It's Bike to Work week! So naturally, I rode my bike to work this morning. I also rode yesterday. I didn't ride Monday because on Monday nights we shoot video for Project M, which means I could be in the office until 11pm or later. I didn't want to ride home at 11pm or later. I guess if I was really hard-core, I would have rode home at 11pm or later. I'm not that hard-core.
But I have given myself a little bit of a challenge for Bike to Work Week. Starting on Tuesday - it's "Car Free" week for Pat and possibly for the entire Gallagher household. Yesterday was the first of our car-free days, me by bike and Laura by bus and walking.
So far the challenges haven't been that great - Laura regularly busses to work and I ride to work on a fairly regular basis. For exercise Laura walks/runs the Pheasant Branch Conservancy and for exercise I ride, run and/or swim, all of which can be done without having to get in the car.
I did have to run a couple errands over the past couple days - dropping off some donations at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society office on my way to work yesterday, adding a mile or so onto my morning commute and dropping off the mortgage on the way in today, adding a couple miles to the commute.
Tonight I'm meeting my friends Matt & Julie to ride the ironman loop, which would normally mean driving out to Verona with the bike in the back of the car, riding the loop and then driving back home. There was a bit more logistics to consider this time out - with no car (ironic - it's easier to train on my bicycle if I have access to a car??). I will ride to Verona, where I'll meet Matt & Julie, then I'll ride the loop with them until I hit Cross Plains, when I'll split with them and ride home (no way would I have time to ride back to Verona with them and then ride home after). But before I made that the plan for the evening, I had to make sure they were BOTH going to be able to ride - not wanting to leave one of them to ride the last 1/3 of the loop alone - not that they couldn't handle it, it just seems kinda rude.
So, with that figured out, it's day 2 of the car-free week in the Gallagher household. Not sure if we can go the whole week, I've got an out-of-town meeting tomorrow afternoon and I have to be back in town for an early evening event, so I'll have to beg a ride from someone (hey - it still counts, I'm carpooling and not starting my car), and I know we can't make it through the weekend car free - we're headed to Green Bay to run the Green Bay Marathon with Team in Training. While I could ride to Green Bay, it would take a couple days & I don't think I would want to run a marathon and then ride back to Madison again.
Every day is car free day for me. I don't even own a car. I know if I did, I would use it. So I have to limit the things I do. And so my life is very simple. And, guess what? Also very peaceful and unhurried! If we would all make a commitment to sustainability and the health of ourselves and the planet, the way things are laid out would change and it would be even easier to be car free. Living, working, and trading areas would be more mixed together and more localized. (Yay!). If there's something going on out of town we might like to do, maybe we'll just organize the same thing here, instead of going there. And if more people would use the bus, service would increase, and you could catch one more often, later, go further, etc... Ride sharing would be built into the planning of events. We'd all be fitter, breathe easier (with not so much exhaust in the air!), and learn to enjoy the world closer up, closer to home. So please support a local economy by patronizing local businesses and organic farmers! And support local artists, like my band Fire and Love! (fireandlove.bandcamp.com) too! Thank you. Carell Casey
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
Last weeks challenge we thought went excellent! Of course we are a little biased.
The drinking song couldn't have been any better, or any less fun. We had a blast through out the whole process, and our performance rocked.
This week is an easy...
So the story goes Michael Jackson completed this song while watching cartoons with Paul McCartney. We'll just let that sink in for a moment.
Not sure what cartoons they were watching, but it must have worked because this song made it to number 2...
The Dalai Lama is back in town, sharing his message of peace and kindness with likeminded individuals, and the Wisconsin legislature. He also held a private meeting with Gov. Walker, who said he mostly listened to what His Holiness had to say (wise...
This duet by Ol' Blue Eyes and his daughter went all the way to number 1 back in 1967. It seems a little creepy that Frank and Nancy Sinatra are singing a love song. However, a lot of Triple M listeners were in the mood for it.
Here's...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
Last weeks challenge we thought went excellent! Of course we are a little biased.
The drinking song couldn't have been any better, or any less fun. We had a blast through out the whole process, and our performance rocked.
This week is an easy...
So the story goes Michael Jackson completed this song while watching cartoons with Paul McCartney. We'll just let that sink in for a moment.
Not sure what cartoons they were watching, but it must have worked because this song made it to number 2...
The Dalai Lama is back in town, sharing his message of peace and kindness with likeminded individuals, and the Wisconsin legislature. He also held a private meeting with Gov. Walker, who said he mostly listened to what His Holiness had to say (wise...
This duet by Ol' Blue Eyes and his daughter went all the way to number 1 back in 1967. It seems a little creepy that Frank and Nancy Sinatra are singing a love song. However, a lot of Triple M listeners were in the mood for it.
Here's...
