Changes
I feel I should have been updating more. Oh well, I've been relatively busy. Riding a lot (but sadly, not daily like my goal had been...), getting ready for my tour. I got some new panniers which are going to work out great; when I got them I felt I had to test-load them, and now I'm all excited to be off. In a sense, I could pretty much pack up and leave tomorrow if I wanted to, save for a few semi-essential items (such as a tire pump).
I've also been doing some changes in my diet. Mainly cutting out dairy and eating far less sugar, snacking less too. Giving up dairy I thought was going to be hard, because I love cheese, but it wasn't too difficult. I still eat it now and then but not nearly to the same levels. And the bonus is, I have far less gas! Used to be I'd fart really often (thankfully silently) but now it's rare like it should be. I'm sure my friends, family, and coworkers all appreciate my newfound lack of stinkbombs. Cutting out sugar was (and still is) much harder. That stuff is like crack. I really haven't succeeded too well but it's a work in progress. Too much dietary change at once and you'll never be able to stick to it, so I'm doing one thing at a time. It doesn't help that there is sugar or corn syrup or whatever in almost everything. The upside is that non-processed food generally tastes better anyways, and is more sustaining.
Last, but not least, I sold my truck. I am, as of yesterday morning, officially car-free! It's exciting, though somewhat scary too. Not that I feel I need the truck, but it's a big change, to be totally dependant on the bike and my feet for transportation (aside from riding with others, which can't always be avoided). It's nice too that I can be that much less of a hypocrite when I go on about the evils of oil usage and virtues of environmentalism, although living in America I'll probably always be at least partially a hypocrite just because of how the lifestyle is structured. But it is nice to know my "ecological footprint" is that much smaller. Plus I'm saving money, which is always good. I could go on listing positives; suffice to say that I'm very pleased with this decision. Lately I've been all about simplifying my life, throwing away what I now consider to be clutter, and selling the truck was a big part of that.
I've also been doing some changes in my diet. Mainly cutting out dairy and eating far less sugar, snacking less too. Giving up dairy I thought was going to be hard, because I love cheese, but it wasn't too difficult. I still eat it now and then but not nearly to the same levels. And the bonus is, I have far less gas! Used to be I'd fart really often (thankfully silently) but now it's rare like it should be. I'm sure my friends, family, and coworkers all appreciate my newfound lack of stinkbombs. Cutting out sugar was (and still is) much harder. That stuff is like crack. I really haven't succeeded too well but it's a work in progress. Too much dietary change at once and you'll never be able to stick to it, so I'm doing one thing at a time. It doesn't help that there is sugar or corn syrup or whatever in almost everything. The upside is that non-processed food generally tastes better anyways, and is more sustaining.
Last, but not least, I sold my truck. I am, as of yesterday morning, officially car-free! It's exciting, though somewhat scary too. Not that I feel I need the truck, but it's a big change, to be totally dependant on the bike and my feet for transportation (aside from riding with others, which can't always be avoided). It's nice too that I can be that much less of a hypocrite when I go on about the evils of oil usage and virtues of environmentalism, although living in America I'll probably always be at least partially a hypocrite just because of how the lifestyle is structured. But it is nice to know my "ecological footprint" is that much smaller. Plus I'm saving money, which is always good. I could go on listing positives; suffice to say that I'm very pleased with this decision. Lately I've been all about simplifying my life, throwing away what I now consider to be clutter, and selling the truck was a big part of that.
posted by Brandon at 6:53 PM
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