So, what have we learned? First of all, there are costs of driving everywhere. Gas, of course, and maintenance on the vehicle, are costs of loading up the minivan. However, there's also the cost of not seeing, experiencing, or knowing things while riding blissfully along in our vehicle. The leaves, which are starting to change here, and the few that have fallen crunch happily under the boys tires, remind me I might not have enjoyed the start of autumn nearly as much without experiencing those sites and sounds. There are several routes to our school, but the primary one - the most direct with bike lanes & traffic signals - is so noisy and trafficked that we have enjoyed the quiet of several neighboring streets, even if they take a bit more time and caution. I've learned to ask for, and accept, help - like the friends who are willing to include a couple items for me when they go to Costco, so I don't have to make my own 20-mile trip. Finally, there is a "decompression" period that biking, and its allowance for some solitude, active attention, and physical exertion build into the beginning and end of each school day. This is a very healthy addition to our commute, and not having it before was probably a cost I hadn't recognized.
There are also considerable costs to choosing against driving. Time, for example. We have to build in extra time for getting places, and on top of the difference in speed, I hadn't realized that every trip would require an extra ten minutes - five to get the bikes, helmets, et al out of the shed & ready to go, and five to load and lock bikes at our destination. In the first few days, it was even more time as we all figured out the best system for loading & unloading! I hadn't counted on this, and was easily frustrated when our early starts and extra time melted away, minute by minute. Another big cost is convenience; instead of running a quick errand here and there, or heading back when one item is forgotten, or happily meeting up with several people in several different places, I need to to "measure twice and bike once," to avoid making extra trips anywhere. There is a cost for equipment, like additional lights and safety gear, that probably takes the place of gas in this particular challenge. And the more obvious loss: calories. Of course, this may be a good thing, given that my pants are looser. Still, it must be accounted for as I find I'm actually worn out if I skip eating a meal or snack during the day, and there's no good way to grab a bite while pedaling!
Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I want to be clear that this isn't a car-less month for us. While I'm aiming to keep driving my vehicle to a minimum, we have adopted some habits of a one-vehicle household. This means we sometimes drive Mr. Kenobi's car on the weekends (like when going to multiple shops to find a new bike for Obi-1, or crossing town for our first soccer game, or getting home from my 10K run). Also, he has driven himself to work often, and I'm not asking him to join the challenge or count his driving (given his 24-mile roundtrip commute, it's a big commitment each time he does bike!) To be clear, I don't see any of this as cheating on our 100-mile challenge. I still carefully plan my time & trips during each week, and my goal is to limit miles my own vehicle. While haven't put many collective miles on his car, we probably couldn't pull this challenge off otherwise.
For those keeping track, here are the numbers:
- 32 miles driven on the minivan
- 15 days into the challenge
- 8 school days
- 4 soccer practices
- 4 neighbor/friend kids who've biked with us on at least one trip
- 4 new bike lights, attached with zip ties to the Obi's helmets
- 3 falls or accidents, resulting in minor injuries
- 3 family bike rides for a meal or other excursion
- 3 mid-week grocery stops after school, picking up small things with 3 kids
- 2 trips riding with a neighbor or friend, instead of driving myself
- 2 sets of fenders, to keep mud from streaking our backs
- 1 new bike (Obi-1's birthday present, which also meant Obi-2 got to "move up")
- 1 trip to the bike shop to fix my brakes
- 1 major grocery run, with a full, heavy trailer of groceries and impatient kids afterward
- 1 rainstorm
The real test continues. I have "budgeted" for some major accumulated driving in the coming days, and if I do all of it, we only have about 23 miles of unaccounted-for time on the van this month. It doesn't look like the weather will cooperate, and we may have soggy leaves instead of the pleasant crunch we've enjoyed. It's starting to get colder, and the daylight time is shrinking. Yesterday, as we left the school building on bikes, it began to rain. By the time we got home, we were all pretty wet, and this morning, it was pouring. I asked the boys if they'd rather ride in the car, but they actually wanted to bike to school. So, I prepared to haul Obi-2 & Obi-3 in the trailer while Obi-1 donned his new rain gear. Unfortunately, he has misplaced his rain coat, so we did end up driving. In some ways, I was honestly relieved, although it was a little odd to load into the van and back out of the driveway! I'm pretty sure that we'll have some other chances to get soaked again soon, and hopeful we'll still meet our goal while the boys stay enthused. I'll keep you posted.
Oh - and one more new experience. Yesterday, while biking home from the store, towing a trailer, and baby Obi-3 happily seated behind mine, I heard a whistle aimed my way. Yup... the type of thing you only see in movies where pretty women walk by construction sites! That, my friends, has never happened while I was driving a minivan.
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