing I have a back-up plan (two if I want to call my son, but he works), gives me motivation to at least attempt a commute.

I think the common theme for me is the arthritis in my spine. I didn’t believe so at first, but have come to realize that cycling really does seem to help lessen the pain. After a couple of days without cycling, the pain starts to increase. It took a few months of regular on again/off again cycling to realize it, but I have seen the light.

Bacon. And the promise of more bacon to come.

Can’t get to Valhalla unless one rides on dangerous days.
Just sayin’.

I have weighed as much as 475 pounds, and had to walk with a cane.

I now weigh about 300 pounds less, and ride thousands of miles a year.

I’m not sure there’s a causation here, but I’m pretty sure there’s a correlation

@Dickie 29068 wrote:

According to Wiki, and I quote: “Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag and the goat, both described as standing atop Valhalla and consuming the foliage of the tree”.. So, out of you and Dirt, who is the Goat?

Year of the Goat here.
Baaaaa.

On good days: Given traffic around here, most of the errands I run and my commute to work are at least as convenient by bike as by car or public transportation. Since biking leaves me in a better mood, it’s not a hard choice.

On bad days: Tired and grumpy on Metro, or a little more tired and a lot less grumpy on a bike? Still not a hard choice.

On the worst days: I don’t think I’ve had one in a while. If I really can’t bike, Metro isn’t a terrible option.

On the dangerous days: I generally don’t bike if it’s both cold and wet, or if it’s icy. I don’t mind summer rain, and I don’t mind cold, but cold and wet I’m not really prepared for. And lightning. I don’t do lightning.