The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Throw Down the Gauntlet => Topic started by: yolfer on April 01, 2013, 11:50:47 AM
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Flowers are blooming, the sun is out (sometimes) and MMM himself is throwing down the gauntlet this month (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/04/01/mmm-challenge-anti-automobile-april/). The stars are aligned for an AAAA (Awesome Anti-Automobile April) Biking Challenge!!
For the impatient, here's the April Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am8qaK8Qf80edHhoODJ3MllkaHJVaU5PczY0aUtXY3c#gid=1
(Let me know if there are any problems with it or if you need help adding yourself)
Now some stats for March:
We had 39 participants (a record I think!) AND, we've logged a cumulative 24,000 miles! That's about enough to CIRCLE PLANET EARTH!!!! Repeat: we have orbited planet earth on bicycles. Mission Control, do you copy?
And we prevented 12 TONS of CO2 from polluting the environment.
Once again, here's the spreadsheet link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am8qaK8Qf80edHhoODJ3MllkaHJVaU5PczY0aUtXY3c#gid=1
Happy Cycling!
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I am thinking there might be a permissions problem with the tabs. I am unable to edit mine. Is there something you have to "tweak" in the share settings?
In any case thanks for setting this up month after month Yolfer! I find it to be a great motivator.
YAR
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Awesome! I'm committed to bike commuting this month.
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I am thinking there might be a permissions problem with the tabs. I am unable to edit mine. Is there something you have to "tweak" in the share settings?
In any case thanks for setting this up month after month Yolfer! I find it to be a great motivator.
YAR
You're right, thanks for catching that! I had it set to read-only.
Should be fixed now! Let me know whether or not it works. Sorry about that.
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Had some knee pain on Saturday. Going to take a few days off and heal up. No sense in risking it.
I'm excited for this month, can't wait to get on the bike. It's going to be awesome!
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I need an anti-car focus month. I've been on a record low for the past two months for bike mileage, and we ate out far too often last month as well (blowing my food budget badly).
Stupidly enough, as I get back into a good training mode on the bike, I will be driving or car pooling a couple of days per week to get to evening rides. I'm willing to do this because I enjoy the people, the speed, and the general workout. Other than those days, I'll be car pooling and riding the bike to/from work and local errands.
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I hope to up my game this month! I logged 100 miles in March (ugh, only 100!), I am shooting for significantly more this month. Went 18 this morning.
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This is such a great challenge, thank you yolfer for continuing on! Will you change my count from miles to kilometers? I changed it in my sheet, but don't know how to change it versus the summary. Thank you!
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Had some knee pain on Saturday. Going to take a few days off and heal up. No sense in risking it.
I'm excited for this month, can't wait to get on the bike. It's going to be awesome!
I have knee pain every day...then again, I am an old "former athlete".
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What about adding feet to the table and making it a biking/walking challenge (like MMM's Anti-Automobile April challenge)? I love the biking challenge, but if we added walking, perhaps others who don't bike would join and reduce their driving. We could calculate the miles walked separately from the miles biked, or we could just start another challenge...
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What about adding feet to the table and making it a biking/walking challenge (like MMM's Anti-Automobile April challenge)? I love the biking challenge, but if we added walking, perhaps others who don't bike would join and reduce their driving. We could calculate the miles walked separately from the miles biked, or we could just start another challenge...
I like this idea :)
It's April second... and I've already driven my car twice!
On Monday I had to drive my car about half a block so I wouldn't get a ticket during street cleaning... today I had to drive my car to the other side of the street so I wouldn't get a ticket during street cleaning.
Sooooo much gas wasted with my long, frivolous drives.
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I'd like to participate, if someone could add my personal total to the overall summary page, that would be great.
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This is such a great challenge, thank you yolfer for continuing on! Will you change my count from miles to kilometers? I changed it in my sheet, but don't know how to change it versus the summary. Thank you!
Fixed! Not sure how that got broken. Any other KM users? Speak up and I'll convert your total on the Main page.
I'd like to participate, if someone could add my personal total to the overall summary page, that would be great.
Added you! Have fun!
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I'm in!
