Christopher "Tuc" Krueger is a man of many hats.
He wears the hat of designer at MKE. He wears the hat of Juniper Tar drummer. And he wears an actually tucker hat that says "Tuc." I have seen it.
Above all, he wears the hat of dude that walks to work every day.
"I thought I'd just try walking to work about 2 1/2 years ago," he said. "It
turned into a habit."
"Think I look this good just by designing all day?"
He walks almost 3 miles to work every morning listening to music and enjoying the alone time. It takes him about 45 minutes "depending on music and shoe choice and energy level. In that
order."
By the time he gets to the office, he's pumped. This fuels one-half of the design powerhouse that is MKE.
For National Start! Walking day I got Tuc to agree to an email interview, a medium which worked far better than shouting across the office.
Doing anything special for National Start!
Walking Day?
Nope. I'm hardcore and walk all year pretty much. I won't
move out of the way for all you newbies walking for probably one day only. Let's
see you in January, pansies. Maybe I should commute to work via a raft down the
river instead just for National Start! Walking Day. (Stay tuned!) If I was more coordinated or 15 years younger I'd skateboard to work,
most likely.
Why do you walk?
I'm not Mr. Eco, but
I think this town would be cooler if more people were on foot or bikes
and less people driving. We rely on cars too much in this country,
particularly in Milwaukee. I started to love walking when I lived in San
Francisco, which is a killer walking town. It was a cheap way
to get exercise while saving money on parking and gas. I'm happy I didn't allow
myself to fall back into a driving only routine.
What do you listen to when you walk to work?
Until a year ago I was old school and had to commit to one CD with a walkman. It worked out alright, seeing as my walk is about one album long.
What do I listen to? Rock, indie stuff, punk, metal, James Brown. Faster,
heavier music actually makes you walk faster. Punk or metal gets you to work
even faster. If you throw on some sappy slow crap you'll never make it to work.
I forgot my iPod once and it sucked.
What's the craziest
things you've seen/heard while walking to work?
- A devil's mask.
- Last fall I saw a deer by
the river on Locust! That's weird.
- A seagull or two evidently didn't like my
haircut or something, and that got a little freakish. They sorta swooped down at
me and screamed about 2 feet from my ear. Shockingly loud, even with headphones
on.
- A walker almost got hit by a car.
- A 12
oz. bottle of that crappy malt liquor Smirnoff vodka mixed drink stuff. It was
sealed. Drank it.
- A couple cigarettes. Smoked them.
- A few
ID's. Sold them. j/k.
- A skybox ticket for that night's Brewers
game on North and MLK! It was close to a bus stop. (Always good place to find
stuff).I didn't go to the game.
- Film negatives of Pugs and
a burned copy of Vampire Weekend's CD.
How much gas do you save?
Like gas in my stomach? I don't save that gas when
walking. Oh. Gasoline? Between not paying for parking and gas I think I save
around $800 a year. Let's say at a dollar for gas
for 250 days - $250. (Ed. Note: Gas just hit a record $3.51 a gallon) The annual parking
garage cost would be $540 a year. F that. So close to $800. In a few years
I'll have saved enough to become really fat on steaks and drive a Hummer.
Which burns more calories: Drumming or
walking?
Walking. I booze it pretty hard when drumming. My heart
rate is up for a much longer duration when walking. It's elevated when drumming
mostly from increased blood pressure from consuming alcohol. If I'm playing
drums to like a waltz beat then I'm hardly breathing. If I'm playing metal is
can be like sprinting, so it can vary. This is how Tim is trying to get me to
write a drumming workout blog.
BONUS B-SIDES: Tuc's 15 Tips for New Walking Commuters
- Start one day a week. Soon it'll be
habitual.
- Get decent shoes and see a foot doc if custom insoles would help.
- Listen to the "Rocky IV" Actually, any soundtrack to any Sylvester Stallone movie.
- Get decent headphones, not
those crappy ones that came with your iPod. Over-the-ear headphones keep your
ears warm in cold weather.
- Put your phone in your front pocket on vibrate.
- Eat something
for breakfast.
- Drink water before you walk instead of coffee. Make coffee
when you get to work.
- Keep your eyes on the ground! I've found quite a bit of
money. Expensive stuff too, like silver jewelry, cool glasses.
- Walk off the
beaten path a bit to find more stuff, cut through parks, etc. After
it's been windy you'll find more stuff. (Ed. Note: Winds are forecast for up to 45 mph today.)
- Winter walking: I got a
killer pair of boots that are 200 gram Thinsulate, super light, comfy and
waterproof. Just enough insulation to keep you warm walking but cool enough (and
cool looking enough) to wear at the office.
- Assume cars don't see you cause
drivers aren't used to many walkers in this town, as they are in cities like
Chicago, New York or San Francisco.
- Wear a fanny pack. I don't,
but those should come back in style. Particularly bright colored fanny
packs.
- Carry a backpack with an umbrella, hat, dinky flashlight, chap
stick, night stick, etc.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen are a must for people with
sensitive skin like myself.
- Bring Kleenex. (I'm snotty.) Particularly cheaper stuff.
The good soft stuff sorta falls apart more in your pockets for some
reason.