Since June, I have commuted to work by bicycle two to three times per week. In July, I received a new bike and CatEye cycle computer from my family for my birthday. I cycle 21 miles round-trip each day that I ride. I also try to cycle 20 to 30 miles on the weekends. Since June, my cholesterol dropped from 243 to 185 and my LDL dropped from 170 to 110 -- without medications or dieting. No need to join the gym.
Dumping the pump has been a bigger benefit than I ever imagined – both for me and the planet. The picture shows the last “hill” of my commute; carrying my bike up the stairs to the office.
JANET'S ORIGINAL ENTRY
Previously, I commuted 64 miles a day to Cambridge. I had NO work life balance.
One day I had enough of the nonsense and dumped the @#!*&$ job.
I found a better one closer to home.
Borrowed a bike -- Got the gear.
Now I bike to work and home, and get pumped at the same time!
My commute is 12 miles one way –- it takes 50 minutes -- the same time it took to commute 32 miles to Cambridge.
I live in Hopkinton and commute to Genzyme Corporation at 200 Crossing Blvd in Framingham.
By car, the shortest distance to work is 8.6 miles. By bike, to avoid bike-unfriendly roads, I take the longer (and hopefully safer) path.
Through forests, past lakes and streams, I can hear the birds and smell the fresh morning air on the way. The route crosses over the I-495/Mass Pike interchange where I used to sit in frustration, stuck in traffic.
The route crosses again under the Mass Pike where I see the traffic above me move at a frustrating crawl (at 7:00 AM, before Exit 12).
I am also pleased about two other things:
*I get better gas mileage than my husband does in his Toyota Prius (he’s so smug).
*I combine commuting and exercise, whereas before, my commute took so much time, I never had time to exercise.
As of this writing, I have biked to work and back three days. I will continue as long as the weather is good. I am 55 years old.
Janet
Genzyme
Framingham