I live in Hoboken, NJ, designated (by whomever does that sort of thing) a Bronze-level bike-friendly community and a Gold-level walk-friendly community, so my good intentions of walking, taking mass transit and riding my bike are supported and encouraged by a town that provides bike lanes, lots of bike racks and a comprehensive mass-transit system.
Still, a little gauntlet-throwing can only help keep me focused on hopping on my bike whenever I need to get around. I look forward to helping the Moustachians beat last month's numbers.
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Hi, I don't want to mix up the sheet, could you add me to the running total too? Thanks!
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first ride to work since december today and i felt like i was gonna DIE! it's no longer snowing, so i'm gonna get as many miles in as i can over the next few weeks, to get some conditioning back. wow, it slips away fast!
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Thought I'd throw down the latest Congestion Report link here...you can find the city you live in and find how much time and money is WASTED by automobile commuting. As you all know, biking is practically immune from congestion! For myself in Ottawa, I didn't even know we were ranked number 18 in terms of most congested in North America - I've never commuted here by car!
There's some 'cool' information in these reports. For example in Ottawa; your delay per hour driven in peak period is 40 minutes. Thus your delay per year (i.e. sitting in car wasting time) for a 30 minute commute is 92 hours!
Also, if you were to bike some of the time (i.e. b/c it was a 10 mile bike ride) - you could choose the best days to drive if you have to. For example Wednesday and Thursday would be days to avoid driving ; whereas Monday and Friday would be better to drive.
http://www.tomtom.com/lib/doc/congestionindex/2013-0322-TomTom-CongestionIndex-2012-Annual-NAM-mi.pdf (http://www.tomtom.com/lib/doc/congestionindex/2013-0322-TomTom-CongestionIndex-2012-Annual-NAM-mi.pdf)
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What about adding feet to the table and making it a biking/walking challenge (like MMM's Anti-Automobile April challenge)? I love the biking challenge, but if we added walking, perhaps others who don't bike would join and reduce their driving. We could calculate the miles walked separately from the miles biked, or we could just start another challenge...
I'm adding my run-commuting miles to the spreadsheet - figured it didn't matter considering it's still not using an auto!
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Finally went for it and started biking to work as did my wife. That's $225 per month in savings by not having a monthly MTA card. That's almost $39k compounded over ten years. Boo yah. We each have about a seven or eight mile ride each way in NYC traffic, so thank goodness for bike lanes!
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Finally went for it and started biking to work as did my wife. That's $225 per month in savings by not having a monthly MTA card. That's almost $39k compounded over ten years. Boo yah. We each have about a seven or eight mile ride each way in NYC traffic, so thank goodness for bike lanes!
whew! congratulations and good luck!
today was my third ride in, and i don't feel like i'm going to die anymore! absolutely beautiful morning riding alongside the river. all the daffodils are in bloom!
last week i rode home on the river trail late at night, and i was surrounded by bunnies! i had no idea there were so many of them living by the river in the middle of pittsburgh. the things you see on a bike!
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Having recently returned to biking after a decade off, the battle between complainy pants and badassity continue:
...but my front tire is flat I have one spare tube, I can fix the flat and should be okay. ... but it looks like rain I'll need to bring my raincoat. ... but I'm running late no meetings this morning, semi-flexible work schedule. Just get on the bike and go already. ...this gusting wind is off the chart downshift when you need to, haul ass when the wind dies down. ... this is the heaviest rain I've ever seen in Vegas and I'm lucky to be out here enjoying it. ... um my rear tire is flat and I used my only spare tube fixing the front goatheads are clearly a major problem in this town, I'll need to figure something out... later.
Walked into work soaking wet and all smiles. Then I discovered my change of work cloths stayed dry. Good times, Good times.
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hahaha my internal monologue sounds just like that! glad the badass side won out today. :)
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Having recently returned to biking after a decade off, the battle between complainy pants and badassity continue:
...but my front tire is flat I have one spare tube, I can fix the flat and should be okay. ... but it looks like rain I'll need to bring my raincoat. ... but I'm running late no meetings this morning, semi-flexible work schedule. Just get on the bike and go already. ...this gusting wind is off the chart downshift when you need to, haul ass when the wind dies down. ... this is the heaviest rain I've ever seen in Vegas and I'm lucky to be out here enjoying it. ... um my rear tire is flat and I used my only spare tube fixing the front goatheads are clearly a major problem in this town, I'll need to figure something out... later.
