A tale of apartment living.

I moved into a two bedroom apartment back in May 2009 when my roommate and I moved out of a university dorm.  We have adjusted easily enough to apartment life and non-dorm living.  We picked our apartment complex because it is clean, close to campus, and the apartment complex pays the water bill.

My roommate and I are dedicated to sustainable living, especially recycling. During the summer we had to bag up our recycling and take the bags to the city landfill.  This was definitely not convenient, but we had no choice.  We didnt' want to throw away all of those recyclable materials. 

In the fall I noticed a few blue recycling bins next to the dumpsters near the manager's office.  This was great because we could just take our recycling to the bin when we took our trash out.  We were even more environmentally friendly because we were not driving and wasting fuel to drive to the dump.  

For a few months now we have been enjoying taking the recycling out regularly and avoiding the cluttered kitchen corner.  Unfortunately things changed a few weeks ago.  I noticed the blue bins remained unemptied for several days. I did not take out our bags because I did not want our recycling to end up in the trash if we placed it next to the bin, not in it. 

Then one day I was driving home and saw something unfortunate - the blue bins were gone. When they didn't return after a few days I called the manager. She told me we would no longer have reycling pick up here in the complex and we should just put our recycling in the trash. This was devastating to hear. And the only thing worse was that she told me the bins were emptied into the trash, not picked up. 

I could not believe that someone would not care enough to recycle or, at least, respect the wishes of other people.  For now we are back to saving our recycling and taking it to the dump.  I just went a few days ago, but I plan on posting some pictures from my next visit.

I am not done yet. I have made it my duty to get recycling service back at my apartment complex. My roommate and I are likely exceptions to the rule.  Probably not everyone will go to the dump to be eco-friendly.  But if people can take recyclables to a bin next to the dumpster they take their trash, then more people would recycle.

I'm gonna need to see some identification.

Imagine you doing a long 30 mile ride on the weekend.  The weather is perfect, the wind is very light, and your bike is working perfectly.  But then it happens.  You are crossing an intersection and a turning car does not see you.  You get thrown off your bike and are unconscious.  If you were smart then you were carrying a drivers license or someother form of ID so that when the EMTs arrive then can help you better.

That is a pretty bad situation.  I have never been involved in that sever of a bike accident.  My only major bike wreck so far was about two years ago (only two months after I started cycling) when my wheele fell into a trolly track in downtown Little Rock. I was thrown over the front of my bike and broke my arm.  Thankfully I was able to get back to my car and eventually made it to the hospital after lunch (it was Thanksgiving!).

I have witnessed a few cycling accidents that could have been very dangerous, and the thought of being involved in a bad accident is defintely something on my mind everytime I get on my bike.

Typically, I carry my drivers license with me.  If I am commuting to campus, then I have my wallet.  If I am gone for a training ride, then I try to remember to slip my ID into my saddle bag.  Sometimes I forget.

A few weeks ago I got a cycling friend a Road ID gift certificate for his birthday.  He is a cyclist, runner, and swimmer. He ordered  the Fixx ID to wear around his kneck instead of a wristband ID.  He told me the velcro wristband on a traditional Road ID is not very secure when swimming. He got his in the mail a few days ago and it is pretty cool. It has all of his information on it plus a cool "triathlete" picture on the reverse side.

For a few weeks now I have been thinking about buying some type of sport ID, but I cannot decide which option is best for me.

1. I could buy a Road ID (I prefer the wristband ID). The trouble here is that I will very likely move several times in the next several years for school an the information on the ID would be incorrect.  The IDs are about twenty dollars and I don't want to pay for more than one.  
2. I found the Xtreme Sports ID but this one seems hard to read or notice in case of emergency.  Plus, I have never really liked these little wristbands.  They are not comfortable in the summer when it is hot and I am exercising.  
3. The other option I found is the Spord ID from Vital ID. This is a Velcro wristband, similar to the RoadID.  This model has a removable ID tag inside a reflective yellow cover.  What makes this the best option for me, I think, is that the ID tag is removable and changeable.  

