The fun starts today -- my first post

Blissful weather is what has greeted me each day this summer on my bicycle commute between Moscow, ID where I live and Pullman, WA where I work. Mornings are cool with almost no breeze at all, which means that I'm not too sweaty when I get to work. I splash my face and neck in the bathroom sink in our office building, slip into a change of clothes that I keep in a small collapsible closet, brush my hair, and then I'm ready to go.

 

 

I have commuted between Moscow and Pullman since moving here six years ago, and almost all of the commute has consisted of alternative means of transportation besides me driving alone in my car: bus, bike and ride share. Up until this year, the commuter bus that the University of Idaho and Washington State University co-sponsored was my main form of transportation, particularly in the winter months when biking is not possible. However, university budget cuts and low ridership, to put it most simply, doomed the beloved bus.

 

 

Over the past 6 years, I have had many friends, students, colleagues and family ask about my commute between Moscow and Pullman. They wonder, marvel really, at how a family of four, with two working parents in towns 7 miles apart, and two active children can manage with just one car. I hear this often. My response has always been that I love my commute, and that as a family we made a conscious choice to live with one car. In this way, we can put the money saved into other priorities.

 

 

The demise of the commuter bus puts me and my family in a difficult position. We considered buying a second car but then decided against it for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, how would we manage without the bus?

 

 

Then, in a moment of inspiration on one of my bike trips to Pullman, I decided that I might be able to turn my loss into something interesting, positive, and maybe even a little fun. I would blog about my experience commuting. Perhaps my experiences will motivate others to become interested in commuting as well.

 

 

Thus, this is the beginning of my blog. The title of the blog comes from the name of the creek that runs along the Chipman Trail - the bike trail - between the two university towns. The trail itself is a paved rails-to-trails and used frequently by other commuters like myself, joggers, walkers and families (usually but not always) spending quality time together. I plan to post a new entry each day I bike on the trail. I will also post each day I find an alternative to driving alone, whether that be providing a ride to a fellow commuter or grabbing a ride myself. I hope to document these experiences and have some fun doing it too.

 

 

Of course, none of this resolves the dilemna of what to do when the weather turns foul and deadly cold. However, that won't be for another few months. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my bike ride, share my experiences getting from home to work on my bike, write about how I manage it when the rains come, and consider ways in which to make alternative means of commuting possible when winter arrives -- which is always too early on the Palouse.

 

 

It's already 11pm and time for bed. Tomorrow is an early morning because I have a meeting at 9am. Onward!