Walked into work soaking wet and all smiles. Then I discovered my change of work cloths stayed dry. Good times, Good times.
- Kevlar lined tires
- Mr. Tuffy's tire liners
- Self sealing slime bike tires
That should drastically reduce your flats . . .
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- Kevlar lined tires
I've heard good things about some specific brands of those. I'm going to be switching since averaging a flat tire every 60 miles or so has been a serious drag on my cycling the last couple of Summers.
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aaaahhhh so much fun biking! had to blog about it here (http://www.belesscrazy.com/2013/04/be-less-crazy-with-a-bike/), complete with MMM shout-out.
really, MMM was the one who got me over my wussiness / complainypantsing about riding a bike in pittsburgh. but the hills are so big! and the drivers are so mean! and the roads are so bad!
yes, all those things are true but WHO CARES. that's why we have brains and muscles, so we can deal. can i get an amen!! :)
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Having recently returned to biking after a decade off, the battle between complainy pants and badassity continue:
...but my front tire is flat I have one spare tube, I can fix the flat and should be okay. ... but it looks like rain I'll need to bring my raincoat. ... but I'm running late no meetings this morning, semi-flexible work schedule. Just get on the bike and go already. ...this gusting wind is off the chart downshift when you need to, haul ass when the wind dies down. ... this is the heaviest rain I've ever seen in Vegas and I'm lucky to be out here enjoying it. ... um my rear tire is flat and I used my only spare tube fixing the front goatheads are clearly a major problem in this town, I'll need to figure something out... later.
Walked into work soaking wet and all smiles. Then I discovered my change of work cloths stayed dry. Good times, Good times.
- Kevlar lined tires
- Mr. Tuffy's tire liners
- Self sealing slime bike tires
That should drastically reduce your flats . . .
Schwalbe Big Apple tires. They cost more, yes, about $50 per tire, but in the 3,500 miles I've put on my set so far since last September, I've had zero flats, and ride over glass shards and who knows what else every day on city roads. At the rate they're wearing, I wouldn't be surprised to get 7000 miles from the rear, more from the front, which actually makes them not expensive at all given the lifespan. Schwalbe makes a few different tapes of anti-puncture layers for their tires, you can get even higher levels in their Marathon tires.
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Should have joined in months ago... and was inspired by this thread- don't know why it took me so long to commit. I had not ridden a bike since I was 12. After discovering this website back in September, sold my Miata and my truck (down to just one car.) I bought a used $60 Schwinn Traveler in October, and since then have biked to work 90+ percent of the time. Guestimating 600-1000 miles already. Originally work was very close... under a mile, but has since moved (several months ago) to be 5 miles. Piece of cake, and love flying by the cars stuck in traffic. Should have been logging with you all all along- but glad to join in now. Car is almost exclusively for out of town travel, weekend stuff with the wife. Love it... don't know how I missed this before.
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- Kevlar lined tires
- Mr. Tuffy's tire liners
- Self sealing slime bike tires
That should drastically reduce your flats . . .
Two out of three ain't bad. Ended up going with:
- WTB Freedom ThickSlick Deluxe Tire (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1103458_-1_400237__400237)
- Mr Tuffy tire liners
Not saying those are the best, but those were what I could get my hands on last night so I could post more miles today and not lose the momentum I have going with this new "riding bike" thing.
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- Kevlar lined tires
- Mr. Tuffy's tire liners
- Self sealing slime bike tires
That should drastically reduce your flats . . .
Two out of three ain't bad. Ended up going with:
- WTB Freedom ThickSlick Deluxe Tire (http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1103458_-1_400237__400237)
- Mr Tuffy tire liners
Not saying those are the best, but those were what I could get my hands on last night so I could post more miles today and not lose the momentum I have going with this new "riding bike" thing.
Just remember to keep the tires topped up every couple days and flats should be pretty rare with that many layers of puncture protection!
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I've been using some Vittoria Randonneur tires on my commuter; they are reasonably priced, available in several widths, and I've had only one flat since putting them on last year. I really like the reflective stripe on the side of them for night use also.
