Taking a break from running posts, May is National Bike Month! It’s finally warm enough to bike earlier in the day, and it just so happens that this week has been the National Bike to Work Week. Which I have done twice this week!

What’s that phrase, where necessity is the mother of invention? Steve and I are down to one car this summer while his parents are in the US, since we’ve been babysitting their car. (It’s easier for missionaries to do that than to try to find a place to store a vehicle while out of the country for long periods of time.) So, either I work from home, drive him to work so I can then have the car, or bike. And this week – the first week that we’ve been a one-car family, I’ve done all three!

I can definitely see that not having the easy option of hopping in my own car will force me to bike to work more often. Which is great, really! Save on gas money and get a workout in at the same time.

Here’s me this morning, getting ready to take off. It’s a seven-mile ride, and takes me about 30 minutes.

Here’s a breakdown of my bike-to-work gear:

• Bike necessities: underseat pouch with spare tire and bike tool (hmm, need to get that pump attached!), new 24oz insulated water bottle
• Outfit: Pearl Izumi bike shorts, sneakers, t-shirt, hoodie cuz it was about 48 when I left the house, helmet, and bike gloves (clutched in my right hand), sunglasses (both for the glare and the wind)
• Backpack: lunch, clothes/accessories for work, iPhone, wallet

My workplace doesn’t have a bike rack, so I lock mine to a bench next to the parking lot. In my office, I keep work-appropriate shoes, a toiletries bag with everything I need to freshen up after a ride, and a little purse in case I go out for lunch with colleagues.

Even with being in not-terrible shape from all my running, it’s still a hard ride the first couple times! Those darn hills on 18…

I love this quote from Greg LeMond, a big-time cyclist: “It never gets easier. You just go faster.”