Updated March 16 (YTD 1345.8221)
01.01.2010 – In the course of compulsively cataloging my bike trips during 2007, 2008, and 2009 I have traveled a total of 16,451.967 across that three-year span… most of it within the greater Los Angeles area. Last year, instead of setting a goal from the outset I just decided to see how far I could get, and I wound up exceeding my 2008 record of 6,608 miles by 133 — a remarkable achievement, but still a drastically narrower margin than the 3,102 I’d traveled beyond the 3,000 miles I’d set out to do in 2008.
For 2010 I’m sticking with keeping things open ended, in part because there might be a drastic change coming soon in which I could be afforded the opportunity to work from home, thus eliminating the 30-plus miles I would typically ride 200 times a year between my home in Silver Lake and my office in Westchester and back. While I look forward to that workplace shift if it happens, it will drastically minimize my commuting miles and force me to increase my recreational riding if I plan to keep up the distance pace I’ve maintained this past two years… which I’m not at all sure I’ll do. Especially since there’s not as much pride in biking for fun. Sure, there’s enjoyment, but going for recreational rides can’t compare to the fulfillment that comes from keeping what amounts to 12,000 miles of gas out of my truck’s tank this past two years. So, let’s see what happens.
| Commuting | Recreational |
Jan. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.3871 miles (YTD 14.3871/14.3871)
Notes: Well that didn’t last long. Over the weekend, I decided to attach a wireless odometer to 8Ball, one that’s sat boxed an unused for well more than a year. With its components strapped to the bike’s forks and handlebars via silly zipties, I hated it right way because the parts were relatively bulky, and I knew all it would take to send the thing offline would be even the slightest bump in the road. But still I decided to give the contraption the benefit of the doubt with one test ride. Well, that test lasted all of one block this morning before I looked down and saw it failing to register my speed. With such quick proof that the odometer would be far more trouble than it was worth, I pulled to the curb, got out my knife, cut all the zipties and pitched the thing into my pack. Good riddance and back to Gmaps we go.
Jan. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.7526 miles (YTD 31.1397/31.1397)
Jan. 05: Morning Work Commute
14.5229 miles (YTD 45.6626/45.6626)
Jan. 05: Evening Work Commute
15.7883 (YTD 61.4509/61.4509)
Jan. 06: Morning Work Commute
14.5608 miles (YTD 76.0117/76.0117)
Jan. 06: Evening Work Commute
16.3401 miles (YTD 92.3518/92.3518)
Jan. 07: Morning Work Commute
15.7933 miles (YTD 108.1451/108.1451)
Jan. 07: Evening Work Commute
16.8470 miles (YTD 124.9921/124.9921)
Jan. 08: Morning Work Commute
15.0879 miles (YTD 140.0800/140.0800)
Jan. 08: Evening Work Commute
16.8323 miles (YTD 156.9123/156.9123)
Jan. 11: Roundtrip To LA Traffic Court
10.2797 miles (YTD 167.1920/167.1920)
Jan. 12: Morning Work Commute
14.4707 miles (YTD 181.6627/181.6627)
Jan. 12: Evening Work Commute
16.0886 miles (YTD 197.7513/197.7513)
Jan. 14: Morning Work Commute
14.3996 miles (YTD /212.1509/212.1509)
Jan. 14: Evening Work Commute
16.8160 miles (YTD 228.9669/228.9669)
Jan. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.6194 miles (YTD 243.5863/243.5863)
Jan. 15: Evening Work Commute
16.9596 miles (YTD 260.5459/260.5459)
Jan. 25: Morning Work Commute
12.9807 miles (YTD 273.5266/273.5266)
Jan. 25: Evening Work Commute
16.8403 miles (YTD 290.3669/290.3669)
Jan. 26: Morning Work Commute
14.4120 miles (YTD 304.7789/304.7789)
Jan. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7957 miles (YTD 321.5386/321.5386)
Jan. 28: Morning Work Commute
14.6107 miles (YTD 336.1493/336.1493)
Jan. 28: Evening Work Commute
16.8326 miles (YTD 352.9819/352.9819)
Jan. 29: Morning Work Commute
14.6090 miles (YTD 367.5909/367.5909)
Jan. 29: Evening Work Commute
16.6438 miles (YTD 384.2347/384.2347)
Notes: Flats Nos. 1, 2 & 3 for the year! The first two, were a very rare simulataneous front/rear pinch flat from a huge storm-created pothole on Centinela west of Sepulveda I managed not to avoid, and the third from a very small thorn picked up in the rear tread (so much for the bullet-proofedness of the Continental Gatorskins) somewhere along the Ballona Creek Bikeway approaching Overland Avenue.
