Ok, so a month has came and gone and I am still excited as ever about running and riding everywhere, I thought now would be a good time to recap the month of March and why I am doing this.

The grand total for the month of March was 360 miles. If you divide that by 18 miles per gallon that is 20 gallons of gas. Multiplied by the average gas price since I started $3.35 cents that is a whopping savings of $67. I was very surprised at this number as I would not have been able to fill up my Jeep one time with that amount of money and a whole month has passed. Which led me to realize an interesting side effect of running and biking everywhere you go reduces the amount of trips and miles that you travel in a week. At least for me that has been the experience. I mean don’t get me wrong my weekly average for the month was 90 miles, but before I started it was not uncommon for me to fill up on gas at least once a week.

The weekly mileage varied and is broken down as follows.

• Week one 80 total miles
• week two 82 total miles
• week three 115 total miles
• week four 55 total miles
• Partial week five 29 total miles

The 360 monthly mile total split between biking and running leaned heavily toward biking. I would imagine that is due to my trip to Maryville and multiple trips downtown.

• Running 138
• Biking 222

Now to the why, this is a question that comes up quite often so I wanted to reiterate what I am trying to accomplish by going car free for six months. One is to hopefully inspire others to get started or continue to live a healthy active lifestyle. Two to see how much money I could save by not owning a car for at least six months. Three to start a charitable program where I am able to give back and inspire others to do so. (More to come as this develops)
It has been a great month and I have gotten alot of positive feedback. Thanks to everyone taking the time to read and comment on my blog and in person. It is a reminder that even one person can make a difference if they try.

This week held a number of first yet again for me.  The first time I met my family for dinner, the first time I met a friend for lunch, the first meeting with someone interested in assisting me with getting my charitable program started, and last but not least my first car ride in twenty seven days.

I must start out by saying that I have a love for Mexican food specifically fajitas. My family and I frequent this one restaurant so often it is not uncommon for one of us to get an unsolicited hug from the staff before we leave.  Since the start of March, we had not been to this restaurant and I was starting to get a craving that could only be satisfied by their food. So when the family started mentioning going out to eat,  there was only one choice that I was willing to accept and before the sentence was finished I was changing clothes and on my way out the door to meet them there.  I asked them to extend me a little head start so they would not have to wait for me. They were happy to oblige and as luck would have it we pulled into the parking lot at exactly the same time.  We decided to sit on the patio and enjoyed a wonderful supper together as a family.  After dinner, we went our separate ways and met back at home.  I now know that my favorite restaurant is exactly five miles from my doorstep.

One of my friends had contacted me earlier in the week and requested that we meet for lunch.  Since the inception of my project, one thing that I must have is lead time to plan for what the day will hold.  So, I suggested that we meet on Friday and he gladly accepted.  This would allow me the time I needed to prepare a route, clothing options, and restaurant choices.  So knowing that Friday is casual day at the office, I decided that I would wear jeans and pick a restaurant that was two and a half miles from the office.  The weather was a little cool that day so I thought that I could make it to the restaurant without breaking to much of a sweat if I wore my regular clothes on the ride.  I was right and even though I must have looked a little odd on a road bike with clip less pedals riding with regular clothes and shoes it was a nice easy ride and a good lunch.  It is always great to catch up with friends after not having seen them in a while.  So after lunch off I went back to work to finish out my day.

I have had a couple of people contact me through my website after reading my newspaper article and my blog interested in sharing their program and also requesting permission to assist me in getting my charitable program started.  I had the pleasure of meeting with one of these people on Friday afternoon and I am very excited about the possibilities and what the future will hold.  There will be more to come on this as the program is developed check back regularly for more details.

Ok, so I knew that there would be a day during my journey that I would have to ride in a car.  I kind of  knew for a while when that day would ultimately come…….Sunday March 27th, 2011 if not before.  My wife has been wanting to take a trip to Asheville, North Carolina for a while to visit the Biltmore House.  After mentioning it to me a couple of times, she bought and printed tickets out on February 27th, 2011 for a day trip to be taken on March 27th, 2011.  So, I knew that if I could make it to March 27th, 2011 I would at least have a twenty six day carless streak under my belt.

To be honest, I tend to take things a day at a time. I can see the big picture and am constantly working towards the end goal but know that I most focus my energy on what I can do today to get there.  That being said, I had not really thought on how many days it had been or when the end would come until this week when it was to become a reality.  I won’t lie and say I was not a little disappointed by the fact that I was about to take my first car ride in twenty seven days.  However, what better way for the streak to end then a day trip with the family to a beautiful city in the mountains.

The morning started not unlike most mornings when we are going somewhere together with the hurry up and wait round of showers, make up, hair, and getting dressed.  I typically take my shower last, because as a man, I am blessed with the ability to get ready in about ten to fifteen minutes.  I know there are some ladies out there that can get ready rather quickly but let’s just say my ladies take a little longer than I do to get ready.   So to keep the peace, I usually let them get a really good head start before I step foot in the shower.

Once I was finished getting ready and allowed the ladies the additional time they needed, I journeyed out into the driveway to get the car ready for the trip.  We had decided to take my daughter’s car since it was the most inexpensive on gas and also had the least amount of dog hair in it.  So, I sat down in the driver’s seat, adjusted the mirrors, set the GPS, and checked the car for garbage.

I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty sitting in the car even though I set the twenty five mile radius from day one and this trip would be two hundred and sixty miles round trip.  As I sat in car waiting for the girls, I had mixed emotions. I knew that I was about to go on trip that would almost match the total number of miles that I had travelled over the last month.  On one hand, I felt proud and elated that I had managed to cover three hundred and thirty two miles by both running and biking over the last four weeks.  On the other hand,  I felt a little sad knowing that the streak was over.  I quickly got over it knowing that this was not truly the end of anything but the beginning of a new streak that would start at the conclusion of this trip.

