Well, I’d like to congratulate myself and say that I’ve done a great job.  -grab myself a cookie, a balloon and a pat on the back. Yep -other than doctor’s appointments and other necessary uses of the car, I’ve not driven to work this past month.  In truth, I did take the VW on a weekend adventure to the mountains.  It was great.  I had awesome music and actually enjoyed driving -a joy that had only become a vague memory or feeling of unease that occurred as I cursed the driver in front of me for some a-hole move or other.  Wasn’t this supposed to be fun?  Yes, it is, but daily commuting sucks away the soul and leaves an empty, crusty, brittle shell.  So, I skip the daily commute and enjoy driving again.

A week ago, a typical Colorado spring snowstorm dumped two feet of snow on the ground so I put on my nasty old Ugg boots (my mother insisted I have them even though I just don’t get it -I wear them to walk the dog) and trudged up the the bus stop.  People offered me rides on two occasions and I relished the opportunity for a five-minute friendship.

It felt good to commune and commute with new people.  I now have a regular bus and a regular bus -homie.  It feels similar to having a male hair dresser -we talk about everything; nothing is taboo; comments are outrageous, truthful, sincere and hilarious.

I fell off the bus this week!  I suppose that may have been the impetus for updating the ole blog; to confess my sins and success.  I have driven to work every day.  Driving was the most justifiable yesterday.

I tore the valve stem out of my bike tire while trying to inflate the rotten thing.  I had decided at the last minute to bike instead of walk and figured the time it would take to inflate the tire (instead of departing immediately for the bus) could be made up for by the increased speed of travel.  When the valve stem ripped out of the rim it was too late to walk to the bus and hope to arrive at work on time.

Of course, I could have taken care of my bike tires the night before but….  I like to live on the edge and the valve stem would have torn sooner rather than later anyway.  On the plus side, I invested money in new tubes for my bike and new cork wrap for the handlebars.  I changed the tube myself last night.  I was a bit intimidated by the cassette, derailleur and chain and for a moment after I’d already partially removed the tire from the wheel, considered taking it to a bike shop to have the tube changed.

I sat back in a chair and stared at the bike for a few minutes, distracted myself with other things in the kitchen then returned to pondering the bike.  I can’t say whether it was the shame of having to bring a partially disassembled bike to the bikesmith or the realization that if I didn’t change the tire myself, I’d have to admit to myself that I was defeated by such a simple mechanical contraption (pride).  I knew I was smarter than that.  In the end, I decided to give it another go and you know what?   My bike is riding fine today.  Feeling like a champ, I next opened a beer and tore into the handle bar padding, replacing it with beautiful white cork wrap.  [pics to come].  My next project will be the seat and possibly a set of panniers and a rack.

So, why didn’t I ride it to work or the bus today?  Well…. It is far easier to justify driving because the benefits are so tangible than it is to justify not driving because the benefits are specious at times and intangible.  As I mentioned before, the joy of driving has returned and my car is apparently something of an addiction.

I have a kickball game tonight way across the metropolitan area and a dog who needs a walk after work and little time between the end of the work day and the kickoff.  This is one of the problems with living neither directly where I work or play.  Long story short -it may be less expensive to hire a dog walker.  This is something to look into…

Advertisement