On the racier bikes, I tend to buy tires in bulk from places like Ribble or Pro Bike Kit in the UK; I use Michelin Lithion tires that I can usually find for $12 or so per tire. They go ~2k miles on the back and perhaps double that on the front, usually with few flats. At that price, you can change 'em out when they start to square off and not feel too bad about it.
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I started late this month, but I bought a bike last Saturday and have been commuting to work and it's great! My trip to work is 2.4 miles, so with my usual side trips I've been biking at least 5-6 miles a day. I still need a pannier bag to avoid getting in with a giant sweaty spot on my back, so I think I'll check out some options today.
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Do we record leisure miles here also, or just miles done where we have cycled instead of utilising a car?
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Could my name be added to the list, please, for next month if it is ongoing?
Sweet challenge! Actually, part of what made me want to join this forum is to motivate me with the biking. Right now my biking doesn't need motivation. I don't own a vehicle and don't plan to. Where I live is about 12 minutes uphill/flat from where I generally bike to, and then super fast downhill back. Pretty freakin' sweet. Often I walk, just because I usually prefer walking for 30 minutes to biking for so short a time.
However, I'm moving for June 1st and my new place will be a significantly longer ride into "town." (But probably half as much to pay in rent, and I work from home a lot of the time.) I'm thinking it will be about an hour, one way, prior to my getting into better shape, and then maybe 45 or 50 minutes after I'm in better shape. Lots of uphill/downhill both ways. Totally still freakin' sweet for the Summer, and then I'll be in shape and used to it, but will need to deal with Complainypants potentially coming out come Autumn.
Glad to have a crew to hash it all out with! And glad to get recommendations on anti-flat-getting tires.
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Do we record leisure miles here also, or just miles done where we have cycled instead of utilising a car?
Hi martynthewolf!
I record everything even if it's leisure. After all if you did it on a bike you didn't do it in a car!
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Could my name be added to the list, please, for next month if it is ongoing?
Sweet challenge! Actually, part of what made me want to join this forum is to motivate me with the biking. Right now my biking doesn't need motivation. I don't own a vehicle and don't plan to. Where I live is about 12 minutes uphill/flat from where I generally bike to, and then super fast downhill back. Pretty freakin' sweet. Often I walk, just because I usually prefer walking for 30 minutes to biking for so short a time.
However, I'm moving for June 1st and my new place will be a significantly longer ride into "town." (But probably half as much to pay in rent, and I work from home a lot of the time.) I'm thinking it will be about an hour, one way, prior to my getting into better shape, and then maybe 45 or 50 minutes after I'm in better shape. Lots of uphill/downhill both ways. Totally still freakin' sweet for the Summer, and then I'll be in shape and used to it, but will need to deal with Complainypants potentially coming out come Autumn.
Glad to have a crew to hash it all out with! And glad to get recommendations on anti-flat-getting tires.
Added you! Welcome to the club! Your commute sounds like mine.
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Just wanted to say the San Diegans have put down 660 miles so far this month :-)
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Just wanted to say the San Diegans have put down 660 miles so far this month :-)
Maybe we should have a city vs city challenge next month? Sounds like San Diego is throwing down the gauntlet. I know there's a bunch of Seattleites on here too...
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Seems that my page was deleted even though I posted a few miles already this month. Unless I am mistaken?
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Seems that my page was deleted even though I posted a few miles already this month. Unless I am mistaken?
My apologies if I deleted your miles. I try to do some housekeeping mid month. My intention is to only remove entries where there has been no activity in either the thread or the spreadsheet. Sorry!
Edit: I added you back.
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Seems that my page was deleted even though I posted a few miles already this month. Unless I am mistaken?
My apologies if I deleted your miles. I try to do some housekeeping mid month. My intention is to only remove entries where there has been no activity in either the thread or the spreadsheet. Sorry!
Edit: I added you back.
No worries. I had a poor showing early in the month. Being deleted is a good face punch. Thanks for adding me back!
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Just wanted to say the San Diegans have put down 660 miles so far this month :-)
Maybe we should have a city vs city challenge next month? Sounds like San Diego is throwing down the gauntlet. I know there's a bunch of Seattleites on here too...
