And the legs are sore!
My commute is 7miles each way across a nice little burb. The last mile is on a 2-lane blacktop. Heavy industrial area, no real shoulder, 45mph limit. Traffic either crawling or doing 60. I've been biking it for 15yrs.
For a month now there's been major construction along this road and the shoddy shoulder (such as it is) is gone, as in shaved down 18" to the ground. Heavy machinery pushing dirt where the shoulder used to be. I cannot bike it without taking the lane. I am 'within my rights' to take the lane but I consider that to be 1) too inconsiderate 2) too dangerous. Much as I hated to do it, i started to drive to work every day. Then I started to get fat(ter) and sleep poorly.
Last week, screw it. Got up at 5:15 and walked to work. 7miles took 1:48, humping along at a good clip. 2hr return trip as I start to suffer from heat and exhausted legs.
Today, I RAN it. Well, intervals: 100steps walk, 100 steps run. My legs are sore and my feet are barkin. But what a rush!
Pic of the road pre-construction, and pic of the route attached. The route says 6.9miles but it is 7.1 door to door. The road pic was taken from my bike cam, pretty sketchy at the best of times. I'll get a pic of the construction.
Amazing how fast my body is adapting to the exercise. Day 1 'bout killed me and I was sore. Within 3 days walking was no problem. My goal is to run it the whole way, and get to the 1hr mark. It has been 78-82F in the morning and 98-103F in the afternoon. I carry 1 liter of electrolyte water and refill halfway home. I'm doing this in Chaco Z1 sandals, which are awesome.
TL/DR:
Commuting 14miles r/t via foot. In Texas. In Summer. It sucks but is kinda awesome.
