Friday, Apr. 17, 2009

My first green commute of the season

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

My Schwinn Moab was hanging upside down in my garage — until this morning.

Rather than get in my Saturn and drive to work, everything fell into place for me to pedal my way from central Richland to historic downtown Kennewick.

I prefer Fridays because it's casual dress day at the Herald and there's less traffic than a normal workday. And this morning it was overcast, just a breath of wind, and below 60 degrees.

As It turns out, it's almost a month earlier than my first trip last year.

It's doubly satisfying to save 20 percent of my weekly gasoline use while getting in a couple hours of exercise, but there's also a bit of smugness riding along the causeway.

There are opportunities to gaze at the peaceful Columbia River and appreciate the wildlife. Scores of red-winged blackbirds are busy claiming territory in the reeds of the delta. And I heard a ring-necked pheasant blast his presence.

Meanwhile, polluting cars whiz nearby.

On the way home, I'll be headed into the wind, but I'll be listening — via my Active Tunes speakers — to ESPN's podcasts of Baseball Today and Pardon the Interruption.

-- Eric Degerman is the Herald's online managing editor who makes regular trips each year from Richland to Clayton-Ward in Kennewick so that he can exchange his household recyclables for money to buy beverages produced from Columbia Valley grapes and hops.