Somehow I suspect I'm the only North Charlestonite (SC) biking since I typically see 1 biker per day on my hour and 45 minutes of riding. There are some in downtown Charleston (not sure about on this forum though).
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Just wanted to say the San Diegans have put down 660 miles so far this month :-)
Maybe we should have a city vs city challenge next month? Sounds like San Diego is throwing down the gauntlet. I know there's a bunch of Seattleites on here too...
Somehow I suspect I'm the only North Charlestonite (SC) biking since I typically see 1 biker per day on my hour and 45 minutes of riding. There are some in downtown Charleston (not sure about on this forum though).
i'm shocked by how few people i see on the trails in the morning, especially when it's gorgeous and sunny and 55 degrees like today.
shocked, but not upset. i kinda like having them to myself, then i feel like less of a weirdo when i start singing :)
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Just wanted to say the San Diegans have put down 660 miles so far this month :-)
Maybe we should have a city vs city challenge next month? Sounds like San Diego is throwing down the gauntlet. I know there's a bunch of Seattleites on here too...
Somehow I suspect I'm the only North Charlestonite (SC) biking since I typically see 1 biker per day on my hour and 45 minutes of riding. There are some in downtown Charleston (not sure about on this forum though).
I like the idea of a city v. city challenge - and we could rig up a couple different categories to broaden the appeal.
Team categories:
Overall Mileage: Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city - this would favor large teams.
Mileage per Person: (Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city) / number of participants - this would tend to favor smaller groups – or loners.
Individual categories:
Bike to Drive Ratio: (Individual miles biked / individual miles driven) - should appeal to everyone - except engineers who will be tormented by the possible divide-by-zero.
P.S: been pulling thorns out of my tires every day – but tubes still going strong. Thanks for the advice everyone. :)
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I reached the point where bike commuting is a habit, so while I've been biking I haven't been contributing to the spreadsheet. Sounds like everyone has been having a great month!
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I haven't been contributing to the spreadsheet, but I did have a little tracker on my fridge.
I deserve a big facepunch for this, but my lifestyle has not been designed in a way that can integrate bicycle commuting or substitute bike rides for car trips. It's terrible, but I'm also moving in four weeks and at that point we will be doing away with the car! I figure that's the best way to make the change cold turkey.
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rode to work today, then at lunch i went out on a scouting expedition to explore the area between the apartment i'm moving to august 1st, and my job. i found a great back route i can take that keeps me out of a major intersection that had been worrying me. i have to go through a business's parking lot and shimmy through a gap between a couple of concrete barriers, but that kind of adds to the fun.
by the time i bike home tonight, i should have hit 20 miles on my bike today -- a new personal record!
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I like the idea of a city v. city challenge - and we could rig up a couple different categories to broaden the appeal.
Team categories:
Overall Mileage: Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city - this would favor large teams.
Mileage per Person: (Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city) / number of participants - this would tend to favor smaller groups – or loners.
Individual categories:
Bike to Drive Ratio: (Individual miles biked / individual miles driven) - should appeal to everyone - except engineers who will be tormented by the possible divide-by-zero.
Great ideas! I'll try to remember to include them in the May spreadsheet, but if I forget please remind me!
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Could us foreigners (smaller European countries for example) enter as a country instead of as a city?
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Maybe teams like this:
Europe
United States
China/Japan/Brazil/Russia/India/Canada/Australia/Mexico/South Korea
Rest of the World
* Categories roughly created by GDP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_between_U.S._states_and_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
I like the idea of a city v. city challenge - and we could rig up a couple different categories to broaden the appeal.
Team categories:
Overall Mileage: Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city - this would favor large teams.
Mileage per Person: (Sum of all mileage for all participants in the city) / number of participants - this would tend to favor smaller groups – or loners.
Individual categories:
Bike to Drive Ratio: (Individual miles biked / individual miles driven) - should appeal to everyone - except engineers who will be tormented by the possible divide-by-zero.
Great ideas! I'll try to remember to include them in the May spreadsheet, but if I forget please remind me!
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I could just have a blank field for "team" and people can put in whatever they want (City, State, Country, Continent/Group-of-countries).
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Hey all,
I took the liberty of sorting the master sheet (and therefore the chart) by total miles. Hope no one objects!
