Bike Thieves in South Bend

Grr...I'm so annoyed. Some jerk stole my bike helmet tonight, along with my friend's rear light and sack. And they also tried to steal this other guy's wheel from his bike. The nerve! Prior to this discovery, my friend Jackie and I attended a jazz concert near my house. It was a fun, certainly a nice diversion from writing academic papers. But really! Why are there people out there willing to take what clearly does not belong to them?? (This is rhetorical questions, folks!)

It just peeves me. So now, I'm going to have to *drive* to the local bike shop to purchase a new helmet. While I'm there, I'll pick up some other items that I'm sure these thieves would want to add to their collection.

Now when I'm riding my bike, I'll be keeping an eye for someone who's sporting a pink helmet!

My Prediction for Tomorrow's Weather

I didn't ride my bike today because the weather forecast predicted an 80% chance of thunderstorms and showers. Ok, I'll admit - I'm a chicken when it comes to biking in stormy weather. I was debating this issue this morning, though. Should I ride or not? I wanted to ride so that I could add more miles to Team IUSB for the Michiana Bike to Work Week challenge. But I didn't want to get stuck in a storm. So I drove to work today.

What a mistake.

It rained for about 10 minutes. And that was it. I looked outside my office window in frustration. I was expecting something way more severe, just like the weatherman promised. But no, that didn't happen. As I drove home from work today, I saw several people biking. I should be on my bike, not in my car, I thought to myself.

So here's my prediction for tomorrow: It will rain like cats and dogs. And I will be in the middle of it, on my bike. Forget the weatherman's report. I'm biking tomorrow. Now watch me get struck by lightning.

Join Team IUSB for Bike to Work Week!

If you haven't heard the news, next week is Bike to Work Week. This year's organizers are encouraging employee groups to "compete" as part of team. My colleague, Bruce Spitzer, has created an IUSB team, which I joined yesterday. There are other teams, too. The basic idea is to simply log the miles you ride during the week. So if you have a bike, and would like to join a team, go to Michiana Bike to Work to register.

Bike to Work Week

Today kicks off National Bike-to-Work Week. So this morning, I dusted my bike and rode to work. Not bad! In fact, biking to work was fun. :0)

Now that it's Spring, I figured I'd bike to work on a regular basis--that is, until it gets too cold for me. (You have to remember I'm from Georgia; my idea of the "cold" differs from most folks around here!)

So, why bother biking?

Well, the reasons why I should bike seem rather transparent: I'm getting in shape while on my way to work, I get to say hello to passerbys, and I save money on gas and parking.

And there's another reason (this one is more psychological): After not driving my VW Jetta for a couple of weeks, I really appreciate driving it again! Cognitive psychologists call this effect "dishabituation," which basically means that taking a break from a routine behavior (i.e., driving) elicits the same response (i.e., joy) I experienced the first time I drove my car. Sweet!