Hunting, Bicycles, Commuting, Money, the Environment, Fitness, and Oil

Wow, what a title! Ok, so maybe it’s a little too ambitious! This is really just going to be a post on my first few weeks of bicycle commuting. The first weeks have went extremely well and I do believe it’s going to become a full time activity. I’ve worked out a way to pack my work clothes in my backpack, as well as my lunch, and wear more suitable clothes to bike in and then change at work. So far everything has worked out well and the air moves fast enough to keep me from being too sweaty when I get to work. The only issue I’ve had so far is that one day last week it was pouring rain when I left work and I hadn’t packed any kind of a jacket. Having no fenders on my bike also provided me with a wet butt before I had even gotten out of the parking lot. I feel like it is going to really improve my fitness level though, and despite the fact that it’s not an extremely long ride or anything, I’ve already came up with ways to make it more challenging when I get to that point.

I’ve also identified several hunting areas where the bike will be very useful as well. There is no way I could make it in to one of the areas without being too sweaty when I got there or having to start walking in at way too early in the morning. I hope to take it on a scouting trip or two very soon, as well, to really get a feel for how it is going to work for hunting, but I feel it will have some real advantages in a few areas I plan on checking out.

Another great thing to come from bike commuting is that I’m being easier on the environment, and even better, I’m saving myself a lot of money! I will soon be biking to work five days a week and that equals a lot of gas savings! Finding a good place to put some of that money was easy too. I’ve already decided on a new muzzleloader! At the end of each trip I have a large hill to climb, and every time it gets tough I think about using that new muzzleloader, way back in the woods, on a beautiful mature whitetail, and somehow I make it up those hills time after time!