Something Old Something New...biking in my Life....

I am trying my hardest to make my Bicycle my mode of transportation. It is proving not to be easy, with three kids to haul around. Seriously, I would very much like to do this for my health and for the environment's health. The last two weeks while the kids have been out of school, I have been able to accomplish more of my goal, since they did not have to be run from point "A" to point "Q".

I have enjoyed this time and have made a couple long treks and then several trips to the grocery store and into town, Lörrach. It has been a joy to discover how relaxing it can be to go by bike. The discovery of a slower mode of transportation, but at the same time getting there faster than walking, has been a great revelation to body and spirit. Yea it may seem like a "duh, bikes are faster than walking and slower than cars" but what I have found is that I have time to think. I have time to listen. I have time to look around. With my walking I was always "exercising", trying to get from here to there for the sole purpose of getting my heart rate up, and walking off calories and finishing the workout. With biking as transportation, I move from here to there because I must be here or there to visit a friend, get food, or make an appointment; and along the way I get the added benefits of stopping to smell the roses, or picking that four leaf clover, or having the chance visit with a friend along the way.

My thinking is trying to look this way: that if I am going anyway, just how much longer would it be by bike than auto?, do I need to pick up anybody?, can I carry what I need home in a bike basket?, is it raining too hard?. If the answers are: less than 30 minutes, no, yes and no... then my decision is made that I will ride , if any no's, then most likely I will drive. However for the last two weeks, it has been mostly "yeses". With school starting up, it will be a bit more difficult, but maybe this is the start to a new mind set.

Here is an intersting link about biking.
www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/05__Culture/01/01/02/Feature__2.html