Every year there’s a Ride2Work day around Australia.

. Every year I do not ride on the one bloody day that symbolically represents leaving the car at home and getting on the bike. This drives me batty because on the days surrounding Ride2Work, I am riding to work. I support the idea, obviously, and can’t believe that I can never ride to work on Ride2Work day. If you don’t believe in jinxes and have never owed someone a Coke, then this is it. I’m jinxed.

What’s wrong this year? In the past it’s usually been appointments or some other reason I have had to take the car or have to use the train the entire way. This year, I miss Ride2Work day and the entire promo week and month, since I’ll be back home in the US. I hope to at least be car-free on that day. I might have to make sure I’m in Minneapolis or Austin on that day.

I’ve been working in Redbank, which is far away in many ways from home. I cannot ride the entire way. I’ve had to ride either to the city or to a friend’s house in another burb to catch the train. It all depends on the weather, my mood, the night before, etc. The city is a 30-minute ride; my friend’s house, a 50- to 60-minute ride.

Until now. There is now a way to ride all the way from home to work. My goal is to do it. I don’t usually ride a roadie since I carry stuff like this computery fluff stuff; a knitting, embroidery, or crochet project; and a magazine or book. I never know what my train-time entertainment will be. I believe in choices at all times. All this means is that I am yet another woman with baggage. Literally. In fact, a woman told me yesterday that she liked my saddle bags. See? Cycling gives you good looking saddle bags. Much better than my slang ones.

I’ve sussed out my ride. I rode just under half way to work, and coming home, i rode just under half way back. All I need to do is fill in the middle bits and connect the two:

If I can ride the entire way to work, the pressure is off to ride the whole way back, since I’m in Queensland, where it’s pitch black at 5:30pm.

If you look at the ride back, you’ll see that I pass a prison. This is a great reason to pedal faster, but I really don’t see escapees thinking “Oh, I’m free! Now to bikejack some fool and pedal to Rico’s hideout.” I ride right along the fence that informs me that I’m by prison property and to stay out. Oh. Since you say so. I was so tempted to jump over and picnic next to the razor wire. I did see a few inmates. Wallabies. Hardened wallabies, so don’t go thinking that they’re all cute.

This is also the prison where that charmer from Alabama spent some time reflecting on his honeymoon and diving skills.

So wish me luck. My goal is to go the entire way on my Gazelle before trying it all sporty, snazzy, and Lycra-y on my roadie. How dedicated to commuting am I that I know the brand of my commuter bikes, but not the roadie?

And a greyhound photo or two before I go. It’s been cold here. We don’t have heat, so we snuggle. It’s been 5 degrees Celsius INPHUKKINSIDE. There are not many of those days, and they warm up to 19 by midday, but man … It’s snuggle time.

A little over a week ago, I quit Facebook. I don’t know how long it’ll last. I have done this before and went for six weeks. I started to miss it. I think this time I’ll last longer. What is the difference between now and a few years ago? Ironically, more social networks.

Okay, there’s a pet peeve of mine. When did this new stuff become “social networking”? Hasn’t the phone been a social network for ages? And what about the local bar, haunt, pub, dog park? But you know what I mean. A few years ago, there was pretty much just the Facebook/Myspace options with a smattering of Twitter. Now there’s Get Glue, Instagram, Pixable, Words with Friends, Draw Something, etc. I’ve quit only Facebook. I think the difference is that Facebook lets me know too much about people.

Zygote? Really? That was worth more than the measly three coins. Do you not agree that I should have received a bonus five?

Knowing too much about some people. Oddly, the people I miss on Facebook are the people all those sociologists would say aren’t my “real friends”. You don’t realise how much you don’t know about people until you know them in real life AND on Facebook. I missed not knowing the little things, which are what we catch up on when we catch up, right? But I am not catching up with people because I don’t miss them. I know what they did, when, and where. I basically got off Facebook so that I would miss my friends and want to catch up.

Ah, but I have a problem there.

Many people I enjoyed on Facebook were people I met through blogs, comments, etc. People I don’t really know too much at all. I got to know them more through Facebook, and since I am never in their city to catch up, I don’t feel that void. I have seriously thought about rejoining but under a new email AND with the caveat that I don’t add people I see face-to-face ever. We’ll see. I have found that since I rarely watch TV and am now off Facebook, I’ve written more lengthy emails and have posted twice on this nearly extinguished blog.

I used to spend my time on the train on Facebook to spare my limited time with Manboy, but now I’m emailing and writing this post.

If you ride, walk, or jog as part of your commute to work, I cannot tell you how great a wireless keyboard and iPad (or any tablet, I’m sure) are.

I’m a tweetin’.

And now I’m a bloggin’.

And this is my morning office. The early trains away from the city do not pack a crowd. It’s usually just me by the time I get to my stop. Earlier in the ride, I’ll have the pleasure of several tradies and a smattering of drunks who waited for the first train to go home. Honestly, they’re much more entertaining than the suits I see when I catch a later train.

So. Catching up. It’s what I do when I quit Facebook.