And here’s a picture from the other side of the bridge from this morning’s bicycle commute. The weather is still looking good!
I did a similar picture from the other side of the bridge a couple days earlier during the evening bicycle commute capturing the sunset. It’s here.
Here’s a picture from yesterday’s bicycle commute. I have to admit, we do have it pretty easy in California. It’s been in the 60s or 70s all week. Not bad for January.
I’ve been struggling for motivation to commute to work by bicycle this winter, and by good fortune I came across a blog dedicated to the bicycle commuter called Commute by Bike. I posted a comment asking how others motivate themselves to get on their bikes during the colder, wetter, and darker months of the year and they were kind enough to start a discussion about it.
There were lots of really great responses. A couple of my favorites were:
“Simple. I have no car. My choices are ride a bike or walk to work. It’s 4.2 miles. Staying home isn’t an option. I’m simply too busy at work and if I stop showing up I’ll get fired and I’ll lose my house and I’ll have to sleep under the bridge and will have to not just ride my bike in cold, wet weather but LIVE in cold wet weather. So my < 20 minutes each way ride really isn’t so bad.” – John
And…
“I have made a very public goal of riding to work for 500 work days in a row. I am currently at 351.
People at work (and elsewhere) often ask me how many days I have under my belt, and I don’t want to have to admit I opted out.
So, two days of riding with the flu, last week…not pleasant, but doable. Driving the car…not an option.” – Jon Grinder
Browsing elsewhere online, I also stumbled upon stories of people commuting to work on their studded tires through snow storms in well below freezing temperatures. Wow, if they’re doing it, there’s no excuse for me not to ride in.
And plus, look at the view along the way to work:
Finally…after over a month of patiently waiting, our first batch of beer, Pluto’s Not a Planet Amber Ale, was ready for tasting. It tasted surprisingly like…beer. The carbonation was just right and it had a pretty good flavor. Maybe my expectations were low since this was our first batch and I just recently watched Palin’s first debate, but it exceeded the expectations I had set.
It was a busy night as we also bottled the Federal Bailout IPA and began brewing Hard Time Belgium Ale. It’s looking like some good brews from here on out.
Thomas pouring the first bottle of Pluto’s Not a Planet.
Federal Bailout in the carboy awaiting bottling.
Bottling Federal Bailout.
Boiling the barley for Hard Times.
