Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Healthy or Unhealthy?

I've been dwelling on this one for a while.

Am I doing myself more harm than good by riding my bike to work.

The ride is relaxing. (good)

Until I slam on the brakes to avoid being doored. (bad)

I get a decent aerobic work our climbing Ceder Hill in Central Park (good),

And then suck bus exhaust on Fifth Avenue. (bad)

I build muscle schlepping 20 or more pounds of stuff every day, (good)

But stress out over inconsiderate folks who park in the bike lane (including those "wonderful" police drills that seem to take up two blocks worth of bike lane across from Madison Square Garden every other week).

So ... what do you think?

Oh, and I almost got blown down by some serious gusts of wind as I made my way home tonight. But the temperature was ideal for riding ...

3 comments:

Kristen said...

I say the good outweighs the bad. I wish I lived close enough to work to commute. Ride on (while the weather cooperates)!

Marni said...

You forgot to add the good you are doing the environment by biking rather than driving. I say the good outweighs the bad til the day you just don't feel like biking. But be careful out there!

Ina said...

I'd say on balance Healthy, but it sounds like maybe you could use a different route to work for a while, whether by bike or another mode of transportation. Be happy and safe (in so far as it's possible commuting)!