Week 33 - Day Five: Excuses

BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 28 min.
TIME BACK: (went out with co-workers after work, so I got a ride home later)
WEATHER: clear, 4C (0C with windchill), 22km/hr wind gusting up to 33 km/hr there.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, running gloves
NOTES:

Every morning this week, I woke up arguing with myself about whether I should bike or drive to work. Every evening I would fervently hope to wake up to snow cover on the ground the next day so I had a good excuse not to bike. The lazy voice inside my head thought up all sorts of excuses for me - it's too windy, it's too dry, my throat still hurts, my nose is still too blocked, I'm too tired, I deserve a break, I'm sick and I need to sleep in, etc. Somehow, I managed not to talk myself out of it, and I've gotten through a week of bike-commuting while sick (with the exception of Monday, of course).

There will always be reasons not to bike. And that lazy part of my brain will always throw them at me to convince me not to bike. The point is to ignore it. Sure, there are times when it makes perfect sense not to bike - when I have to go to a meeting or appointment directly from work and wouldn't have the time to bike it, or when the weather makes it too dangerous, or when I'm just barely well enough to drag my ass to work but too sick to function as a human being. All legitimate reasons. But it's been a while since I've had a good run of multiple weeks in a row when I didn't miss a single day of biking. Maybe not even since January! That trend needs to stop. I need to get back into the habit of bike-commuting.

The good news is that it's getting nicer and nicer out, which means that fellow bike-commuters are coming out in droves. Whereas in the winter we were an elite, exclusive group of hardy winter-cyclists, I am now a part of what can only be described as a horde of cyclists that now includes the belle-weather bikers. It's nice to see everyone out, some on dreamy-looking retro cruisers and others on expensive road racers. Some decked out in flowing hippie-chic or urban-cool attire while others are in cycling jackets and spandex shorts, and others are like me in casual comfort clothes that are functional and just a tad slovenly. It's hard to talk myself out of biking when so many people are out doing it, when it's so nice outside, and when driving feels so wasteful.

There will always be excuses. I just hope I can always rely on my will power to rebuke them.