It's a unfortunate that we had such downpours today since we're kicking off the Bike to PSU Challenge. They have an awesome interactive website that's shiny and easy to use. I'm on a team of 10 and we're competing with other teams on total mileage and commute rate throughout the month of May. Our team challenge this week is to ride every day, at least one way. Day 1: so far, so good. I rode to campus in the morning and stopped into the Bike Hub to get my bike tuned up. The folks there are super friendly and helpful. I like that I can work on my bike myself there with assistance since it's educational and empowering. It was a good lunch break activity before getting back to my studies. When I finished up with a project in the computer lab at 8pm I put my bike on the bus and then rode it home instead of transferring to the second bus.
I'm a fair weather biker so I usually just take transit on the rainy days, but this challenge will help hold me accountable to cycling even in the rain. (That and the fact that I decided not to buy a transit pass this term!) I have a great pair of rain pants, but I really should put fenders on my bike, too. I've been told they're mandatory here and I can see why. I haven't gotten any yet because I plan to swap out my wheels for new ones which will probably need different fenders. My spokes are pretty rusted and the rims are steel instead of aluminum so the brakes don't always catch right away in the rain. I've been meaning to get around to it, but my wheels are an unusual size so I've been putting off doing the research. It may be that riding this month for the Bike to PSU Challenge will convince me the time is now!