First, apologies (again) for my absence in posting.  Things are so busy with work and Bici that when I get home I have nothing left in me to write.  I do miss you all, and am hopeful that things slow down soon.

Last week, I celebrated 2 big days…my 31st Birthday and my one year anniversary of being car free!  It was any other day…riding around to meetings and friends houses.  Nothing special about the day, in fact it practically came and went before I remembered.

What has being car free taught me?

That my friends rock.  When it rains, when I need a ride home from the Greyhound station, when I need to borrow a car to head to a conference 2 hours away…they always show up.  It is amazing.

That Birmingham’s public transport really does suck.  In one year I have yet to take it.  The reason?  I can’t figure the damn thing out!  The maps are all separate and trying to get from one end of town to the next takes hours and multiple bus transfers (on a less than timely bus “schedule”).  For those people who don’t even have bikes, I am not sure how they do it.

That the hottest summer in history makes for a lot of sweaty meetings.  Seriously, I spent most of the summer wiping sweat from my brow while talking to people about food security!

That I can eat as much food and drink as much beer as I want and not worry.  Sure, I have gained some weight, but I still look the same (muscle weight, baby!) and feel great.

That your gas costs go down, but your food intake goes WAY up.  I eat so much food.

That I am not sure I ever want a car!!

Thanks everyone for all of your support.  This year has been great and terrible and I never regret selling my car.  Freedom!!!

Lately it seems the only biking I’ve been able to find time for is my commute to and from work. However, this weekend it was decided that a good day of biking was in order.

My date and I decided to ride over to the botanical gardens for a picnic and a nice walk around.  He’d never been there before, but it is one of my favorite places in Birmingham. It’s so wonderfully woodsy and green, with a great variety of gardens and trails to venture through. A great alternative to a backyard, with much less work!

We spent a few hours wandering around, which was a bit of a challenge in our clipless shoes. Eventually, we decided to hit the road for our next stop – cupcakes and ice cream, hell yes.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a good before picture; we were a little too excited about our delicious booty to even think about documentation. After devouring, we hung out for another hour waiting for our milky sugary food to digest before heading back. Our trip was a short 12 miles, but it was perfect. We got home just as a storm hit.

We’ve started planning Bici’s next ladies alleycat – the Kitty Kat! Ladies and dudes in dresses/skirts only, in and around downtown Birmingham, ending up at Rojo for our afterparty get down. Killer prizes are currently being acquired. Mark your calendar locals and those who are itching for that final summer road trip – September 18, 7:00!

Image stole from here. Want!

I woke up this morning to hear that the temperature was 68 degrees. My heart jumped for joy. The high still might be in the 90s, and I still arrived to work a bit sweaty, but the cool breeze I enjoyed on the way was wonderful.

Lets all wish Elisa the most happiest of birthdays today! She’s fun, she’s pretty, I like her.