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Hey all,
I took the liberty of sorting the master sheet (and therefore the chart) by total miles. Hope no one objects!
no prob, I cleared out the favorite bike trip question as the answers were attributed to the wrong person.
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Good work everyone, going over your spreadsheets is very encouraging!
Yolfer, I like your bike/car/scooter breakdown. We should all do something similar next month. Maybe track driving miles avoided as well.
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Good work everyone, going over your spreadsheets is very encouraging!
Yolfer, I like your bike/car/scooter breakdown. We should all do something similar next month. Maybe track driving miles avoided as well.
Thanks! I did that in response to MMM's article at the beginning of the month (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/04/01/mmm-challenge-anti-automobile-april/). He's got car/bike/foot, but whatever.
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hey I'm a new member I use strava heh, makes it easy. I bike around 60-80 miles a week [commuting] and I dont use my car to commute unless its an emergency [customer/partner visit,etc]
850 miles YTD
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OK, I'm in, better late than never. Got derailed by two back-to-back colds & ensuing respiratory complications, but it's warm and beautiful here in Philly and I'm ready to go.
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I took a week of vacation last week, so I don't have any work commute miles to log, but I did start the vacation off right! I left Saturday morning (the 21st) from Marietta, GA, and arrived in Destin, FL on Monday evening around 6:15pm, 368 miles and two nights of tent camping later. My wife and her visiting from Germany parents drove down Sunday, so it presented itself as a perfect opportunity for a small touring trip, something I've always wanted to do but never did. Funny that I get to do it for the first time when we have a little nine-month old daughter, I always thought things would be impossible after kids are here, but you just have to look for possibilities. :)
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I took a week of vacation last week, so I don't have any work commute miles to log, but I did start the vacation off right! I left Saturday morning (the 21st) from Marietta, GA, and arrived in Destin, FL on Monday evening around 6:15pm, 368 miles and two nights of tent camping later. My wife and her visiting from Germany parents drove down Sunday, so it presented itself as a perfect opportunity for a small touring trip, something I've always wanted to do but never did. Funny that I get to do it for the first time when we have a little nine-month old daughter, I always thought things would be impossible after kids are here, but you just have to look for possibilities. :)
Awesome, awesome, awesome! You sure have a nice wife letting you get away :-) What are your legs made out of anyway?
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Awesome, awesome, awesome! You sure have a nice wife letting you get away :-) What are your legs made out of anyway?
Yup, I agree, I'm fortunate! It really worked out well though since her parents are here for a couple weeks (though she said in hindsight the drive down might have been easier without them). I think my commuting mileage is what made this trip relatively easy. I originally thought it would be challenging, but the key thing is pacing - I kept telling myself there's no hurry, I'd shift into easy gears on the hills, if I found myself breathing harder, I'd back off a notch. It's like having a book of matches, every hard effort is a match you light, and you only have so many matches to use. Too hard of an effort and the whole matchbook catches fire, then you're just screwed (been there, done that). Taking in plenty of fluids and calories is important, too. Nothing special in my legs, I think this is something anyone reasonably fit can do in four days rather than three. I've driven down to that area quite a few times, by car and motorcycle, but if you really want a feel/vibe for where you're at, a bicycle is the way to go.
Here's a google maps link of my route: http://goo.gl/mS61R
Marker A is roughly where I started. Marker B is Blanton Creek Park, my first camping spot, 117 miles from where I started. Marker C is Blue Spring State Park, my second camping spot, 129 miles from Blanton Creek Park. Marker D is roughly where our rental condo for the week was. Not sure if pictures are allowed on the forum, if they are, I'll post some.
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Ok, so I've had the bike commute thing down for awhile (you can look at my sheet and see that I basically bike back and forth to my office the same distance everyday.) So tomorrow I'm going to challenge myself to go to my Doctor's appointment on the bike, it will save me having to borrow my own car (lending/renting to a colleague who is only in town for three weeks at a time and didn't want to keep her vehicle here). The main road is scary, but there are plenty of back neighborhoods, and my officemates fiancé does a similar commute all the time. In deference to the increased traffic, I think I'll wear my helmet tomorrow too.
