Biking for Fun
As a school employee, I’m currently temporarily unemployed and not bicycle commuting on a daily basis. However, I am getting some cycling in for fun and exercise.
Cycling for fun, as opposed to bicycle commuting, is a completely different animal. When I’m commuting to work, I’m usually barely awake and feel like I’m pedaling through mud. I’m also pushing to get to work on time, and my route isn’t particularly fun. On the way home, I don’t have to rush, but I don’t have a lot of energy to enjoy it, either.
When I set off for my parents’ house to check on their plants a few weeks ago, I didn’t need to be there at any particular time. I was going much further than I normally commute, but instead of slogging through the side streets, I flew down 122nd Avenue in top gear with a cheesy grin on my face. And when I left, I went down to the I-205 bike path and had a gorgeous ride back to Parkrose.
Since then, I’ve tried the I-84 bike path from 122nd to 181st, the I-205 bike path from Gateway Transit Center down to Prescott (I recommend down only unless you’re used to hills), and several different routes through the neighborhood. All fun and relaxing!
My only problem now is getting bored (which might be part of the problem with my regular commute). Taking the same routes over and over does get old. There are plenty of places to go in Portland, but there are also lots of hills, and I’m still very overweight, so that limits my options for now.
This post has 4 comments
August 8th, 2009
Springwater Corridor! I know I was only in town for three months, but I rode on it a LOT and never got bored–things changed too much in the vegetation and the creek, and there are so many possibly destinations. I do like to have a destination, most of the time, though it’s occasionally a challenge to come up with many that don’t involve spending money. There aren’t that many hills, either, except toward the end of the Hawthorne side, and I found them easier than they looked (remember that I moved from completely flat Sacramento, so I wasn’t overly experienced with hills). Free destinations on the Springwater Corridor include the Gresham Library, the Sellwood Library, visiting Melody, and browsing the Pendleton Outlet (too expensive to be actually tempted to buy anything, but LOVELY to look at the bolts of woolen fabric). Also your brothers.
August 8th, 2009
But it’s all the way across tooooowwwwwwwwnnnnnn!
Which is more of a time issue than a difficulty issue.
August 10th, 2009
I have meaning to buy a bike. I am afraid to ride it on the roads of China, but there is a nice ring-road around our development.
August 10th, 2009
I thought cycling was common in China? Maybe not where you live, I suppose.