I’ve decided, after making decisions loosely based around Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, to focus on developing my “Important But Not Urgent” activities in my life.
You’ve probably heard it said, “the Urgent is the enemy of the Important.” That’s because urgent things demand our attention NOW, and we never get around to doing the important things.
Things I consider “Important” are things that will have negative effects if put off. Things like eating healthy, exercise, studying scripture, spending quality time with family, etc. are all “Important” because you can’t just put them off indefinitely. Sooner or later, it will negatively impact your life.
See that word “Exercise” in the second quadrant? This month I’ve decided to attack my exercise and diet regimen. I haven’t been a regular, steady bike commuter since my accident in 2011. I figured it was time to get my health back on track. I already have all the stuff you need to bike commute, and I’ve written extensively about it, so what I needed was just to get on the bike and ride!
So that’s what I’ve been doing.
Ride report after 2 weeks of commuting by bike:
My legs are getting used to riding again. I’ve eaten quite a bit, my metabolism hasn’t quite settled yet. I haven’t lost any weight, but I feel pretty strong.
Since I haven’t ridden much in the last few years, I’ve had some bike issues. I hit a pothole and broke a spoke on the rear wheel- that took about an hour to fix. I accidentally blew the rear tube putting it back together, so I had to replace that.
I got soaked on my ride home Friday, and my old “biking” tennis shoes were soaked and in need to a wash. They didn’t get dried in time for today’s ride, so I swapped some platform pedals on (instead of old Sakae quill pedals with toe clips) so I could ride in some newer shoes. It was a different experience… I’m not used to my feet moving around on the pedals. It worked fine, though.
The routine is getting easier. I’m having to spend less and less time packing and getting ready the night before. This makes it very easy to ride, and also lets me sleep later in the mornings.
Things I need to do:
Need to work on wet-weather gear, like fenders and waterproof bags. Everything else, I think, is pretty solid for now. Maybe for my birthday I’ll get a set of nice bags!