15 June 2013

New Summer Challenges (to Biking and Other Things)


In just over a month, the weather in Denver turned from snow storms and 30 degrees to 100 degrees. That's weather whip lash and it's just wrong. I figured we'd have at least a month and a half of spring-time weather. I knew that June travel plans would make biking everyday a challenge, but I didn't think the weather would play into it. And kids. That never seems like a challenge - until it's too hot to ride with them.

As noted, we were in Calgary last weekend. It was a lovely trip. The kids are at a good age to travel - naps don't get in the way of plans as much any more and they can be plied with plenty of snacks if eating schedules are thrown off. We incorporated a bike ride into the trip because I'm finding it's one of the best ways to see a city. It was a relatively quick ride, but man I appreciate a good bike lane. And Calgary is filled with them.

So I can kind of deal with the challenges of biking and traveling. The heat, though, I'm still figuring that challenge out. If we want to ride, we need to leave the house before 9 a.m. There's not too much open at that time of the morning that's also within biking distance. As a result, we're going to have to get out of the house earlier and seek out some alternative activities. And, I'm just going to have to accept that some things won't be bike-able. Like the art museum and the botanic center and some other outings. Perhaps public transportation is a viable option that I haven't considered yet.

Other challenges? Well, I'm finding that "school's out for summer" attitude has hit me too. While I should be prepping for my online class and getting ahead in my other work so I can take a big vacation at the end of the month, my motivation hit a stonewall about the same time as Benny was finished with kindergarten. I'll figure it out, but boy, it's frustrating.

I am excited to report that Struckman Consulting was featured on the idealist.org blog late last month. It was a nice surprise.

2 comments:

Melissa @ HerGreenLife said...

Ugh, yes, the heat (and sun) presents a big challenge to biking for us, too. It's either get out early or just deal with the heat (or don't get out a all).

Maybe an early morning p.j. ride with some kind of portable pre-breakfast snack that they could eat in the trailer?

When I was working and bike commuting everyday, I left around 7:30am most days and had at least one direction that was cool, but it's definitely challenging to get out of the house early with little ones.

life's a bear said...

I love this idea! And I'm going to do it this Friday! I think we'll actually do a picnic in our PJs. Brilliant. Thanks for the idea!