Saturday, May 8, 2010

90. 3,000 miles was so close


My car isn't exactly a high-end car.  It runs alright and has been extremely dependable. It's main use is for when either Melissa and I go out on our own.  Otherwise, we use the van.
On my first day to school this year (August, 19th 2009) I passed 109,000 miles in the car.  As the year went along I was noticing how few miles I was putting on from month to month. From home to my school is 4 miles.  The trip to Jewel (grocery store) is 1 mile.  To get to Aurora University is 3 miles.  Needless to say, that car doesn't travel too far. It wasn't until February or March that I started to wonder if I could go the whole school year keeping under 3,000 miles.  I started to bike more to stores or even take the girls in the stroller when I wanted to jog over to Jewel.  I felt like I was on track but the miles slowly added up and this week, as Melissa was headed out to run some errands, it crossed the 112,000 mark. 22 more days and the goal would have been met.
I'm proud for how few miles I went over those 8 1/2 months.  I'm proud of using my bike and the stroller more to get around. It feels good to get some exercise in when running routine errands.  I've even found that when riding my bike it takes just a few minutes longer than when in the car.  I see that as being worth it.
It should get even better as far as using alternate modes of transportation.  Melissa found a trailer for me to pull the girls along in when I go out on bike rides. This will mean that I can take them out even farther than just the grocery store.  I'm excited to start using it and to take the girls around town.

3 comments:

Mom said...

One more reason I'm proud of you! You're being green, exercising, and spending time with the family all rolled into one event. How do you bring the groceries back on a bike? Are your large trips still done in the van/car? I love you, EP! I hope I can see you soon!

Eric Weis said...

There's a compartment in both the stroller and trailer that you can put groceries in. It isn't huge, but it's usually big enough to carry what I get. Otherwise, if I have too many items I have to consider what I really need and put back the rest. Another healthy habit to be in.

JRev said...

that is awesome. We put 3,000 miles on in one month.