By this time,  the ladies were completely ready and we were off to pick up my daughter’s boyfriend.  Once we had everyone in the car,  it was time for a picture to document the trip.  I am sure you can see by the looks on our faces we were having a great time.

We decided that we would only tour the main house interior since it was raining and that would allow us to make another trip in the future.  The main house is a beautiful building both inside and out and I can not imagine what it must have been like to visit back in the early days.  We had a great day at the Biltmore House and I would encourage you to visit at least once if you haven’t already.

This week ended with my lowest mileage to date, including two zero mileage days. This is very unusual for me
but I welcomed and appreciated the extra rest. I must admit as we were traveling to Asheville I couldn’t help
day dreaming about running in the mountains as I drove over them. I am hoping this week will include a much
needed run in the Smokies. Until next week, keep your head held high and get out there and get active.

After owning a car for the last twenty two years, it has now been almost twenty two days since I rode in a car. Today is the twenty first day that I have been running and biking every where I go within a twenty five mile radius of my home. It doesn’t really seem like it has been that long and at the same time is weird to see it written down.

This week presented several firsts for me such as, meeting Amy for supper, aggravation regarding travel arrangements from Amy, first trail race since starting the project, and crossing the one hundred mile mark for weekly mileage total.

Amy and I are total opposites when it comes to most things including how early one should arrive at their destination. I prefer to show up early everywhere I go, sometimes to a fault, and my wife tends to show up, I wont say late, but definitely not early. Which brings me to how my week began.

This  week started with me working later that normal on the last night of one of my photography classes. I was very apprehensive about leaving late, but knew that my job came first , so after making sure I had the client fully taken care of I left for class thirty minutes later than normal. After talking to Dan, and asking him to turn in my final assignment in case I was late, off I went. I knew that we were not covering any new material today but critiquing photos from everyone in class taken since the class began. I was very excited to see how well everyone had improved and hear what others had to say about my skills. I decided I would push a little hard to try and make up the time and ended up getting to class with time to spare. Needless to say I was a happy camper and the crisis had been averted.

Before I started my project, it was not unusual for my family to go out to dinner once or twice per week. Since starting on March the first, we have not been out to eat as a family, but I can now say that I have met my wife for dinner at least once. Mid week while my daughter was in Morristown visiting family and friends, Amy called me and asked if I wanted to meet her for dinner. After a brief discussion, we decided to go to Aubreys which is less than a half mile from our house. Amy stopped by the store and picked up some necessities after work, and suggested that we meet at seven pm. So, it was officially a date. I put on my Sunday best which included a pair of shorts, flip flops, and a zip up jacket and set off on one of my bikes. I ended beating her there, locked my bike to the fence, and went in and got us a table. We had a great dinner and then went our separate ways meeting back up at home.

A couple of days later, I received a call from Amy asking me to go shopping with her. Let me give you a run down of how a typical shopping trip goes with me and Amy. Once we arrive at the store, I will do a lap around the store in about two minutes looking at everything that I have an interest in and then I will go find Amy standing in the exact same location I left her. From that time on, I follow her around like a lost puppy, huffing and puffing the whole time until she can’t take it any more and we leave. I don’t mean to be insensitive to her needs but  I just have a different shopping style. I, like most men, have a purpose when I go shopping and I go in get what I came for and leave, usually in under five minutes. So back to the phone call, she asks me if I want to go shopping for a new purse for her. You can imagine my excitement knowing that I would get to spend a couple hours walking around in small confined aisles looking at what appears to me at least to be the same purse over and over. So I told her that I did not want to go and she expressed that she was not happy about this whole non-car thing. Truth be told even if I had a car I still probably would not have gone either. She ended up meeting Chelsey and they decided on the lovely purse she is holding in the picture.

I ended the week with yet another first. I had a trail race on the south side of town which I decided to bike to since it was a little over fifteen miles to the event. I invited several people to come out and run with me and was very excited to have a couple of takers. The trail run was sponsored by the Knoxville Track Club and is one of their treddin trodden trail runs which ended up being six and one half miles. Once I arrived at the Ijams Nature Center,  I verified my registration and then started looking for all my running buddies. I was happy to see three people that I had invited was able to make it. Dale one of my closest friends from Morristown was among those that showed up.  After the race, we decided to meet for brunch at the Tomato Head I told him to give me a head start and I would meet him at the market street garage. I arrived at the market street garage, locked my bike to a rack, and started changing clothes on the sidewalk. Ok, I will admit that with the beard, backpack, and bike I look a little bit homeless while changing clothes on the sidewalk. Maybe that is why families cross to the other side of the street when they see me. I am just kidding about the families of course. Once we had placed our order, Dale politely informed me that he almost ran over me while heading to the restaurant. We both joked about not wanting to make that call to Amy, “Honey I am in the hospital, Dale ran over me.”

After lunch, me and Dale went our separate ways, he to Morristown and me to West Knoxville.  I finally made it home around one o’clock just in time to see both my ladies off to work and to get some much needed rest.  This brought my daily mileage to thirty seven and I figure that would be it for the day. When Amy got home around five, she suggested that we walk to the grocery and take the dogs with us so we could get something for dinner and return a red box movie.  After the two mile round trip, my day was offically over and my daily mile total had climbed to thirty nine.

I have been using dailymile.com to track my mileage, and after entering all my trips for the day I realized that my weekly mileage was at one hundred and fifteen miles.