Tuesday, August 07, 2012

A Day on the Road: Where does the time go?

We've been biking for over three months. Looking at a map of our route, it's easy to see where the days and weeks have gone. But where does the time really go? We're typically on the road for about 8 hours a day, but obviously we aren't cycling all that time.

The distances and the pace at which we ride each day vary according to the scenery, the people we encounter and the stops along the way. A long climb or a strong headwind can really slow us down, but we can usually make up for it by going downhill or turning a corner.

Riding uphill into a headwind
We like to bike for about an hour at a time, then stop for a break and a snack. The lunch break can stretch out to an hour as we make sandwiches, and enjoy the shade.

Even the simple task of grocery shopping takes up about an hour each day. In larger supermarkets, it takes us this much time to just locate everything since every store is laid out quite differently. It's not as complicated at smaller stores, but we may need to visit several to get all the ingredients for a single meal.

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