Saturday, March 22, 2014

Errandonnee 2014: Complete

As Monday is my normal day off during the week, it tends to be the day I run most of my errands. I was able to knock five of them off of my to do list while at the same time, complete this years' Errandonnee challenge.

Coffee and a Haircut
With spring coming it seemed like a good time to get a haircut. Indoor parking is always a bonus.

Category: Personal Care and Health
Distance: 7.5 miles
Observation: The best errands always include free coffee.

Another Errand Complete
I stopped at the credit union to pick up some check registers. It's good to stay in balance.

Category: Wild Card
Distance: 2.1 miles
Observation: As long as you're in the neighborhood you might as well stop.

Galleria
I came here thinking that I didn't need anything, but I left with a couple of saddle locks, which are wire cords that you loop through the saddle rails. As long as the would-be thief isn't carrying a sharp pair of scissors, I think our Brooks should be safe.

Category: Bike Shop
Distance: 0.7 miles
Observation: You never know when you are going to find something you didn't know you needed.

Cocoa and Coffee
We needed coffee beans and I needed something hot to drink. The beans ended up being ok, but the mexican hot chocolate ended up being the best I've ever had.

Category: Coffee of Dessert
Distance: 1.5 miles
Observation: I will stay somewhere much longer if I can keep my bike in sight.

Wine Rack
The final stop of the day was to pick up some "grape juice" to go with dinner.

Category: Any Store That is Not a Grocery Store
Distance: 9.6 miles
Observation: The best wine chiller is a pannier in winter.

So, the final numbers for the 2014 Errandonnee Challenge are:

12 errands from 7 categories
Total Distance: 45.9 miles
Observation: I think I've done as many errands by bike in the last 2 weeks as I have in the past 2 years.

I'm hoping that next year, instead of doing errands by bike specifically to meet the challenge, the errands will be things I'm doing already. Completing the challenge will just be a bonus.

Big thanks to MJ for helping to kick-start my use of a bike for a purpose.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your commitment to ulility cycling. We lived without a car for 4 months and found it was not that hard in the summer. Tougher in the winter and it seems easy for me to fall off the wagon or bike in this case.

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  2. I came late to the errandonnee party; nice idea. I have some sort of mental block when it comes to quick errands - I hop in the car. I ride to work and back most days, but I've been feeling like I should be turning to the bike more often for this kind of stuff for a long time.

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