This summer I use more than ever my bike. I was a bike-fan before, too, but this time, there is no compromise. There is no distance or difficulty that can make me lazy to do. And also, this summer I managed to get out of the city. Twice. Hundred and fifty km.

There is a bigger challenge on using your bike in the countryside, but there are so many advantages to it. You do a sport while you move from one point to another. The bike is better than the car, since:

a) does not require gas
b) you can fix it easily
c) you can stop in the middle of the forest, make a pick-nick and go.

No need for parking, no worries you will get stuck into traffic, no dangerous drivers around you... You have all your things with you, at one hand distance, computer, camera, clothes for a few days, food. You are independent... and free. The process of mastering your bike, as well as fixing it looks to me like the Free Software learning curve - you start slower (especially in spring, when your muscles are not skilled), and then, by the end of the summer, you feel great. Fixing it once, makes it easier next time. Changing the tire - same thing. Each time you get better.

My colleague Anne listens to Dogmazic all day long. Today I got the secret: free music, registered under Creative commons, coming from all over the world. Discovering numbers of emerging groups and musicians.. in all styles and all

2829 hours of music available, that's 34968 tracks by 3324 bands and 239 labels under 35 licenses streamed or downloaded 83519016 times in 1670 days, peacefully and legally.

And then, the champions of the day: Dincise. Really, really, really cool group, electronic music.

It is mid-March and it is the first time when I dared to take out my new bike and go to the university with it. I feel my lungs cleaned again. I arrive in the morning, full of energy, and ready to work.

What is the secret of working hard? It is the alternation between active and passive moments. The passive ones are often the ones spent in front of the computer, writing thesis, e-mails, or conference applications. What about the active ones? This session, I started caring about this part of my life, which I had abandoned for more than two years. So, I am going to a 45 minutes exercise in the university sport centre twice a week, and I practice yoga twice a week. And biking once or twice a week will do miracles.

It is spring soon and we need to get out of our winter sleep. So, don't give up!