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Awesome, awesome, awesome! You sure have a nice wife letting you get away :-) What are your legs made out of anyway?
Yup, I agree, I'm fortunate! It really worked out well though since her parents are here for a couple weeks (though she said in hindsight the drive down might have been easier without them). I think my commuting mileage is what made this trip relatively easy. I originally thought it would be challenging, but the key thing is pacing - I kept telling myself there's no hurry, I'd shift into easy gears on the hills, if I found myself breathing harder, I'd back off a notch. It's like having a book of matches, every hard effort is a match you light, and you only have so many matches to use. Too hard of an effort and the whole matchbook catches fire, then you're just screwed (been there, done that). Taking in plenty of fluids and calories is important, too. Nothing special in my legs, I think this is something anyone reasonably fit can do in four days rather than three. I've driven down to that area quite a few times, by car and motorcycle, but if you really want a feel/vibe for where you're at, a bicycle is the way to go.
Here's a google maps link of my route: http://goo.gl/mS61R
Marker A is roughly where I started. Marker B is Blanton Creek Park, my first camping spot, 117 miles from where I started. Marker C is Blue Spring State Park, my second camping spot, 129 miles from Blanton Creek Park. Marker D is roughly where our rental condo for the week was. Not sure if pictures are allowed on the forum, if they are, I'll post some.
That's badass. I did Springer Mountain and the rest of the Georgia AT a few years ago, I can't imagine hitting that on a bike! Do you have any pics of your camps?
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Dwayne, sounds like a fun trip. I met some riders last year who were doing an organized park to park camping ride in southern GA. They were having a blast!
I have done a 3 day solo trip to south FL (last year) and would like to eventually do a cross country trip, or better yet the Tour Divide, which a local friend of mine did last year. My kids are almost out of the house and I should have the schedule flexibility to do so in a couple of years.
One of my riding buddies flew to CA and rode back across the country a few years ago. He was heavy and out of shape, unhappy with life I think. He lost probably 30 lbs riding across the country, rekindled his love of riding (he's racing again) and seems to have improved his life generally.
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Oh, well we've been trawling the local classified site here for months for a bike for my partner.
http://i.imgur.com/ff3G6aT.jpg?1
2011 Cannondale R400 for $300 WHAT.
She loves it, I foresee much biking in the future.
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That's badass. I did Springer Mountain and the rest of the Georgia AT a few years ago, I can't imagine hitting that on a bike! Do you have any pics of your camps?
Hopefully I didn't give the wrong impression, my trip was all on roads, not trails :)
I have a pic from each camp:
Blanton Creek Park:
(http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/images/bicycling/atlanta_to_destin/Blanton-Creek-Park.jpg)
Blue Springs State Park:
(http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/images/bicycling/atlanta_to_destin/Blue-Springs.jpg)
Georgia has a "mini Grand Canyon" in the Providence Canyon State Park.
(http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/images/bicycling/atlanta_to_destin/bike-Canyon.jpg)
Ye Ol' Faithful Commuter Steed (1x9 drivetrain, additional bottle cages on the fork temporarily for the trip):
(http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/images/bicycling/atlanta_to_destin/bike-FDR-park.jpg)
My motivation for getting to FL :D
(http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/images/bicycling/atlanta_to_destin/Maja-shoulders.jpg)
Dwayne, sounds like a fun trip. I met some riders last year who were doing an organized park to park camping ride in southern GA. They were having a blast!
I have done a 3 day solo trip to south FL (last year) and would like to eventually do a cross country trip, or better yet the Tour Divide, which a local friend of mine did last year. My kids are almost out of the house and I should have the schedule flexibility to do so in a couple of years.
One of my riding buddies flew to CA and rode back across the country a few years ago. He was heavy and out of shape, unhappy with life I think. He lost probably 30 lbs riding across the country, rekindled his love of riding (he's racing again) and seems to have improved his life generally.
Cross Country is something I've always wanted to do, we'll see if the opportunity presents itself sometime. I'd also like to tour Europe a bit (being from Germany), that's at least a place where our daughter could be in a trailer without worrying as much about traffic. I can totally see where a long trip could be something life-changing, especially it you're starting out in a rut... a bicycle just has a way of doing that.
