I have recently been riding my bicycle to work. No, it's not because I am trying to "save the environment." It's not that I don't care about those issues, but I'm just not naive enough to believe I'll have some sort of grand impact on the Earth's carbon levels by not driving my car every other day. No, I have more self-centered reasons for my choice of transportation.
The first motivator is my own narcissism. Over the last year, I had gained 25 pounds and it was starting to show. I started to avoid looking at myself in the mirror when my shirt was off. This was the first significant weight gain since I was finishing up puberty back in high school. I had managed to stay the same size all the way through my college and post-college years until I moved out to the suburbs last summer.
What does living in the suburbs have to do with it? Well, I used to be able to walk everywhere when I lived in Loring Park. I walked to work and back twice during the day because I would usually hike home for lunch each day, too. Not only that, but my trips to Target and Blockbuster were walkable because the stores were within a half-mile of my apartment. I'd also walk to bars and restaurants in the Downtown and Uptown area when going out with friends. On top of all that walking, I'd even work out by running and biking every other day, too.
When I moved out to St. Louis Park, I found myself driving everywhere: to work, the grocery store, and the bars. I no longer had all of that daily physical movement. The running or biking every other night wasn't enough to combat the weight gain. It sucked. For the first time in almost a decade, I was going to have to buy new pants because my old ones were too small.
Biking to work has now got me back to that daily physical activity. It really helps that my office is over 10 miles from my apartment, and the last stretch of road has about 10 good sized hills I have to climb. It's a good feeling coming home and knowing that you already worked out for over an hour and a half just by going to and from work. It's one hell of a workout, and any other physical activity occurring that night is just bonus points.
The second motivator for using my bicycle is the almighty dollar. Or perhaps I should say the almighty $4; as in $4 a gallon. Gas is getting damn expensive and I'm pretty sure it will remain that way for the rest of my life. By only driving to work every other day, I estimate I'll save $60, or one tank, each month in gas. That adds up to $720 a year. $720 adds up to a pretty solid weekend trip to Las Vegas.
However, I discovered a hidden cost of excessive bike riding which will lead to an explanation of this post's silly title: my jeans are rapidly deteriorating in the groin area. They haven't completely decayed, but they're going fast. If I have to dip into my gas savings to replace my pants periodically, it will take its toll on my Vegas fund. If anybody has some good tips on how to prevent crotch decay on blue jeans, I'd like to hear it.
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Unfortunately, there is nothing I can tell you to help you prevent jean-crotch deterioration, aside from standing up the whole time you are riding or, better yet, riding pantless. I use my bicycle as part of my daily routine; with my job I have to drive a lot, but instead of driving the mile and a half to the St. Louis County courthouse from my office, I've been biking that when it's plausible (i.e., when all I have to do is run there and back and not go anywhere else). So I have yet to actually face the pants-deterioration problem that I used to face in my younger days when I rode my bicycle everywhere.
I never had that problem when I was racing, because the pants designed for serious bike riding are designed with enough padding to cushion your boys and prevent crotch-deterioration. So maybe you should get yourself some spandex shorts and a jersey, throw some real clothes in your bag, and bike to work and do a quick change. But then you've got the issue of wearing spandex.
Maybe we will have to find you a pair of Zubas to wear into work.... That or wear a pair of B-ball shorts in and stick your pants into your shoulder bag? Or maybe a pair of tear-aways? hmmmm.
Crotch Decay... Hehehe.
Yep, I concur with the advice to wear spandex bike shorts and make a quick switch of clothes when you get to work. Lots of folks bike here in NZ and that seems to be the trend.
Also, with the crotch decay, sadly there isn't a whole lot that can be done. You can extend the life of the jeans by having denim patches put on the inside and those be stitched down or around (I'm sure they can do this at my old work Can Do Clothing Alterations - but make sure you go to the Roseville local). Not sure how much it will cost you - depends on how big the patch area is. Could be anywhere from $10-20.
Hope that helps. And good on you with the biking! I wish I were more proficient on a bike... I pretty much suck at it.
I have decided to pack a change of clothes, but I have too much dignity to go the spandex route. I instead have a pair of cargo shorts that are made of "ripstop" that seem to be holding up well. These are the shorts I normally wear when biking.
The only problem now is putting on cold, sweaty clothes at the end of the day when I ride home.
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