BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 22 min.
TIME BACK: n/a
WEATHER: clear, 14C, 4 km/hr tailwinds there;
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Eastwood, you need to behave yourself!
It's been almost two weeks that I've been riding Eastwood now because Mike is out of commission with a broken spoke that I have yet to replace. So far, I've been finding the ride remarkably comfortable (thank you, wide thick-treaded tires and shock absorbers!), and I've been surprised at how comparable the ease and speed of riding has been between my heavy mountain bike and my light, agile hybrid. It's made me wonder if I should just stick with the mountain bike permanently, especially because the shock absorbers and wide tires would likely make for a more comfortable, safer winter ride.
But there's a downside. I'm not sure why, but there's something about Eastwood that's giving me a saddle sore. Right where my left leg meets my crotch (nice placement, Eastwood), I have developed what is either a cut or a friction burn or something that freakin' hurts. Today, for the sake of experimentation, I wore a different kind of underwear to see if it might be the underwear band that's causing the problem, but so far I've found that not to be the case. It's something to do with how I sit on Eastwood's saddle, and how my riding position on this bike never stays where it should so I end up sliding too far forward on the seat. I've tried adjusting the seat so it tilts back a little bit, but then I just feel like I'm being slightly violated by the seat without it actually causing any difference in my sliding-forward tendency.
All I know is that this ain't working. I need to do something to fix it, but I have no idea what the problem might be. And I'm off to Calgary for the weekend starting tomorrow right after work, so I don't think I'm going to have the time to troubleshoot it in the next few days. And that really sucks, because this sore is making my daily rides very uncomfortable. Maybe I should try replacing Eastwood's saddle with Mike's, since Mike's saddle has never given me any problems in nine months of consistent riding. I hope that might help, because that would be a pretty easy solution.
Oh, Eastwood, you should know better than to mess with a woman's lady-bits . . .
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Week 40 - Day Three: Dating Again
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: 24 min.
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 12C, 17 km/hr head/crosswinds gusting to 30 km/hr there; partly cloudy, 20C, 20 km/hr cross/tailwinds gusting to 35 km/hr back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
I've been a dating machine. At least that's what one of my colleagues has called me. A couple of weeks ago, I ended up going on three dates in one week! I've gone on multiple dates with one of those fellows, and now within the past couple days we've decided to give exclusivity a shot. Goodbye first dates, hello fledgling relationship!
Dating as a single parent and a bike-commuter is kind of tricky. After work I bike home and arrive a half-hour later dressed in the most ridiculous "athletic" wear, often drenched in sweat. Then I rush to get my daughter from daycare and spend the next hour cooking, serving, eating, and cleaning up after dinner. Then I bathe my daughter, play with her a bit, read her some stories, and put her to bed. Now the real work begins: transforming myself from a sweat-encrusted, tired, single mom bike-commuter into a stunning, well-maintained, clean, and made-up fantasy woman. Well, okay, maybe that's a stretch . . . regardless, it takes some time and effort, damn it!
I typically rush myself through as thorough a shower as I can muster in the time I have, then I quickly try to fix up my hair and makeup a bit. And then I'm finally ready to go, and it's 8:00 pm, and between being up at 6:00 am and working all day and playing with my daughter and biking 16 km, I'm yawning already. Shit!
The good news about exclusively dating one person and getting to trust him is that I can invite him over to my place after my daughter's in bed. This saves me babysitting money and the guilt I feel whenever I spend time away from my daughter, and allows me to head straight to bed right after our date ends and he leaves. I like how this works out. Sure, it might be a lot to ask of him to always come to me, but luckily so far he's found it's worth it.
So, yeah, I'm tired at 8:00 pm, and the day after a date I find I'm that much slower and more tired during my commute, and sometimes the effort it takes to get date-ready at the end of a long day wears me right out. But you know what? So far, I'm finding it's worth it.
TIME THERE: 25 min.
TIME BACK: 24 min.
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 12C, 17 km/hr head/crosswinds gusting to 30 km/hr there; partly cloudy, 20C, 20 km/hr cross/tailwinds gusting to 35 km/hr back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
I've been a dating machine. At least that's what one of my colleagues has called me. A couple of weeks ago, I ended up going on three dates in one week! I've gone on multiple dates with one of those fellows, and now within the past couple days we've decided to give exclusivity a shot. Goodbye first dates, hello fledgling relationship!
