In The Fold

In case there was ever any doubt, Matt and I have decided that the folding bikes are definitely one of the best purchases we've ever made.

Our goal now is to keep our car-usage at once per week or less, and so far we haven't had any trouble with it.

It's also reduced our walking commutes by 2/3--from 30 minutes each way to work to 10 minutes. Which gives me the extra 15 minutes I needed in the morning to be getting up on what I consider the appropriate side of 6am. Granted, I can now get up at exactly 6am, instead of 5:45, but hey: that's a big psychological difference.

Grocery shopping has become more a once-or-twice per week affair, instead of the monthly trip it was before, but we enjoy the opportunity to appreciate fresher produce and more exercise. And I in particular am relishing (slightly) increased definition in my legs, and the fact that I can tell a gratifying difference in my endurance level since we started.

As a side note, we've started doing about 90-95% of all our shopping at Trader Joe's. The remaining 5-10% we try to do at the local level, such as farmers' markets. Granted, there are a few holes in the selection, and it is more expensive than shopping at Aldi's, but when we consider the tradeoff between food quality and the time/money/carbon emissions needed to drive to Aldi's, we have finally decided that we're comfortable with it. And the bikes make it practically recreational!