Biking Background

Growing up in another urban jungle named San Antonio, the concept of using a bicycle as a means of transportation never crossed my mind. When you wanted to go anywhere you went by car. To school, the grocery store, restaurants or out with friends, every aspect relied on the use of 4 wheels and gasoline. We all owned bikes, we all knew how to ride them, but for the most part they remained safely confined to a corner of our garages. So blocked in by Christmas decorations that even if the urge to ride hit, good luck freeing the heavy beasts.

I became an accidental cyclist in 2003, while living in the closest thing to a biking utopia Texas has to offer...Austin. A group of students banded together to ride bikes 4650ish miles from Austin, TX to Anchorage, Alaska. The goal was to raise money for the American Cancer Society and give presentations about cancer prevention along the routes up to AK. Despite not having ridden a bike since the age of 12, I decided this was the trip for me. Three months of training + 70 days of riding and over $300,000 in donations later our team of 40 made it to Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. Somewhere between a sore ass, throbbing shins and the Yukon Territory I fell in love with the concept of going from Point A to Point B by bike.


check out the ride at www.texas4000.com

Upon my return to Austin and eventual move to Houston, I have continued to ride my bike sporadically as a means of commuting. By sporadically I mean when the weather, distance, estimated time and route suite my preference. Equating to about 70% of the time me wussing out and climbing in my car.

The impetus for this experiment is a planned 9 month hiatus from my job as a flight attendant for a major airline. I will be working at a local store, within striking distance on my bike, and have decided to see where exactly I can make it on my two wheels. I know I will probably not be able to give up the total use of a car, but with carefully drawn parameters I would like to flip my percentage to 70% transport by bike.

The Rules to follow.....