JANUARY TOTAL: 384.2347 miles
Feb. 01: Morning Work Commute
14.7408 miles (YTD 398.9395/398.9395)
Feb. 01: Evening Work Commute
16.8276 miles (YTD 415.7671/415.7671)
Feb. 02: Morning Work Commute
12.9483 miles (YTD 428.7154/428.7154)
Feb. 02: Evening Work Commute
16.8090 miles (YTD 445.5244/445.5244)
Notes: 4th Flat approaching the Duquesne access point of the Ballona Creek Bikeway, determined to be from a glued patch that separated. It’s getting to a frustrating point where I’m just going to forget about repairing punctures and straight-up replace any flat with a fresh tube.
Feb. 03: Morning Work Commute
14.7799 miles (YTD 460.3043/460.3043)
Feb. 03: Evening Work Commute
16.7933 miles (YTD 477.1336/477.1336)
Feb. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.3075 miles (YTD 491.4411/491.4411)
Feb. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.8157 miles (YTD 508.2568/508.2568)
Feb. 08: Morning Work Commute
13.1423 miles (YTD 521.3991/521.3991)
Feb. 08 Evening Work Commute
16.1061 miles (YTD 537.5052/537.5052)
Feb. 10: Morning Work Commute
14.4941 miles (YTD 551.9993/551.9993)
Feb. 10: Evening Work Commute
16.8491 miles (YTD 568.8484/568.8484)
Feb. 11: Morning Work Commute
16.4424 miles (YTD 585.2908/585.2908)
Feb. 11: Evening Work Commute
16.7878 miles (YTD 602.0786/602.0786)
Feb. 12: Morning Work Commute
14.7274 miles (YTD 616.8060/616.8060)
Feb. 12: Evening Work Commute
16.7954 miles (YTD 633.6014/633.6014)
Feb. 13: The 8 Presidents Ride
35.8346 miles (YTD 35.8346/669.4360)
Feb. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.5476 miles (YTD 648.1490/683.9836)
Feb. 15: Evening Work Commute
16.7174 miles (YTD 664.8664/700.7010)
Feb. 16: Morning Work Commute
14.4622 miles (YTD 679.3286/715.1632)
Feb. 16: Evening Work Commute
16.8459 miles (YTD 696.1745/732.0091)
Feb. 17: Morning Work Commute
14.3217 miles (YTD 710.4962/746.3308)
Feb. 17: Evening Work Commute
16.7884 miles (YTD 727.2846/763.1192)
Feb. 18: Morning Work Commute
14.3399 miles (YTD 741.6245/777.4591)
Feb. 18: Evening Work Commute
17.0694 miles (YTD 758.6939/794.5285)
Feb. 22: Morning Work Commute
14.3786 miles (YTD 773.0725/808.9071)
Feb. 22: Evening Work Commute
16.8154 miles (YTD 789.8879/825.7225)
Feb. 23: Morning Work Commute
15.3662 miles (YTD 805.2541/841.0887)
Feb. 23: Evening Work Commute
16.7893 miles (YTD 822.0434/857.8780)
Feb. 24: Ed Magos/City Hall Ride
11.2083 miles (YTD 47.0429/869.0863)
Feb. 25: Morning Work Commute
39.0854 miles (YTD 861.1288/908.1717)
Feb. 25: Evening Work Commute
16.7819 miles (YTD 877.9107/924.9536)
Feb. 26: Morning Work Commute
14.5047 miles (YTD 892.4154/939.4583)
Feb. 26: Evening Work Commute
16.7930 miles (YTD 909.2084/956.2513)
FEBRUARY TOTAL: 572.0166 miles
Mar. 01: Morning Work Commute
14.3210 miles (YTD 923.5294/970.5723)
Mar. 01: Evening Work Commute
16.5924 miles (YTD 940.1218/987.1647)
Mar. 02: Morning Work Commute
14.5647 miles (YTD 954.6865/1001.7294)
Notes: Woo-hoo! With my first 1,000 miles behind me I’m finally in four-digit country!
