Week Five - Day One

TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: 25 min.
WEATHER: clear, 6C, 22km/hr wind there; clear, 14C, 54km/hr wind back (oh yes, that's not a typo)
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves (gloves in panniers on the way back)
NOTES:
Today was the first day that my lungs stung a little bit from breathing heavily in the cold air on the way to school. My right hand went numb despite wearing gloves (thin as they may be). It is definitely fall, and as I wonder how the hell I'm going to fit a balaclava (usually mispronounced as "baklava" by me) under my helmet, I am beginning to feel terrified for winter. What's going to happen when it's -30C? Hell, even when it's just -5C? How am I going to bike through snow drifts when I still get brutally winded going up a short up, low-grade hill? How will my hands and my nose and my delicate lungs survive? What have I gotten myself into?

These questions were especially relevant for me on the way home, when I was hit with brutal crosswinds of 54 km/hr. Going over the bridges, especially the High Level Bridge (which is a 0.8 km long bridge spanning the river valley, with its wide, shallow river 150 ft. below), I was terrified that the wind would push me over the rail! That wind pushed unevenly at me, making my bike swerve to and fro and threatening to knock me over while going over that bridge - I was definitely grateful to get to the residential streets on the other side which were far more protected.

I've mentioned before that my right knee has been hurting lately. I figured it was probably from a combination of putting too much pressure on it by biking at too high a gear, and also from biking with my leg at some kind of angle so that it's not in line with my hip. Today I made a conscious effort to keep my leg in line, and I'm also ensuring that I don't cross my legs at work. The straighter I can keep that thigh-knee combo, the better. I'm also ensuring to stretch not just my hips but the front of my thighs as well. I should also consider stretching out the back of my thighs while I'm at it. Any stretching of that general area is probably a good thing for me. Still, there was that familiar sharp sting on the side of my right knee when I got home this evening. This knee situation is making me very nervous.