If only I were a Duck

I could fly to work.

The one substantial downside of our lovely new house is that we are now about four and half miles from my place of work (and my wife's place of study) instead of a little over one mile. Previously I had a gentle fifteen or twenty minute walk to the office. Now my options are:

Bus: an hour, or possibly more in the evening if the traffic is particularly heavy.
Walk: an hour and fifteen or twenty minutes.
Cycle: twenty five or thirty minutes.

Even if I could drive, which I can't, I wouldn't.

I won't catch the bus unless I absolutely have to. Not only does it cost money, but there are other people there (which makes me nervous) and lots of them (which makes me even more nervous). It also grates a little to catch a bus when it is almost as quick for me to walk.

Ultimately, cycling will be a good thing. My general fitness will improve. I will feel less guilty about having an expensive bike which I rarely use. Coming into work and getting home after substantial exercise will tend to improve my short term mood.

I worry that if I wake up and am feeling low, I will be even less inclined to face up to the cycle than I would have been to the much shorter walk. Most of the cycle is on quiet roads or off road cycle paths, so it quite safe, and my usual fear of cycling on roads is minimised.

One of the few things that has always consistently been true from all of my experiences of various health and mental health professionals is that exercise is a positive thing. The short term boost of chemicals may only be short term, but it does boost me for a while, and sometimes that boost can be enough to get me out of the rut for a day. A day that may then turn into a week. All I need is for my body not to collapse in a heap for me.

One thing that irritates me more is the doubling of travel time. I now have even less time to do useful things (and play WoW). At least I won't be catching the bus every day.