Dating as a single parent and a bike-commuter is kind of tricky. After work I bike home and arrive a half-hour later dressed in the most ridiculous "athletic" wear, often drenched in sweat. Then I rush to get my daughter from daycare and spend the next hour cooking, serving, eating, and cleaning up after dinner. Then I bathe my daughter, play with her a bit, read her some stories, and put her to bed. Now the real work begins: transforming myself from a sweat-encrusted, tired, single mom bike-commuter into a stunning, well-maintained, clean, and made-up fantasy woman. Well, okay, maybe that's a stretch . . . regardless, it takes some time and effort, damn it!
I typically rush myself through as thorough a shower as I can muster in the time I have, then I quickly try to fix up my hair and makeup a bit. And then I'm finally ready to go, and it's 8:00 pm, and between being up at 6:00 am and working all day and playing with my daughter and biking 16 km, I'm yawning already. Shit!
The good news about exclusively dating one person and getting to trust him is that I can invite him over to my place after my daughter's in bed. This saves me babysitting money and the guilt I feel whenever I spend time away from my daughter, and allows me to head straight to bed right after our date ends and he leaves. I like how this works out. Sure, it might be a lot to ask of him to always come to me, but luckily so far he's found it's worth it.
So, yeah, I'm tired at 8:00 pm, and the day after a date I find I'm that much slower and more tired during my commute, and sometimes the effort it takes to get date-ready at the end of a long day wears me right out. But you know what? So far, I'm finding it's worth it.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
MONTHLY CHECK-IN
WEIGHT LOSS THIS MONTH: 5
WEIGHT LOSS TO DATE: 40 lbs
DAYS COMMUTED: 15
POTENTIAL COMMUTING DAYS MISSED: 5
BREAKDOWN OF EXCUSES USED BY COMMUTE DAYS MISSED:
Something After Work - 2
Spring Storm - 2
Too Tired - 1
OK, well, I can't say it's epic weight loss for the month of May, but it's nice to see the numbers finally going down again! And maybe that's not so bad after having eat-a-thons during my trip to Regina over the long weekend and on the weekend of my daughter's birthday party/Mother's Day. So, the less-than-mind-blowing weight loss is perfectly understandable. Still, it would have been SO NICE to wake up to the scale informing me that I just lost ten pounds - or even twelve pounds, as I did in January!! I need a couple more months like that. I'm looking forward to that again.
Honestly, though, I'm pretty happy about the weight loss for this month. After a number of months of stagnating, it IS nice to record some loss again. And just as the nutritionist I consulted last month said, 5 lbs in a month is actually ideal - any more than that and it's getting to be a bit too fast. So I can definitely live with this. Oh, weight loss, you NEVER happen as quickly or as easily as I want you to! What a jerk.
WEIGHT LOSS TO DATE: 40 lbs
DAYS COMMUTED: 15
POTENTIAL COMMUTING DAYS MISSED: 5
BREAKDOWN OF EXCUSES USED BY COMMUTE DAYS MISSED:
Something After Work - 2
Spring Storm - 2
Too Tired - 1
OK, well, I can't say it's epic weight loss for the month of May, but it's nice to see the numbers finally going down again! And maybe that's not so bad after having eat-a-thons during my trip to Regina over the long weekend and on the weekend of my daughter's birthday party/Mother's Day. So, the less-than-mind-blowing weight loss is perfectly understandable. Still, it would have been SO NICE to wake up to the scale informing me that I just lost ten pounds - or even twelve pounds, as I did in January!! I need a couple more months like that. I'm looking forward to that again.
Honestly, though, I'm pretty happy about the weight loss for this month. After a number of months of stagnating, it IS nice to record some loss again. And just as the nutritionist I consulted last month said, 5 lbs in a month is actually ideal - any more than that and it's getting to be a bit too fast. So I can definitely live with this. Oh, weight loss, you NEVER happen as quickly or as easily as I want you to! What a jerk.
Week 40 - Day Two: New Project
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 6C, no wind there; overcast, 15C, 19 km/hr cross/tailwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I have a lot to learn about bicycle mechanics. Not that I want to - in fact, I'm really not a fan of getting my hands greasy and spending my rare, precious free time trying to figure out how to attach trailers to bikes or change a tire or fix broken spokes. If I had more free time, I think I would quite enjoy this as a hobby - working with my hands, figuring things out, being practical and productive in a way that as an academic I just about never am. However, when my workspace is a cramped uninsulated front porch and my free time consists of about one hour per day right before bed, working on my bike isn't really something I crave.
