This is exactly the kind of post I read this blog for. Wow. I could run!

I also thought about taking up skateboarding for short trips since its easy to take on the bus & stash in a locker.

This is so far from my current way of life, but it really appeals to me for some reason. I see now that I really screwed up by buying a home that is 26 miles from my current job and about 10 miles from a shopping center. I want to fix this sometime in the next 5 years or so.

However, I would be willing to bet that those kids in Africa don’t have to carry 4 to 5 400+ page textbooks (and matching notebooks) back and forth from home durring 4th through 8th grade. Personally, I consider myself a really good runner but there is no way you could get me to run with my typical gradeschool load on my back…. (and possibly my trumpet in hand also for band class). As far as homework goes american middle schools and junior highs are ridiculous.

So Jacob,

I get that you’re originally from Europe. What country? And what brought you to the US?

Greetings from across ‘the pond’ (Belgium)

P.S. about running: yes I used to run to work (a part of the trip).

I sometimes run to get somewhere (within reasonable distance, if not using my bike) but more often walk, reading a book. In fact, I sometimes will choose to walk instead taking a bike or car to give me an excuse to read that book if it is good 🙂
Exercise-wise, walking doesn’t give you the same cardiovascular workout but it very nearly burns the same energy per distance.

Ha. I ran as transportation for the first time yesterday.

I pay good money to attend an expensive gym. (A Crossfit gym, if you’re curious.) It’s worth it to me because the results have been fantastic, and it improves my quality of life.

Anyhow, the gym is a mile from my house — as the crow flies. Unfortunately, there’s a river between me and the gym. The shortest drive is 8.5 miles and takes 20 minutes. The shortest bike ride is the same length and takes 40 minutes, much of which is on a busy highway that scares the hell out of me. (There’s a 10-mile, 45-minute alternate route that involves a steep hill climb that I sometimes take.)

Well, there’s also a railroad bridge not far from my house that cuts the distance to 2.4 miles. Trespassing on this bridge is illegal. That said, I see people crossing it all the time.

So, last weekend, I got up the guts and used the bridge to walk to the gym. It took me 40 minutes. (Jacob, I think your estimate of people walking at 15 minutes per mile is optimistic. I’m fit, and I average 17 minute miles — a *little* less if I push myself.) Since then, I’ve done this round-trip three times. Yesterday, I ran home (about two-thirds of the way). It took me 28 minutes. And in fifteen minutes, I’ll run over the bridge again.

So, I like this running for transportation idea. But it only works if I’m going somewhere that I don’t mind being sweaty and stinky. (Running home from a place I’ve walked is usually an option…)

Interesting! The high gas prices are making us think of alternatives to the usual transportation. That is a good thing! Basic problem solving 101! I live in Los angeles, where walking, running and even bicycling is a little different. It is after all a car town. You do see people doing these activities, but it is a minority. I like to bicycle for exercise, but it is dangerous to ride on the street, so I use bike paths around a park. I wish I could use a bicycle for transportation.

Im both a runner and a walker and 3 miles in one hour seems kinda slow 🙂
I understand the average walking speed is about 2.5 miles per hour but I call it leisure walking. If you’re on a “mission” it shouldn’t take that long. My brother and I are brisk walkers, 4.5 miles per hour. It’s a great way to get around and stay in shape. We walk to school 9.1 miles and another 10 miles to my house. If more people walk as much as we do we could really bring down the gasoline prices 😉 wishful thinking. This was a great post.

Jacob, you are totally, supremely weird!

I say that in appreciation, and as a superlative compliment–being something of a recognized (and happy) eccentric myself.

This extent of weirdness I had never ever contemplated myself. Yet what could be more natural, and more right?

Know what, I’ll start implementing this right away. (In limited doses at first, but from right away!

Eh, I think I’ll just save up an extra $75-100K and have a cheap-ass car. The weather is sometimes downright miserable; with ice it can be dangerous for peds, or at least excruciatingly slow.

But I STILL don’t want to live far from things — particularly a gym because that’s a big, daily deterrent to exercising I don’t need.

BTW, running is a surprisingly injurious mode of exercise. Talk to a trainer who trains runners and find out how many of his/her trainees are injured at any given time — way higher % than weightlifters, martial artists, etc.

You might have suggested a motorcycle. My first bike was a Kawasaki Ninja 250. I think I paid $1000 used (in rough shape), and at the time you could buy one brand-new for $3000. It gets ~70 MPG and will go nearly 100 MPH. Liability-only insurance is like $10/month. With accessories, you can reasonably carry groceries and stuff.

I see running as a bad thing for long-term health. Running really pounds your feet and all the joints in your legs and that will cause a lot of pain as you advance in years.

I broke both knees, left foot in 2 spots and my right big toe (and several other bones in both arms and shoulder in 3 spots as a result of a motorcycle accident)so I no longer even think about running as a form of recreation or a way to get from one point to another. I noticed that over the years since the accident (25-years ago) that exercise helps keep the pain in my legs down. If I sit around for a few days my knees hurt a lot more then the days I exercise or work as I have a home repair business that I do manual labor.

I also read someplace that walking burns almost as many calories as running. And it’s a LOT less stressful on joints. I’m trying to stay in shape and not do things that will cause damage (and pain) to my body as I age, and running every day doesn’t fit that plan.

There has been a new form of medical care called sports medicine that has come about because of things like running as a hobby.

I walk to the local Kroger store every few days (3/4 of a mile) and I ride a bike all the time other then the heart of winter as I live where we get a lot of snow and snow makes bike riding hard to do, I don’t mind the cold, but bike tires and snow don’t mix well.