As requested, here’s an update on my progress with the bike. Since I bought it a month ago… I added a front basket. It’s much easier (and less sweaty) than a bag over your shoulder. I even stopped at Whole Foods tonight and brought home groceries. Dave suggested that I get a cargo net for […]

Yup, that’s right—I finally bit the bullet and bought a bike. I was planning on renting a couple more times to get used to it before buying one to ride to work every day, but my friend Janelle convinced me that I could get one cheap enough that spending more money on renting didn’t make much sense. She had actually just bought the same model we rented (the KHS Manhattan Green), and told me that it had a reputation as a sturdy bike with good components that’s cheaper than you’d expect.

Our car passed 150,000 miles this year—and suddenly became very expensive. First the brakes needed to be replaced, then the catalytic converter, then the tires. But after doing all this work, we’ve noticed a marked increase in fuel efficiency. In January, our car was only getting 40 mpg (or below!), which is the worst it’s ever performed. Now it’s back up to 45 mpg, and I think that’ll rise even more when it finally stops raining…

Dräger sent me to Germany the week before last. It was my first time traveling there by myself, and my first time traveling by train in Europe. It was amazing. Most of the cities have what’s called U-Bahn and S-Bahn lines, the equivalent of our subway and commuter rail. These are handled by the RMV system. It’s when you go farther out that it’s really different from the U.S…

This weekend I rode a bike—for the first time in 12 years! I was worried it would be harrowing, but I got over my wobbliness pretty quickly. Jason and I stuck to the Charles River Bike Path most of the way, but there were a few times that we were actually in the road, and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be…