Mar. 02: Evening Work Commute
16.7830 miles (YTD 971.4695/1018.5124)
Mar. 03: Morning Work Commute
14.6212 miles (YTD 986.0907/1033.1336)
Mar. 03: Evening Work Commute
16.7667 miles (YTD 1002.8574/1049.9003)
Mar. 04: Morning Work Commute
14.5454 miles (YTD 1017.4028/1064.4457)
Mar. 04: Evening Work Commute
16.7828 miles (YTD 1034.1856/1081.2285)
Mar. 05: Morning Work Commute
14.6948 miles (YTD 1048.8804/1095.9233)
Mar. 05: Evening Work Commute
16.7759 miles (YTD 1065.6563/1112.6992)
Mar. 08: Morning Work Commute
14.4076 miles (YTD 1080.0639/1127.1068)
Mar. 08: Evening Work Commute
15.7120 miles (YTD 1095.7759/1142.8188)
Mar. 09: Morning Work Commute
14.5251 (YTD 1110.3010/1157.3439)
Notes: An Otherwise Quiet & Excellent Ride Home Last Night Gets Jacked By The Thug In The Beater
Mar. 09: Evening Work Commute
16.7831 miles (YTD 1127.0841/1174.1270)
Notes: Head-windiest ride of the year coming home. Consistently blowing cold against me from the north and east.
Mar. 10: Morning Work Commute
14.3247 miles (YTD 1141.4088/1188.4517)
Mar. 10: Evening Work Commute
16.7739 miles (YTD 1158.1827/1205.2256)
Mar. 11: Morning Work Commute
14.5461 miels (YTD 1172.7288/1219.7717)
Mar. 11: Evening Work Commute
16.7585 miles (YTD 1189.4873/1236.5302)
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part I
37.3532 miles (YTD 84.3961/1273.8834)
Notes: Not long after my daughter Katie invited me to my grandson Aiden’s first birthday party, I decided because I’m crazy to get there via the fun and challenge of a somewhat epic ride from Silver Lake out to Chatsworth — made even more epic and challenging by the fact that after 36 relatively flat miles, the last 1.5 featured an elevation gain of some 700 feet to the rocky tops of Chatsworth.
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part II
23.9399 miles (YTD 108.3360/1297.8233)
Notes: What goes up, must come down and while I rarely bike out anyplace that I’m not willing and able to bike back, I decided while heading back that when I hit North Hollywood I would avail myself of the relative luxury of taking the subway back to East Hollywood rather than pedal the last 14 miles.
Mar. 13: My Grandson’s 1st Birthday Ride, Part III
1.9410 miles (YTD 110.2770/1299.7643)
Notes: The last short leg from the subway station at Santa Monica and Vermont to home.
Mar. 15: Morning Work Commute
14.3403 miles (YTD 1203.8276/1314.1406)
Mar. 15: Evening Work Commute
17.2029 miles (YTD 1221.0305/1331.3075)
Mar. 16: Morning Work Commute
14.5146 miles (YTD 1235.5451/1345.8221)
