Vote in This Week's Poll: Are high gas prices making you more active?
For many of us, the idea of cycling or walking to work seemed ridiculous up until a few weeks ago when gas prices finally soared past $4. Now, bike shops are doing a booming business and drivers are starting to complain about all these crazy cyclists on the road. While I doubt my husband will ever bike to work (his office is pretty far away), plenty of us are doing just that. The bright side of all of this, and we must look for one, is all this extra activity we're getting.
I'm curious about how you're handling the high price of gas. Is it making you more active? Vote in this week's poll and tell us how you're saving money and staying active. I'd also like to hear how you handle the basics - changing clothes, the sweat factor, etc., so leave a comment and tell us how it's done.
Poll: Are high gas prices making you more active?
1. Yes, I'm cycling or walking more instead of driving
2. Yes, I'm more active now that I'm home more
3. No, I drive just as much as I ever did
4. No, but I wish I could find a way to drive less and be more active
5. I don't have a car
6. No, but I'm considering other methods of transportation
7. Other - please explain in comments
More about biking to work
Comments
I always try to walk more. It is a good way to help keep in the best possible health. This article had some great ideas.
I can’t drive to the trailheads to hike anymore.
Still workout 5 days a week in the gym, but my weekend hikes were my real passion…
I would LOVE to walk more for transportation. However, living in the South makes that impossible. Everything is very spread out - the closest store is several miles away and I work 20 miles away. The heat doesn’t help either! I workout every single day and stay on my feet as much as possible to make up for it.
I bike to work most days during Spring, Summer, and early Fall (11 miles round trip, not a huge distance). I’m blue collar, so sweat is not a huge factor. I keep a change of clothes and deodorant in my locker, and take wet sweaty clothes home in my backpack. In really hot weather, I soak my t-shirt in the sink before I leave for home; evaporation in our climate helps keep me cool.
If I didn’t live in the boondocks where we don’t even have sidewalks, I wouldn’t even bother with cars. Driving is traumatic enough without the horrors of gas prices.
This is the first year that I haven’t gone walking at my favorite park in several years. It’s only a 11 more miles if I go after my gym workout, which I usually do, but it adds up. As much as I love walking at this park, I feel guilty about wasting the gas.
I’ve been more active lately not because of the gas prices. It’s more because it is summer and I want to feel good. I walk to the store on Wednesdays to get my lotto ticket if that is the only thing I need to do that day. I do more watering outside which gets me off the sofa. We walk the dog beach to look at dogs verses staying at the top of the hill. Hopefully, gas prices will not be the excuse to exercise or there will be quite a few more tubby type people in the Winter. (just my opinion.)
Bought a 250cc motorcycle,Honda Rebel gets 70mpg and still not broken in yet.
By staying home, I am less active. There is no place to walk in my neighborhood. Today is a Code Orange Smog Alert Day and that is not good.
I used to drive somewhere about every day and walk 3-4 miles. Now, I am doing that 2-3 times per week and combine it with other things. I wear a pedometer and am not getting much on it at home.
For several months my husband had a job in the city, so he would drive down, leaving me in the country with no car. My work place was 5 miles from home. In the summer I rode my bike to work, and walked when it rained. In the winter I cross country skied on the train tracks (a summer tourist train that was not running). I would leave a weeks worth of clothes at work, and had a towel, washcloth, soap and deoderent. I would ride to work, wash up, change into my work clothes, then change into my bikeing clothes to ride home. I would have a weeks supply of clothes ready for the night my husband came home, he would bring them to work in the car. I Took the dirty laundry home in my back pack.
I was certainly more fit in those days, and the decision of what to wear was much easier to make.
I have to drive too far to work to bike but would love to. The only change i have made is to consolidate and when home on weekends stay there. Lunches i try to walk around the area or run instead of driving for errands. Wish there was more….
My trip to work is too far and traffic to too crazy to ride a bike. Plus, it has been 100 degrees the past few days and I think I would die. I enjoy working out inside during the hot summer months. I am considering a motorcycle to save on gas.
I am a stay at home mom, so other than getting to the health club with the three kids, my routine hasn’t changed much. My husband makes up for it tho, by biking to work, 20 miles each way as long as it’s not raining and so far this summer, we haven’t had too much of a problem with that.