Still Sick, Trying to Avoid the Automobile
Feb. 7th, 2014 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogI decided to wimp out and drive to school today. I think I probably could have biked. But I was feeling tired and icky in the morning, and decided to sleep in.
I feel a little like I'm cheating. Part of the reason I'm biking so much is for proof of concept. I want to see that I can manage without a car once I move for grad school. I'm trying to commute by bike, grocery shop by bike, and generally avoid turning that internal combustion engine over.
I suppose a little cheating is ok. I'm living in a city that is not particularly conducive to utility bicycling. The layout is poor, streets are not in the best condition, and motorists are not accustomed to sharing the road. As well, the public transportation system is poor, especially in comparison with Chicago. Buses run once an hour, and stop in the early evening. The timing of their arrival is such that I would sometimes need to get to school almost an hour early to ensure I won't be a few minutes late to class. Living in a large city, public transit would be my backup for days when I don't or won't bike. In Kenosha, that doesn't work very well.
Anyway, I'm sneezing and sniffly, but I really have to be here today. It's the first meeting for the group of us who are going to Chiapas in March, and I want to be there so I know what's going on. Beyond that, I have a lot of anxiety about missing classes, regardless of the reason or infrequency. (In fact, I'll likely miss some of my history class for the Chiapas meeting, and though I have an acquaintance there taking notes, it still makes me nervous.)
It's a little ironic that, though I've biked the other four days this week, I ended up being late only today when I drove! My brother has been using the car, and though he put some gas in at one point, when I got in this morning the gauge read low enough that I was concerned I wouldn't make it to school. I had to stop and put gas in the car, which made Tim (the other brother who was riding with me) and I a few minutes late. I'll have to talk to the driving brother about ensuring there's at least a quarter tank of gas in the car when he's done with it.
I feel a little like I'm cheating. Part of the reason I'm biking so much is for proof of concept. I want to see that I can manage without a car once I move for grad school. I'm trying to commute by bike, grocery shop by bike, and generally avoid turning that internal combustion engine over.
I suppose a little cheating is ok. I'm living in a city that is not particularly conducive to utility bicycling. The layout is poor, streets are not in the best condition, and motorists are not accustomed to sharing the road. As well, the public transportation system is poor, especially in comparison with Chicago. Buses run once an hour, and stop in the early evening. The timing of their arrival is such that I would sometimes need to get to school almost an hour early to ensure I won't be a few minutes late to class. Living in a large city, public transit would be my backup for days when I don't or won't bike. In Kenosha, that doesn't work very well.
Anyway, I'm sneezing and sniffly, but I really have to be here today. It's the first meeting for the group of us who are going to Chiapas in March, and I want to be there so I know what's going on. Beyond that, I have a lot of anxiety about missing classes, regardless of the reason or infrequency. (In fact, I'll likely miss some of my history class for the Chiapas meeting, and though I have an acquaintance there taking notes, it still makes me nervous.)
It's a little ironic that, though I've biked the other four days this week, I ended up being late only today when I drove! My brother has been using the car, and though he put some gas in at one point, when I got in this morning the gauge read low enough that I was concerned I wouldn't make it to school. I had to stop and put gas in the car, which made Tim (the other brother who was riding with me) and I a few minutes late. I'll have to talk to the driving brother about ensuring there's at least a quarter tank of gas in the car when he's done with it.
