Tomorrow is Earth Day! So what are you doing?
It’s been a while! Yes, it certainly has…I can only say I’ve been busy, then sick, then just lazy…but a lot of stuff has been building up that I’ve been wanting to write about, so I’m going to dedicate a bit of each week to get back on my 3-posts-a-week schedule.
So, for the two people out there that were paying attention, I hope you’re still up for reading a bit about the Wannabe Hippy 
…so let’s get started again, talking about Earth Day!
Every year since the late 60’s Earth Day has fallen on or about the 21st of April, in time for spring in most populated areas and hitting an opportune time for people to remember the outdoors is there for people to enjoy and experience. Personally, I’ve never made it a point to do anything particularly special for Earth Day, but this year I’ve joined up at the Google Earth Day 2008 website to list what I’ll be doing for Earth Day this year:
I’m cycling to work and back!
That’s right: 35 miles round trip, taking me about 2 hours one-way. I know it’s about 2 hours because last Thursday I did the round trip, leaving at 06:35 and arriving at about 08:40, covering 17.5 miles. That’s roughly 8.7 miles an hour, but hey I am basically out of shape and I can only get faster. There are a couple of major hills on the way but mainly on the way back, so I took my time and was able to relax a bit more than on the way to work.
I had to deal with some cramping and saddle soreness but I hadn’t really eaten anything before I left home (I did have protein shake, though) and on the way back I was going a little slower but I’d had loads of water and an energy bar before I left.
Tomorrow, the plan is to get up at 05:15, have some breakfast and a protein drink, set off at 6 and get to work around 8, with plenty of time before 08:30 to shower and change. I picked up a spare tube over the weekend just in case I get a flat (hopefully I won’t because I’m using Schwalbe City Jet tires, which are specifically for commuting and reviews on the ‘net say they’re pretty good at puncture resistance) and I even ordered a gel seat that should be a bit friendlier on my nether regions going over the street drains and pavement ripples on the lanes - it’s surprising how much pain is transferred to sore bits when going over just a strip of road paint…not to mention a sunken water drain!
I’ve got to adjust my rear and front dérailleurs to get them shifting perfectly, but I found a great site at bicycletutor.com that has videos and other stuff to get things sorted for the cycling novice. An even better site with loads more detail is the fantastic Sheldon Brown cycling website, and I found quite a bit of help about cycle commuting in the UK on the BBC H2G2 website and the Nutty Cyclist.
In addition to cycling in, I’m going to invite the folks at work (again) to help clean up the parking lot and the bushes that line the main road right next to the building. Every few months it just gets too filthy to live with and although I send out email requests for people to help, not one person yet has come out to help…so here’s hoping someone does something this time!
So wish me luck! It should be a fun Earth Day.
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