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Oh, well we've been trawling the local classified site here for months for a bike for my partner.
http://i.imgur.com/ff3G6aT.jpg?1
2011 Cannondale R400 for $300 WHAT.
She loves it, I foresee much biking in the future.
Not bad, I hope she enjoys it! I'm nitpicking here, but I'm 99% sure that's a year 2000. The R400 was only made from 2000-2004, the Cannondale graphics changed in 2001, and I think the CAAD2 frame was only used in 2000, it switched to CAAD3 in 2001.
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amazing photos, dwayne! that looks like so much fun!
as for me, i am just commuting, but it is also so much fun. this is the first month i've really "gone for it," and by the time i get home today, i will be over 120 miles cycled this month. that's $60 saved! and my car has been sitting for days at a time. totally awesome.
only thing, though, is that i'm not losing any weight. i may have even gained a few pounds. but i guess i gained them in my legs, because my measurements are the same.
still working out how much i need to eat in order to avoid bonking. hopefully over the next month or two i will start seeing some fat shift its way off me as everything adjusts.
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Oh man I love those pics.
Oh, well we've been trawling the local classified site here for months for a bike for my partner.
http://i.imgur.com/ff3G6aT.jpg?1
2011 Cannondale R400 for $300 WHAT.
She loves it, I foresee much biking in the future.
Not bad, I hope she enjoys it! I'm nitpicking here, but I'm 99% sure that's a year 2000. The R400 was only made from 2000-2004, the Cannondale graphics changed in 2001, and I think the CAAD2 frame was only used in 2000, it switched to CAAD3 in 2001.
Well damn. Shows what I know.
amazing photos, dwayne! that looks like so much fun!
as for me, i am just commuting, but it is also so much fun. this is the first month i've really "gone for it," and by the time i get home today, i will be over 120 miles cycled this month. that's $60 saved! and my car has been sitting for days at a time. totally awesome.
only thing, though, is that i'm not losing any weight. i may have even gained a few pounds. but i guess i gained them in my legs, because my measurements are the same.
still working out how much i need to eat in order to avoid bonking. hopefully over the next month or two i will start seeing some fat shift its way off me as everything adjusts.
I found even when commuting 300km/wk I didn't lose any weight. I ate a ton because I was burning like 1400 more calories per day or something, but I was still at a 500 cal/day deficit and it just never did anything. Same with running and swimming, the only activity that seems to give me recomposition benefits is weight lifting.
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amazing photos, dwayne! that looks like so much fun!
as for me, i am just commuting, but it is also so much fun. this is the first month i've really "gone for it," and by the time i get home today, i will be over 120 miles cycled this month. that's $60 saved! and my car has been sitting for days at a time. totally awesome.
only thing, though, is that i'm not losing any weight. i may have even gained a few pounds. but i guess i gained them in my legs, because my measurements are the same.
still working out how much i need to eat in order to avoid bonking. hopefully over the next month or two i will start seeing some fat shift its way off me as everything adjusts.
I found even when commuting 300km/wk I didn't lose any weight. I ate a ton because I was burning like 1400 more calories per day or something, but I was still at a 500 cal/day deficit and it just never did anything. Same with running and swimming, the only activity that seems to give me recomposition benefits is weight lifting.
yeah, i have had a similar experience in the past. honestly, exercise doesn't even seem to have much to do with my weight -- it's mostly about what i eat. when i cut carbs almost entirely out, i drop pounds. but the days i've eaten really low carb and tried to ride my bike, it didn't really work. i felt way weaker and huffier-puffier.
i'm thinking one of two things -- either i need to take a week off from biking and dial my diet in, giving my body a chance to roll over from burning carbs to burning fat instead, without making too many energy demands on it while it's adjusting, or this will just happen slowly over time as i ramp the carbs down and ramp the biking up ...
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Hey guys! I've came across MMM a few months ago, and was excited about his April anti-automobile challenge, because I already log all of my daily biking. I just added all of my trips from the month of April - a total of 313 miles on the bike!
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Hey guys! I've came across MMM a few months ago, and was excited about his April anti-automobile challenge, because I already log all of my daily biking. I just added all of my trips from the month of April - a total of 313 miles on the bike!
Nice! Welcome!