I rode my bike to work today. It was OK, and I got there on time (according to the clock on the coffeemaker, I was actually a little bit early), but I’m definitely out of shape. I drove home because I had church tonight and needed the car to get there.
One cool thing about my new job: My boss is letting me stash my bike in the storage shed whenever I have to leave it overnight. That means I won’t have to walk to work on mornings when I’m planning to drive home. Sweet!
My plan is to drive to work on Monday mornings, ride the bike home, ride to and from work on Tuesdays, ride to work on Wednesdays, drive home so I can go to church, drive to work on Thursdays so I’ve got the car, ride the bike home, ride to work on Fridays, and drive back home so I have the car for the weekend. That works out to six 1.7-mile bike rides a week. And if I feel like riding on a weekend, I can always go get the bike and do some training on my day off.
Maybe someday that will sound like fun. Right now, it’s a little overwhelming … but then again, the idea of running a mile and a half was a little overwhelming five years ago, and I’ve run two marathons since then, so maybe I’m not off the deep end for thinking I might be able to ride a century one of these days.
Emily
Red Fork Hippie 
When I lived in State College I had to walk or ride a bike almost 2 miles to and from work every single day — only since it is so mountainous there, the bike rides were interesting — 20 minutes, huffing and puffing, the whole way uphill TO work, and then only 5 minutes to get back home again at the end of my shift — braking the whole way!!!
So next time you’re discouraged, just be thankful you live in flatland!!