Granola Week

I had a bit of an epiphany this week. It actually started last Saturday when I ran my car out of gas in downtown Salt Lake. As I was walking to a nearby gas station, I was contemplating the ever-escalating cost of gasoline and how energy costs were beginning to take a notably-larger chunk out of my financial resources. It looked grim - my driving patterns are such that I spend $80 to $100 a month on gasoline (which is probably less than average) and I was trying to figure out a way to cut it down. Do I ride the bus more? Should I trade in the car for a hybrid?

It also just so happened that my gymnasium, the legendary (infamous) University of Utah Field House, has gotten impossible to deal with. It's summer hours are bad, and there's no air conditioning. I usually go to the gym at 5 o'clock, after work gets out. And walking into an un-air-conditioned gymnasium at 5 o'clock on a July day when the temperature is peaking at or near 100 degrees is like walking into a gigantic used gym sock. In other words: cruel and unusual punishment. I think that gymnasiums are boring, repetitive, and barbaric on a good day, so you can only imagine how anxious I am to work out under these conditions. And yet - I need the exercise. Anyone who works a sedentary job needs the exercise.

The Einar Nielsen Field House at the University of Utah. Beautiful building, and not a bad place to work out in the winter. But in the summer? Ehhhhh - not so much!

I decided to kill two birds with one stone: that Saturday, I promised myself that I would ride a bicycle to work every day this last week. I tested it out that afternoon. I rode up my street into downtown, where I put the bike on the train that goes up to the University (the hill to the University is huge and I would be in no condition to report to my office after riding up it). I then rode it back home, since it was downhill or flat, most of the way. According to MapQuest, it's roughly a 10-mile round trip.

Technically, I didn't meet my goal because I had to run an errand on Friday which required use of my car, but I still think I passed the overall objective because I rode my bike every day this week - whether to work, to visit my grandmother, or to attend a meeting. By thursday, after riding all week and stopping at the locally-owned Emigration Market to pick up organic fennel and artesanal cheese and receiving a $0.05 discount because I threw the groceries into my back pack instead of using one of their plastic bags, I must confess I felt a wee bit smug. See how wonderful I am? Working out, supporting local business, and sparing the world more carbon monoxide? I was only smug for a moment before another thought entered my mind: Dear god! I'm turning into a granola! I could just see my father through my mind's eye, wagging his long finger at me and chiding me for becoming a "limousine liberal."

Emigration Market, at 1300 South and 1700 East, is a wonderful little locally-owned supermarket. What this store lacks in a Supercenter's selection it makes up for in style and character. I blew away all the cost-savings on gasoline this week by shopping here after work. This photo is courtesy of Beth Adams, a Salt Lake native who writes a charming blog called Crazy Us.

Oh well. The food was excellent. Having done so much cardiovascular exercise, I felt like a new man, and I saved money on gas. By these measures, my granola week was a smashing success.