The Sport ID is not the least expensive option, but it seems like the best ID for my needs.  I like getting on my bike and knowing that someone can help me if I am in an emergency.  

Snow Day

 

We are stuck inside today. That is nice, but I didn't need the break from exercising.  Though I do enjoy the break from school.

Why run when you could ride?

Back in September 2009 I decided to train for the the Little Rock Marathon 5k in early March 2010.  My roommate ran the full marathon in 2009 and is an avid runner, so I decided to see what all the fuss is about.  I will admit that I have not had the best attitude about runners in the past, but I put all judgments aside and started running.  I talked to my running roommate, downloaded the training schedule for the 5k, and put my feet to work. 

At first it was difficult for me to find a pace at which I could sustain a constant speed and not get too tired after five minutes.  I found myself hunched over, swinging my arms, and sucking wind almost immediately after starting to run.  I hated this and had no choice but to follow the run one minute, walk one minute method.  This helped, and in a few weeks I cut my time for one mile down from over eleven minutes to just over ten minutes. 

I was running outside and found Conway to be very windy and the cold too uncomfortable for someone not truly dedicated to the sport.  When I ride my bike in cold weather I can bundle up with multiple layers for increased temperature control.  But the few times I bundled up to go running just led to my frustrating of being overly hot and not having a constant breeze one experiences when cycling. 

The main problem I had with running was not the weather or how physically intensive it was.  I began resenting my running schedule because it kept me off my bike.  Balancing a school, work, and social life left little time for exercise.  And with the goal of running the 5k, I had to devote most of my exercise schedule to running, not cycling.  Since I wasn't seeing much improvement in my running ability or time, I resented running even more because I was taking time away from something I was marginally good at and putting it into something I was not remotely good at.

This all boils down to my recent decision. I am not going to run the Little Rock Marathon 5k.  While I continue to run, it is mainly due to the weather. I can run inside on a track and avoid the cold weather on my bike. Because of the holidays and family obligations, I stopped running in November and just started back in mid-January.  Clearly this was a bad idea, and I am not back to where I started.  My legs get tired early on and my miles are long (and feel never-ending). I may have given up on a goal, but I am much happier without the impending race on my schedule. 

In early January Central Arkansas had a slightly warm spell, and I was able to go for the first true bike ride of the year.  I rode the Little Rock/North Little Rock River Trail, about a 14 mile loop, and loved every minute of it.  But that is for another post.  I think it will suffice to say that it is more difficult to cross-train from cycling to running.  Maybe I am just meant to be a cyclist, and not a runner.  When I compare my thoughts and feelings while running and cycling, it is pretty clear to me that cycling is my sport.

Schedules and Labels

Since the weather has been very nice lately around these parts, I am starting to ride my bike more now.  I stopped exercising over the holidays and that was a huge mistake.  I am training for a 5k during the first weekend of March, but I lost a lot of my progress when I stopped running.  As for my cycling race schedule, well, I don't have much of one right now.  Like last year I plan on doing the Tour de Rock in June that benefits CARTI.  I would like to do the Big Dam Bridge 100 this year, but that all depends on where I will be living in the fall and whether or not I can come back to Little Rock for the race.

My training schedule is currently focusing on running.  I try to run three days a week (MWF) and one long-ish bike ride on the weekends.  I try to sneak in some time doing a few weight machines at the gym, but that doesn't always happen.  I have been running on an indoor track.  It is pretty nice and makes it a little easier to run; I like being able pit stop at the water fountain next to the track.  I suppose the disadvantage of running on a track would be that it is flat and not comparable to an actual race.  That being said though, I hate sucking in cold air that causes my nose and chest to feel pretty darn uncomfortable. 

