Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Year's Off to a Great Start!

Well, 5 days in, and I already nearly have 100 miles on the bike. More than half of those miles are on my new hand-built 36-spoke wheel from Sellwood Cycle Repair. Hopefully, that means no more busted spokes (YAY!)


Total mileage for 2007 was 5,170.4 - a lot more than the 3,022 miles I pedalled in 2006. I'm shooting for an even more aggressive number this year - 8,000 miles. I think I have a good shot at pulling it off, especially since I've gone car-free.

In this last year, I got divorced, moved back into Portland and started living on my own, gave the car to my ex, started riding the bike for everything, bought new rain gear, bought a new wheel, new light, and a new tent, and became a member/owner at People's Coop in SE Portland (less than 1 mile from my apartment).

I haven't gone vegetarian yet, but I've gone mostly organic. Over this next year, I'm planning to move to more local food and sustainable practices, reduce my energy use, and stop eating most processed foods and go back to "real" food. Eventually I may go vegetarian, but at the least I'm going to greatly reduce my consumption of meat and animal products. There are a number of reasons for this, and maybe I'll go into it on my soapbox blog.

Anyway, lots of changes have happened, and many more are in store. Here's my details for today:

Today's Ride(s):
Distance: 29.49 miles
Time: 3 hours, 44 minutes (7.9 mph)

2008 Stats:
Distance: 97.65 miles
Total Time in Saddle: 11 hours, 14 minutes
Average Speed: 8.9 mph
Average Mileage: 19.53 miles / day

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I miss Oregon! Congrats on all the big changes and for setting yourself up for a great New Year with lots of awesome goals. Glad to have stumbled onto your site(s).

matt picio said...

Thanks! I hope to get to ride in Chicago next time I'm out there.