Week Twenty-Two - Day Three: Bad Ride, Good Ride

BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 33 min.
TIME BACK: 32 min.
WEATHER: cloudy, -21C, 7 km/hr wind there; clear, -11C, 6 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: long johns, fleece pants, turtleneck, fleece jacket, lobster gloves, balaclava
NOTES:

There are not enough swear words in the English language to describe my morning today. It was just one of those frustrating series of events that, if each event were taken individually they would be inconsequential, but as a whole put me in a terrible mood. My daughter woke up early so I didn't get a full night's rest, then she put up a great fight when I was trying to change her and get her dressed. When we got out to the car, I vigorously scraped down the windows in vain as I realized that there was a second layer of frost on the inside of the car. The whole time, my daughter was screaming her head off. I drove her to daycare through deep snow that threw my car around as she continued to scream from the back seat, and it was around this point that I uttered, "oh my God, I already hate today".

The ride to work felt slow and long. It was hampered by the chain coming loose from the freewheel, which could only be remedied by me awkwardly pedaling along with a chain that would only catch at every second rotation while playing around with the gear shifters until everything clinked back into place. My hands were cold. My eyelashes froze together. My stomach growled the whole way. My key almost broke off in the frozen U-lock when I finally got to work. Throughout the entire shitty ride I thought repeatedly to myself, "It is too fucking cold for this."

Luckily, by the time I got to school, things started looking up. I had a hot, yummy breakfast, and when I checked my client schedule I saw that all the clients I was going to see today were ones I genuinely enjoyed working with. It's so nice to work where it doesn't really feel like work. By the time I changed into my work clothes, wiped the sweat and condensation off my face, and did my hair and makeup, I was back to my usual dancing-in-the-hallways self.

After work, the ride home was fantastic! It felt easier and faster than the ride to work (though it was only shorter by one measly minute). I was warm and happy, biking into the sunset with the sun on my face. I didn't get stuck in traffic for long at all, or stuck start-and-stopping behind a bus. It felt so good to be out in sun, breathing that fresh air. It's amazing how different that afternoon ride was from my morning ride! But, I have to say, it's a whole lot better to end the day on a high note than to have my shitty ride be the one home.

Here's to staying on the bright side!