To be honest, I can't really decide if I like running.  I appreciate that fact that I can fun a shorter distance and exert more energy than when I ride my bike.  The fact is that with a school schedule, it can be difficult to work in a bike ride that will help me train.  So, it is nice to fit a short run into my schedule and know that I have exerciesed.  Sometimes I feel like running takes away from time on my bike, but I respond to this feeling with two thoughts: 1) I don't always have time to ride my bike (like I previously mentioned), and 2) I try to ride my bike to campus to save time, get a little more exercise, and just enjoy being on my bike.  And I should mention that I also do it to cut down on my carbon footprint.  After all, I am an environmentalist as much as I am a cyclist or "runner."  (I hesitate to call myself a runner, because I can't decide if I really like it and if it is something I want to keep up.) 

A Pedestrian's Dream

New York City is a perfect pedestrian city.  For example, without having to take a taxi or the subway I could find multiple restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, pharmacy, sporting goods store, and plenty more.  That was all within about two or three blocks from my hotel.  Then by riding the subway almost anything was reachable.  I say that NYC is a pedestrian's dream, but it is really a great city for anyone leading a sustainable life.  The subway is a great option for not driving around town.  On top of that, the city buses are hybrid-electric, and many of the taxis are hybrid vehicles.  I do not know if these hybrid taxis are more expensive than non-hybrid vehicles, but I would likely pay a small up-charge to save fuel and emissions in my personal carbon footprint. 

Though I did not drive around the city, I can very strongly say that I would not want to even want to own a car. With the subway, buses, and (hybrid) taxis when necessary I know that my personal carbon footprint would be lower if I lived in NYC than it is living in Arkansas.

I was not used to a pedestrian-based city.  Whenever I want to do something I have always had to get in my car and drive at least five minutes and usually a lot longer. In NYC we were staying at the Rockefeller Center Hotel so I only had to walk about one block to get to the Rockefeller Center subway stop.  From this station I could go pretty much anywhere in the city with just a short walk after reaching my desired stop. Before heading to NYC I downloaded a subway map on my iPhone, and I couldn't imagine finding my way around the city.  The  map looked so difficult, but by the end of the week I could "easily" find my way around Manhattan.

I try to have as small an impact on the environment as possible, and after this trip I noticed the importance of the city.  I can only lower my impact as much as the city and infrastructure allows.  This is how I imagine my life in a larger city like NYC, but not necessarily NYC specifically.

• Transportation - I could walk to local businesses, and potentially take the subway or bus if available.  Additionally, I could incorporate riding my bike into my daily routine as another way to eliminate driving my car.
• "Locavore" - With more local, small groceries I could support local businesses and eat food that was not shipped thousands of miles to reach my table.  And, if the city has a large farmers market, like NYC does, then I could buy straight from the farm!
• Vegan diet - If I wanted to eliminate all animal products from my diet, then a large multi-cultural city has a lot of different options for places to eat and groceries at which to shop.  

These are just a few of my initial ideas about sustainable living in large, diverse cities.  I think it's pretty clear that I loved visiting NYC.  I always look for sustainability options wherever I am and NYC did not let me down.

A Metropolitan Vacation

Last week I was in New York City, on vacation with my girlfriend and her family.  I have never been there before, and from the first day I knew I would like the city.  Part of what was so enjoyable about New York is that I have seen much of it on TV and in Movies.  While the city is definitely different than it appears on screen, it was really cool to see landmarks that I was familiar with from TV and movies.  I also enjoyed not doing too many of the "touristy" things to do - such as the sightseeing bus tours.  I feel like I got a good grasp of the city from just walking around, taking the subway, and visiting places and restarants that weren't pointed out to me from a touristy book or tour guide.  I was definitely on "sensory overload" since I am not used to such a large, busy, and diverse city.  I enjoyed always having somethign to do, the different types of people, and the ecological and cycling aspects to the city.  Unfortunately, though, there are some elements of the city that really just left me thinking.  I want to plan my thoughts on environmentalism and cycling in the city, so I'm gonna hold off on talking about that for a few days. 

Some trip highlights (though I don't think I could say even one thing that I didn't enjoy):

• The Doughnut Plant
• The Natural History Museum (Especially the human evolution exhibit)
• NBC Studios Tour
• Washington Square
• St Patrick's Cathedral and St. Paul's Chapel
• The small part of Central Park that I visited
• Rockefeller Center
• The New York Public Library