Have pink bike will travel...

My exercise of choice has always been running. This has been dotted & supplemented with bouts of other obsessions such as yoga (bikrams and regular), hiking the grouse grind and occasionally bike riding. Until last year bike riding was something my husband and I would do fairly infrequently and always just on weekends. Then, last summer my friend and neighbour Tammy yelled down from her rooftop deck to tell me she was coming over for wine but had to have a quick shower because she rode her bike to work. This was life changing for me because Tammy is a teacher and her school at the time was clear on the other side of the City. I was amazed and intrigued and plastered her with questions. She sent me links to all the bike routes in the City http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/ and I was thrilled to see that I could ride my bike to  work if I wanted and stay on the bike routes almost the entire time.

My commute isn't really a short one so I was a little hesitant but inspired by Tammy I had to try it. It takes me about half an hour or more to drive to our pink offices and there are a lot of hills. I go from Capitol Hill in Burnaby to Main & Marine in Vancouver on the Fraser river so it's quite the trek. It takes me about an hour + on my bike but the really great thing is I add only one hour total to my commute time but I get a two hour work out in. Plus there are so many other incredible benefits as well not to mention health, reducing stress, inducing bliss and lowering our green house gas emissions plus save money on gas! Our company has recently become carbon neutral so this is one extra step I can take to further that commitment. More on this here... http://www.principessabeauty.com/

The only thing stopping me from doing it more often is the Vancouver weather. So far I have only rode my bike in the sunshine and it's nothing short of heaven. Riding to work smelling the flowers, breathing the fresh air and taking in the incredible views around this amazing City has got to be one of the most incredible ways to start and end your workday. But, I have yet to ride in the cold and rain. My first ride this year was on Earth Day and it was supposed to be a beautiful day. I didn't see the big black clouds until I got outside and I nearly turned around and went back inside to return to the warmth and safety of my vehicle. But I decided to go through with it anyway after I gave myself heck for being such a wimp and thought, who cares if I look like a drowned rat at my desk all day. :) Thankfully the skies did not open up on me and I didn't get wet but I sure have appreciation for those who do it all the time. I now notice all those troopers who get on their bikes even in the cold and rain and I have so much respect and admiration for those who do so. I'm not there yet but I brake for bikes! If I can inspire one person to hop on their bike I'll be a happy camper...