BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: (had drinks with co-workers after work, got a ride home)
WEATHER: light rain, 8C, 7 km/hr cross/headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: warm-up pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell
NOTES:
I feel like I've been a bit of a pansy when it comes to riding in the rain. For some reason, I was able to battle my way through heavy snowdrifts and slippery ice patches for the great majority of the winter season, and since we've turned the corner into spring I've become far less resilient in the face of bad weather. If it's windy or rainy or, well, for any ridiculous reason, really, I've sought out rides home or talked myself into driving so that it seems I've been missing more bike-commutes in the fine spring weather than I did all winter. What gives??
At least today I can feel good about myself for being able to say that "rain or shine, I'm a bike-commuter!". The rain fell quietly and clung to the exposed skin on my hands, pooling and dribbling off the rim of my helmet. As I splashed through puddles with no front fender and a fairly useless rear one, muddy droplets and a couple tiny pieces of cut grass collected on my face. I arrived at work with damp hair that quickly dried into a frizzy mess, feeling refreshed and cleansed by my wet commute.
There is something wholly pleasant about biking in less-than-ideal weather. I miss that about winter-biking: how alone and accomplished I felt as one of so few cyclists out there in the cold and snow. When I'm one of many, and I'm not one of the fastest or fittest or most fashionable ones, when I'm just another girl on a bike, it loses its romance. I'm not special anymore.
No wonder my motivation for biking lowers as the weather improves.
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