Wednesday, November 02, 2011

What I do to save RTD/Lightrail fare


Greetings Readers

The things that I sometimes do to save a penny. So, the snow storm came in and this time there was a lot off snow and I could tell right from the front windows that riding any type of road bike was going to be almost impossible. That being said I had to get Lily for another ride.

I left Lily out on the deck since the weather has been nice for a bit.

I got outside and found out that the snow was was heavy and wet. As opposed to soft and fluffy. Meaning that made my ride just extra harder.

Even that said the RTD stop is right there. However, this morning I did not want to give up $ 2.25 for public transportation. Also, how long was the wait going to be for the next bus to come by – which comes every 30 minutes or so. Would I be catching right away or will I have to be waiting for bit for RTD to arrive. And with the weather I did not want to be just standing around in the cold and slightly windy morning. I would rather work up a sweat and get my blood flowing.

Getting out on the main thoroughfare in my residential area was tough. Even more so what that the street was not plowed. That meant I had to bike in the vehicle’s tire tracks that have been so far this morning.

With the fresh snowfall the sidewalks were not going to be plowed. So, basically I was fucked. And the morning commute was not going to make this ride any easier. And I was not going to cave in and pay for public transportation this morning. No way. No how. Pretty soon I came to a part of my bike route to work where I am able to follow a bike trail in most of the way to work. That was my biggest concern since I know that was not going to be easy. And going through the residential areas are even tougher since technically these residential area are sort of isolated area with only a few ins and outs of them.

The biggest thing for me was once I got onto the bike path I better not stop. Once I stopped riding I was not going to be able to start riding due to the snowfall. Needless to say I was forced to a stop twice and managed to get on my bike and pedal after a few tries. Just the type of snow as well as the depth of the snow that made the riding difficult.

Soon, I was off the bike path and once more back to residential riding. Whew. There was this lady shoveling her driveway and said something like “You’re brave.” To me. I smiled.

The last part of my journey to work was going to be another challenging issue. There are sidewalks, but this morning none of the sidewalks were plowed. So, that meant I will be riding in the streets. And where I work there is really only two ways (streets) to work so I can not use back streets or cut across fields/parking lots, etc. With that said traffic was going to be a problem. Luckily I know the stop light timing at the intersection where cars are going the same direction I was. That way I can sort assume when traffic will be coming from behind. Mind you, I trust myself riding in the street. However, it is snow and perhaps ice; therefore either I or the vehicles could slip and slide. What if I slip and fall when a vehicle is right behind me? What if a car brakes and starts to slide?

Finally, 1 hour and 10 minutes later I was at work. A tough and long commute, but the bottom line is that I saved 2 dollars and 25 cents. Er. Actually, I saved 4.50 since I rode home that evening.

Until the next time

Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete

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