war wounds

i took caltrain for the first time today. i biked ~5 miles to the tamien station, got off at menlo park, then biked ~3 miles to work. this all took 2.5 hours. i suppose it's really only about 2 hours 10 minutes since i wasted 20 minutes by getting on the wrong train. getting back took almost exactly 2 hours.

now a 4 hour commute each day is not exactly ideal. but if i consider 2 of those hours to be "working out", then commuting on the train is roughly equivalent to driving. except for the fact that i can knock out book club reading while on the train! ah-ha!

if i bike it/train it to work 3 times a week from now until the end of september, i will save roughly 2500 miles on gloria. train tickets will cost me $320; a wash when compared to what i'd spend on gas. i think the free time, exercise, and reduction of wear and tear on gloria make it worthwhile.

on the way home i fell yet again - scraped up my shoulder and my knee, and hit my head hard on the pavement. that knocked the wind out of me - i can't imagine what it would have felt like without a helmet.

my only remaining challenges are to get over my fear of traffic and to remember to bring underwear. it was a nice surprise when i got out of the shower at work at and realized i did not pack any. oops!!