mr,grumpy 

If I came off strong it was because I'm overwhelmed with green envy! The two biggest obstacles in my life to riding more (the thing that I find most "fun" in the "get healthy" department) are my schedule and rising a post-toddler. Today was a great success in that his lesson was at the farthest point of any of his normal activities. It proved to me that, given enough prior planning, I can seriously increase my physical activity level and reduce the amount of time I spend in a car. It was still challenging and a little nerve-racking but it was doable.

There's an old saying in retail that for every one complaint there are ten other unhappy customers. That's why I shared this story today. If I, a total doubting Thomas, with a very poor track record of car-reduction (despite a desire to do so) could pull this of the I'm sure that there are plenty of people more "normal" than me or who have advantages like bike-safe pathways and central location can do it to and if they are reading this forum, then perhaps sharing this story will inspire them to try too.