Some 30 years ago when I had to commute in to work it was always by bike. When I took the bus/tram I would take my roller-blades to get to the train or bus. My commute to Nike was 24 miles from Gresham to Beaverton, but I had to do it both ways, twice a day. In fact, I won the “Bike, Skate, Run” award from Nike all three years I was there for the longest daily commute without a car. I still have fond memories of that every time I see a bus I get all warm and cozy. When I rode in December I remember peering through the frosted windows into the homes of the suburbanites and smaller uptown homes while slowly passing them, their inhabitants completely unaware of the stalking cyclist passing by. Pumped full of dopamine, it was glorious.
So it makes sense when I say that riding my bike every day at the end of the work day (around 4pm) really feels like I am commuting back home. It is absolutely amazing how big a psychological affect it has on me. Yesterday I came home and my wife had an amazing dinner wafting amazing smells through the door when I walked in. I took of my dirty shoes, had a shower, got a drink, and just chatted while eating dinner. It was all very old-school Americana. After dinner we walked the dog and she fell asleep on my shoulder while we watched some “TV”. We were both so exhausted from the day we were completely down by 10 pm. We are old, but still. Now I’m writing this at 5AM because I was naturally able to wake up earlier, my body just woke me up like normal, but a few hours earlier. All of this because I just added a “commute” to my day again.
In the morning I’ve been doing some light yoga, enough to break a sweat, build core and upper-body strength, and keep my hamstrings and back unlocked. It isn’t a commute but the exertion feels just like I rode into work to start the day and that I’m just showering at my workplace, like I did at Teleport and Nike when I worked there.
Doing this shower-requiring efforts twice a day reminds be so much of my younger days that I start channeling all the same feelings of my youth—especially when combined with that 80s music to get me going in the early morning, which has scientifically been proven to invoke massive dopamine hits because of hard-code association with my psychological development during my teen years (when identity and coping practices are literally hard-coded into our brains as they finalize development before reaching full adulthood in our early 20s).
So doing this stuff in the morning and afternoon is a great way to balance the day. The hard part is finding the time. I spend an 90 minutes on yoga in the morning and at least three in the early afternoon (if include the shower). Combined with making a smoothie and getting some water and setting up the bike that is about five hours a day. It is absolutely terrifying to think that most people who work in America are spending at least an hour in their cars in each direction during their commutes. Even though the average is 30 minutes for Americans, it is over 60 minutes for “high population density” regions, which are the only places most tech workers would ever want to work if they had to commute. If you calculate another two hours of exercise per day, the average for most weekend-warrior athletes, then it really isn’t that much at all. Just depends on priorities and ability.
Speaking of ability. I could not have done this last year. I was way too out of shape. This year I’m a little leery starting because of the total volume of exertion and my age restriction on recovery time. I think the key is to not do anything hard at all while working into it but I’m happy to report I haven’t collapsed, yet. Last week of half-primary Ashtanga yoga had me with pull neck muscles, old dislocated shoulder aches, and my cracked rib, um, acting up. But strangely after adding the bike ride back a lot of those things are fixed. I have a theory that by doing exercise twice a day, and two 30 minute naps throughout the day that I’m actually stimulating growth hormone production more that I was before. This would explain me healing at a rate closer to my 30s than 50s. If so, then these routine habits are absolute musts for an active guy like me headed into my 60s. I might not necessarily ever want to compete again, but I definitely want to the develop the health ethic and habits of a masters athlete.
The biggest advantage of being home and working 100% remotely is not having to do a commute. Why would I add one back? At least this way I’m getting something out of it. In one sense, I’m actually prepared to work for a company where I had to commute if it came to that. Our work is actually having drama with some who are not classified as remote because they are being forced to come back to work. I would immediately quit if they forced that. I’m not moving. But working for a bank I could add the commute back to get to Charlotte every day without a problem, if I had to.