Apr 302024

How #30DaysOfBiking Rolled in 2024

How #30DaysOfBiking Rolled in 2024

Research tells us that when we commit out loud in some way we’re more likely to follow through with whatever it is we’re trying to change. That’s certainly been true for me with bike challenges. Adding something like a blogging challenge or a daily social media post has kept me on track through errandonnee, coffeeneuring, and #30DaysOfBiking over the years. Not every year, but it’s always better to ride than not to ride.

As part of my prep for 2024 I reviewed the first week of April to prepare mentally, plan ahead for weather variables, and figure out how I’d get in a bike ride while traveling.

I’m also looking back at the last few years since my 2020 tally of how I’ve done since starting back in 2011.

2021: Daily tweeting on The Site Still Known as Twitter Because X Is what You Call Something when You Don’t Know what to Call It kept me on track. We had only lived in our neighborhood since November 2020 so the daily commitment gave me a great chance to get to know the nearby streets.

2022: Didn’t make it, as I confessed in response to a question.

2023: Heading into the month I served as “guest prof” for on Twitter and pushed out 30 questions in an hour to warm people up for the month.


Sometimes public accountability via social media means acknowledging that you didn’t make it work. I started out fine:

But then I traveled to DC, couldn’t get bikeshare to work, and later opted out on days of really pouring rain.

2024: Planning for that first week really did help; I made it through the travel that could have thrown me off track at day 5 or 6. With each passing day I had a longer streak, which of course motivated me to keep going.

Where did I ride? To my office, the Olympia Center for the improv classes I’m taking and a talk on how trees communicate, around our neighborhood loop, two different little farmstands in my neighborhood, downtown, a friend’s house, the Earth Day Market Ride, a Little Free Library to drop off books. Basically, wherever I needed to go all month other than a couple of trips to Seattle.

And the streak continued all the way to the end of the month! I did a couple of check-the-box rides, but even those gave me the opportunity to feel the breeze, smell flowers blooming, smile at neighbors walking. I rode in the rain, I chased sun breaks, I battled chilly breezes.

Along the way every single day I thought about riding my bike. That’s the point.


April 3, 2024

OK, I’m not going to copy each and every tweet that proves I did it. A few because I like the pictures I took, though.

Sharing is karma--pass it along!

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