It’s not that bad. I’m actually looking forward to classes starting again. All of my classes will be new material, so it will likely be challenging and interesting. (To put it mildly.) I might put some time in with the Calc book just before the semester starts; last two semesters I think I could have gotten off to a better start. This time I want, and need, to have those math brain cells awake the first week.

But enough about school. It’s still July.

I’ve been out on the new Trek a lot this month, logging 120+ miles this month. This weekend, the Trek gets to be a mountain bike, and gets dirty. I’m going camping, and taking the bike along to do some mountain biking in the Nicolet National Forest. Last summer, I was on the old bike from Target, which shifted on its own and didn’t shift when I told it to shift. The Trek doesn’t suffer from those issues, so this time will likely be more fun. I’ve also been going on training rides with the Madison (WI) Area Outdoor Meetup Group on Monday nights, which accounts for a lot of the miles I’ve pedaled this month.

I also have two other camping trips on the schedule this summer, one to Minnesota and one to Michigan, and the bike’s going along on both trips. There will also be kayaking and hiking involved on those trips.

I’ve been learning Java, slowly. I don’t expect that I’ll do a lot with it this semester, but I’m taking an online course through ACM just to reactivate those portions of my brain that are there to write code. It’s been a while, but a loop still does and a variable still is. I’m going to take the A+ exam before school starts again, too. My I Love Me wall needs updating.

I’m working on my UW-Madison transfer application. I’m putting things down on paper now, so it should be submitted soon. That’s a major step. Actually getting in will be an even bigger step, but this is the second step– the first was getting far enough at MATC to make transferring possible.

Okay, so I wasn’t done talking about school. I am trying to make the most of summer, because once the semester starts, life is all about homework and tests. I do believe that thinking about classes now and then over the summer is a good thing, because I’m happy about college. I enjoy school, even the math. (Maybe, especially the math.)

But it is still summer, it’s 73 degrees and sunny, and I’m getting out on the bike to log some more pedaling miles.

• I said last summer, that if I was sitting at home in the middle of winter thinking about kayaking and mountain biking, that I’d invest more in being able to do both. Well, I am, and so I am going to do so– not sure if I can pull off purchasing a new/upgraded bike and a kayak in one year though.
• I need to get out with my friends more. School and work are just really taking all of my time lately.
• I’ve added a few entries to my blogroll. Feel the love.
• I’m amazed that so many people I know from high school are using Facebook.
• I do not get nearly enough sleep these days. My bloodstream is now 23% coffee.
• I’m not, not, NOT running for any office at the VFW post this year.
• I’m in a PTSD treatment program at the VA.
• I’m kinda ticked that US Cavalry won’t sell me an ABU boonie hat, and save me a trip to the army/navy store in Milwaukee to look for one. Then again, if I go there, I can also go to the Safehouse. So maybe it’s not so bad.
• I now own my own car. This is the first car I’ve ever paid for entirely on my own. There are three stickers on the back window– a U. S. Air Force decal, a VFW decal, and my MATC student parking sticker. Still waiting for military plates to arrive.
• I’m going to order a Big Tobacco tshirt– not because he’s giving part of the proceeds to charity (although he is), but because of this post that proves I’m not the only one in the world that thinks like that sometimes.
• I’m trying to get back into being in the gym more. Full schedule plus it’s cold outside makes it difficult.

Okay, back to work…

It took a while to get started, even in bike friendly Madison. Getting in the car is easy– it’s still a pain to get up and go to work, but the trip there doesn’t require any effort. You get in the car, start it up, and off you go. Riding a bike involves leaving earlier, checking the weather, bringing clothes to change into when you get there, and making sure you take (enough) water along.

The route I take to work involves two different, and each fairly short, dedicated bike paths plus bike lanes and two legs of just plain old streets. There are a few hills, but nothing I can’t deal with. It’s an easy ride. The streets I do ride on aren’t busy in the morning on the way to work, and are still easy to navigate in the afternoon. They’re city streets, but not “main artery” streets. Without the two bike paths, and a short chunk of asphalt (thank you, PDQ @ Stoughton Rd. & Anderson St.!) that connects one street to another, my bike commute wouldn’t happen. If anyone wonders if those short bike paths and connector sidewalks are worth the money property owners and the city of Madison spend on them, the answer is yes. So are the bike lanes.

And since I’m handing out thank you’s, thanks to those nice folks who give me extra room on the street even when I have a bike lane to ride in. It’s appreciated.

(Now, if I could convince The Man at work that a place to shower at work would be a good thing, I’d be willing to call my employer bike friendly, too.)

Links:

• City of Madison, WI Traffic Engineering Bike Maps
• Where to get a Dane County (paper) bike map
• Reindahl Park info (one of the paths I use
• Wisconsin DOT Bicycle Projects