Friday, November 11, 2011

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 2

Today I am giving thanks for the nice ride bikes that I utilized all summer!

I wrote about a post about our commuter bike program earlier this year when I first purchased my annual membership.  I loved it from the get go and got so much use out of it.  I totally fell head-over-heels in love with biking.  I biked to work.  I biked to the grocery store.  I biked to church.  I biked to meet friends out at a bar downtown.  I bike home from happy hour.  I biked home from a night out on the town (that was probably my most interesting ride home...). 

Sadly, they put the bikes away this past weekend in preparation for our winter.  I was sad to see them go as it was a quick and easy way to cover distance.  It most certainly contributed to how little I drove this summer in fall.  In fact - I went from September 16th until October 30th without getting gas!!!  Isn't that incredible?  During that time, I was traveling quite a bit, so that is part of the reason why I wasn't driving much, but on top of that, I biked everywhere. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I drove to get groceries.  I am really proud of myself for embracing the European way of life and relying on a bike and my feet to get me everywhere!

Without further ado, here are my stats from late July - November 6th!

 I am really happy with my stats!  Plus, I still have 4 months left on my membership - so those numbers will only continue to climb. 

I look forward to the day in April when the bikes return.  I will greatly miss biking to work.  I always felt so chic and sort of French when I would to work in dresses or skirts or when I biked to work in skinny jeans + boots with my striped messenger bag that was made in France!  Oh la la, how I loved biking everywhere!

12 comments:

missris said...

This sounds like an amazing program! I wish they would do something like it in Pittsburgh to convince more people to bike--the traffic here is horrible :(

Nora said...

Apart from the fact that me and bikes don't get along (true story: one too many tumbles and accidents for me) I think that this is awesome! I love your stats and how green it is while being fun and healthy for you too :)

abbi said...

That sounds like such a great program. I haven't heard of anything like that (I also don't really live near a city) but would love to have something that available. It's pretty cool how it all works with the tracking as well.

Marlys said...

That program is awesome! I used to love to ride bike but have not done much in years! I hope to get a bike or have my old one refurbished when I retire! You've really saved money on gas!

Carolina John said...

Wow those stats are great! You really did a great job taking advantage of the program. how cool!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Very cool :) I'd be so scared to bike in the city- I stick to bike paths only, but I think it's awesome that you do!

Abby said...

I think this is way way way cool, Lisa!! I wish I could ride bike to work. But my commute is about 7 miles uphill. By the time I get to work, I'd be a hot & sweaty mess. Plus, my commute to & from work are in the dark!

Okay...I still want to see tipsy Lisa riding bike home from happy hour.

Also...does that program spit out the stats or did you calculate this. I kind of hope you did. I kind of think you did.....I love you :)

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I just realized, we never rode bikes when I was there! I think that, along with coconut ice cream, is one of the things we planned but never got around to. I guess I will have to visit next spring!

I think that's great that Minneapolis has that bike program and that you use it! It's a great way to save on gas and to get exercise (and have a safe way home from HH)!

Jeanie said...

This is really, really, really wonderful -- terrific program and it sounds like it so works with your city. I'm sort of with Nora about not getting on with bikes, much to Rick's chagrin! This inspires me to rethink things come spring!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Haha...I'm just picturing you saying "oh lala" riding in jeans, boots and stripes. Good work, Lisa. It's awesome that everything is so accessible by bike - the advantage of a big city.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I would love to bike more. I am too afraid to bike in the winter because of the ice, but this spring I hope to bust out my bike for the first time in a couple years!

Amber said...

One of my favourite parts about visiting you was riding those bikes around! It was such a FUN way to get around the city!! I am glad you took advantage of them all year long - that is a lot of miles!