"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Good Luck Tasgirl

Tasgirl,

Good luck completing your second marathon after completing chemotherapy. I hope it goes well at the New York City Marathon this weekend.

Chemo-Man

Monday, October 19, 2009

Ride Chemo-Man Ride





































I have found a new adventure – commuting to work by bicycle. I started riding my bike to work in July of this year. The idea came to me when I saw a TV news story on people who commute to work by bicycle and do it every day, no matter what the weather is outside. I got on Google Earth to check what possible routes I could take and was amazed to find that I could take mostly bike trails the entire way. So I tried it and now my commute to work has changed from a dull routine to a wonderful and enjoyable adventure.
This is not the first time I commuted to work by bicycle. In 2005 my family and I lived in Irvine California for six months while I was working on a temporary assignment at a Boeing facility in Anaheim. My commute started out with my wife driving me and my bike to a train station in Irvine. I would take the train to a station at the Angles baseball stadium. There I would get on my bike and ride about 7 miles to my work. About 4.2 miles of that was on a bike trail along the Santa Ana River. In the mornings when the sky was clear I had views of snow capped mountains.
My commute by bike now is just over 14 miles each way and it usually takes me about 1 hour to make the ride at a vigorous pace. This is not a leisure ride; I turn it into a good aerobic workout. Driving to work takes about 30 minutes each way. So the way I see it, I get a 2 hour workout with only 1 additional hour invested. Commuting by bicycle is more than just a workout for me. It sets up my day and evening. The ride in makes me feel better when I am at work, then the ride home helps flush out work stuff and gives me additional energy in the evening. Even though I push it, the ride is very enjoyable with beautiful scenery along most the way.

When I ride my bike I wear the same Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS unit and heart rate monitor that I wear when I run. So far this year since July I have logged about 579 miles on my bike, most are commuting miles. I try to ride to work about 3 days a week. Originally I was going to try for all 5 work days each week, but because of weather and family things I can only muster about 2 to 3 rides per week. That works out for the best anyways because I need time to continue my long distance running, which I would never give up. Last week I went for 8 mile run and my legs got pretty stiff afterwards. I would like to always be in good enough running shape to run a half marathon if one comes up, so I need to find a way to continue my running training along with riding bicycle to work.

If one wants to loose weight, riding bicycle is the way to go. When I ride 28 miles to work and back home, I burn over 1500 calories. I would have to run about 12 miles to burn the same amount of calories. I could ride to work five days a week and my legs wouldn’t get very sore or stiff, but even when I am in marathon shape I couldn’t run 12 miles a day for 5 days straight. Some runners can do it, but they are not average runners. The low impact of bicycle riding is a lot easier on the body. However, I have heard that some impact exercise is actually good for you because it helps maintain strong bones. A mix of various types of exercise is the best because it avoids injurys due to overuse. I will always be a long distance runner, but I have been looking for a way to get a more complete workout. Biking to work has added a new dimension to my physical and mental training.

Below are a few photos of my ride to work. More photos can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/LKStrandjord/MyCommute#.



I have two waterproof saddle bags for my belongings. I carry my laptop and office things in the left one and cloths and my lunch in the right one. The saddle bags have a quick release so I can carry into my office.



The bike I use is a mountain bike, which is not optimum for this type of travel, but comes in handing sometimes when the trail gets rough. I had a new type of handle bar installed. Rather than the old style round handle bars, it flares out providing more flat surface for the palm thus reduces tingling in the hands on long rides.




After a short ride through my neighborhood, I take county road 19 to the bike trail. The speed limit for cars is slow at 35 to 40 MPH and I have a wide shoulder to ride on, so riding on this road is comfortable.



The wonderful views start out right away along county road 19.



I pick up the Dakota bike trail in Navarre. The Dakota trail, which runs 13.5 miles from Wayzata to St. Bonifacius, was recently constructed and opened this year. If it wasn’t for this trail I would have to take a busy road with narrow or sometimes no shoulder. I won’t ride on busy roads with narrow shoulders. I take the trail only 5.5 miles from Navarre to Wayzata.



The Dakota trail works its way through Lake Minnetonka. Some parts of the trail go through neighborhoods of beautiful homes, other stretches through dense woods and open wetlands and through the middle of the exclusive Lafayette Club golf course, while other parts past wonderful vistas of the lake. Here the trail crosses over a channel between Crystal Bay and Lower Lake of Lake Minnetonka. Early in the morning a fishing boat probably on its way to a favorite fishing hole carves its way through Crystal Bay.



This is one of my favorite vistas near Tanager Lake.



When I reach Wayzata I leave the Dakota bike trail and take Ferndale Rd 0.7 miles through a neighborhood to the Luce Line bike trail.



The Luce Line Trail is a state trail that runs 63 miles from Minneapolis out to Cosmos Minnesota and takes me very close to my work. I take the Luce Line trail about 4.1 miles. The first 2.3 miles is limestone and remainder closer to my work is paved.



I go through three tunnels on the Luce Line trail. This one goes under Broadway Ave near Wayzata.



A morning fisherman is trying his luck at Gleason Lake near Wayzata. If you look carefully you can see many fishing lures hanging from the power lines above. Fortunate for the fisherman fishing line is not an electrical conductor.



Just on the east side of freeway 494 the Luce Line Trail passes through a small industrial area.



After about 4.1 miles on the Luce Line trail I leave the trail and ride through a neighborhood near my work in Plymouth MN. This last part of my commute is only 1.2 miles long.



After 14 miles door to door I arrive at my work in Plymouth MN. It typically takes me a little less than an hour to complete my ride. I have a locker in the men’s shower room. My office is on the right. Sometimes I see deer in the woods from my office.



On my way home I take a different way through my neighborhood. This is a neighborhood beach on Lake Minnetonka and about 2 blocks from my house. My best time so far to complete a one way commute is 55 minutes and 3 seconds.

See more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/LKStrandjord/MyCommute#