Week Three - Day One

TIME THERE: 25 min. (woot!)
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 13C, 4 km/hr wind; clear, 23C, 22 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: dress pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell (shell was in panniers on the way home)
NOTES:
My personal best time last week was on Friday when I managed to get to school in 26 minutes. So this morning when I swung my leg over Mike the Bike's frame and rested my bum on the saddle, I had it in my head that I would try to meet that time today. I pushed myself a little bit, and was definitely helped when I was passed by another cyclist and spent the next few blocks trying to chase him.

Today, I really felt like I was flying. It was awesome. I get such a rush out of it! I rode like the devil was chasing me, and it was truly exhilarating. I averaged 12 mph, which includes the time spent stopped at lights or waiting for an opportunity to cross a road, which felt pretty fast to me. On the way home there is a point where I was coasting along on a bumpy, poorly maintained road and I got to a busy intersection where I'm pretty well guaranteed to be held up at the light. This light is at the top end of a slight descent (it's a 3% grade). Here is my all time favourite part of the entire bike ride: waiting for that light to turn green, then pedalling my ass off trying to keep pace with the cars beside me as we all rush headlong down that decline. Sometimes I even overtake the cars and am riding down the street, shifting up two gears to keep the RPM's up, almost laughing to myself at the exhilaration. "Hahaha, fuckers!! I'm riding a bike and I'm faster than you, and you don't even get to feel how awesome this wind feels!" Usually I say this in my head, but today I said it out loud. I'm glad nobody heard me.

Thinking about it now, perhaps I end up going faster than the cars because the drivers are scared to drive directly beside this crazy obese woman pedalling down the street with a creepy grin on her face yelling, "fuckers!" over her shoulder at them. Huh. I'm a psychologist and I didn't even think about how crazy I must have looked until now. Oh well - I'm having a good time anyway, who cares what those drivers think!

I really do need to retire this idea of wearing my dress pants while cycling, though. I know I've said it before but then I tried it again, and it just doesn't work. My pants got caught on the chain several times today and now they're pretty dirty, which isn't so great because they require a delicate wash cycle and being hung to dry. Damn high-maintenance pants! Not worth it. Yoga pants it is.