Week Nineteen - Day One: Valley Girl

BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 30 min.
TIME BACK: 29 min. (though it felt muuuuch longer!)
WEATHER: overcast, -15C, 7km/hr winds there; cloudy, -17C, 9km/hr winds back.
WHAT I WORE: fleece pants, business socks (it's Business Time!), turtleneck, fleece mid-layer, lobster gloves, balaclava
NOTES:

Me: "Hmm, I wonder if the river valley bike path is cleared during the winter. That would solve my problem of contending with car traffic, icy roads, and uncleared sidewalks. Sure, I'd have to deal with big hills, but that's probably not as bad as potentially getting hit by cars. Let me check this out . . ."

Research Results:

• Answer #1: "Yes, the bike path is cleared, and sometimes it's even more clear than the roads!" Source: a friend whose husband routinely bikes to work
• Answer #2: "Oh, no, they don't clear it - I can see the path from my house and it's all snow." Source: An acquaintance who cross-country skis the river valley in the winter
• Answer #3: "Paved pathways are cleared when 1 inch (2.5 cm) of snow have accumulated." Source: The Parks & River Valley website

Me: "SCORE! I'm gonna bike through the river valley and see how that works out for me!"

Based on my shrewd PhD-level research as summarized above, this morning I set off determined to check out the conditions of the multi-use path that winds through the river valley and see if it's worth taking that route to school. I've been under the impression that it hasn't been an option for me since the snow fell, as I thought it wasn't maintained in the winter. Well, how wrong I was!! The path is cleared, and although it's covered with a layer of packed-down snow, its condition is light years better than the rutted, icy roads and partly-cleared sidewalks of my usual road-based route. Best of all, I don't have to contend with pedestrians or cars! In fact, I only came across one other living soul each way of my commute, and they hardly presented a crowding issue for me.

So, let me break down the ride for you:
PROS:

• Instead of saying, "Fuck - ruts! Fuck - snowbank! Fuck - pedestrians!", along my route I repeatedly declared, "Holy fuck - it's beautiful out here!!"
• It's one hell of a workout, it felt like 10x more of a workout than the flatter, longer road-based route I've been taking so far.
• It took less time, and especially the ride to school felt much shorter than the road-based rides I'm used to. On the way home, as much as I made good time, I was working so hard for it that it actually felt longer than usual. Nevertheless, the timing in both directions was shorter than what I've been doing lately by road.
  

CONS:

• There are no street lights along the pathway, so while it was still somewhat light out on my ride home, I was riding in near darkness the whole way to work in the morning. Good thing I have lights on my bike! Still, it was pretty hard to see much on my morning ride.
  
• I felt like I was going to die, just about the whole time. Either I was nervously riding my brakes down the steep, icy, snow-packed hills into the valley and fearing a fall to my death, or I was pedaling my ass off trying to get up the steep, icy, snow-packed hills out of the valley and panting so hard I literally tasted blood. Tasted blood, people. I'm pretty sure that means my lungs got freezer-burnt. I was working so hard up those hills that in both directions I had to get off the bike and walk it up some parts, and I felt like I was going to die. Or vomit. Luckily, I did neither. Luckily, I don't eat right before I bike.
  
• I can see the ride home being utterly brutal on a windy day. As it was, I felt the paltry 9km/hr wind as I biked through the river valley about as much as I would feel 15-20km/hr wind on the road. Especially since so much of the ride is uphill on the way home, it makes me lose my will to live when I think of how harsh it would be riding those slippery uphill slopes against a bitter north-westerly wind as it rushed towards me through the wind-funneling river valley.

ASSESSMENT:
The river valley route is absolutely passable, and certainly on the way to work it's a much better option than the road-based route, given the shorter travel time and that it's safer. However, on the way home I'm not convinced it's a better route because so much of it is uphill. I'm up for a challenge, which the uphill battle certainly is, but I'm already an overworked, always sick, full-time student and single parent, so if I don't cycle myself to near-vomiting at the end of the work day, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Perhaps what I'll do is stick to the river valley multi-use path on the way to work, and challenge myself every week to get farther up the big hill at the end until I can make it to the top without getting off the bike and walking. Then from work, depending on how windy it is and my level of energy/ambition, I can decide whether to take the faster river valley path or the longer but less intense road route. Sounds like a plan to me!

Man, am I ever glad I finally decided to try the river valley path!! So much more pleasant in the morning than the road!