However, I need to do something about Mike. He has a broken spoke and has therefore been out of commission. I have no time to take him to the bike shop to get repaired, and it occurred to me today that I might as well try to fix the damn spoke myself. I've already managed to wrestle the bent and broken piece of metal out of the spoke nipple (that's right, that's what it's called). All I need to do it put on a new one! It can't be THAT hard, right?? So, that's my new project: replacing poor Mike's broken spoke.
The only problem is finding the time to get out to MEC to buy new spokes. Perhaps I'll be able to get to that this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!! Wish me luck . . .
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 6C, no wind there; overcast, 15C, 19 km/hr cross/tailwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I have a lot to learn about bicycle mechanics. Not that I want to - in fact, I'm really not a fan of getting my hands greasy and spending my rare, precious free time trying to figure out how to attach trailers to bikes or change a tire or fix broken spokes. If I had more free time, I think I would quite enjoy this as a hobby - working with my hands, figuring things out, being practical and productive in a way that as an academic I just about never am. However, when my workspace is a cramped uninsulated front porch and my free time consists of about one hour per day right before bed, working on my bike isn't really something I crave.
However, I need to do something about Mike. He has a broken spoke and has therefore been out of commission. I have no time to take him to the bike shop to get repaired, and it occurred to me today that I might as well try to fix the damn spoke myself. I've already managed to wrestle the bent and broken piece of metal out of the spoke nipple (that's right, that's what it's called). All I need to do it put on a new one! It can't be THAT hard, right?? So, that's my new project: replacing poor Mike's broken spoke.
The only problem is finding the time to get out to MEC to buy new spokes. Perhaps I'll be able to get to that this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!! Wish me luck . . .
Monday, May 31, 2010
Week 40 - Day One: Crossing at Crosswalks
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 24 min.
WEATHER: overcast, wet, 5C, 15 km/hr crosswinds there; overcast, 11C, 6 km/hr tailwinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, turtleneck, sweatshirt
NOTES:
There is one intersection I cross every day that is basically just a crosswalk across a main road. It's rare that I can approach the intersection and just keep going because there are no cars coming. Most of the time, I wait at the side of the road until cars stop for me to cross. However, because I have a bike with me (or because the drivers are just straight-up assholes), most of the time nobody stops unless I get off my bike and cautiously start walking into the intersection. When I'm partway through the lane the cars will finally stop for me, with some drivers wearing looks of exasperation as though I haven't the right to slow them down during their commute.
Today, I tried crossing this stretch of road without getting off my bike. This was a mistake. I know that when I approach a crosswalk and intend to cross it as a pedestrian, I technically should dismount and walk my bike across. But dismounting and remounting takes extra time, and I don't like wasting time if I don't have to! However, as I found out today, it's probably time worth spending, because if I thought drivers were hesitant to stop for a pedestrian trying to cross the crosswalk, they are downright hostile to cyclists who try to cross there.
On my way to work this morning, a woman driving a minivan came to a hard stop in front of me as I was crossing, then made some gesture with her arm that I can only assume meant something along the lines of "you're lucky I stopped for you, asshole!". On the way home from work, I had already slowly and cautiously made my way halfway through the intersection as cars continued to drive through it with their drivers glaring at me and (at least as I imagined it) shouting obscenities at me behind their windshields.
I muttered some unpleasantries to these drivers under my breath, but truth be told I knew that as much as they weren't exactly being polite, it was I who was in violation of a bylaw. I'm pretty sure this feeling of having done something wrong stuck with me throughout the day, because I was one grumpy lady all day today. I announced to my colleagues that I was having an "angry day" at lunch as I bitterly stuffed snap peas into my scowling mouth. When my last client of the day kept extending the session 10, 15, and 20 minutes beyond the typical ending time despite my continual efforts to wrap things up, I became aware of the way I was gripping my pen cap while I glared at her impatiently, which I have to say isn't the most therapeutic way to be with a client.
I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll behave a little nicer all around. And I think I'll start by following the rules and dismounting at the crosswalk, even if I lose some time to do so.
TIME THERE: 23 min.
TIME BACK: 24 min.
WEATHER: overcast, wet, 5C, 15 km/hr crosswinds there; overcast, 11C, 6 km/hr tailwinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, turtleneck, sweatshirt
NOTES:
There is one intersection I cross every day that is basically just a crosswalk across a main road. It's rare that I can approach the intersection and just keep going because there are no cars coming. Most of the time, I wait at the side of the road until cars stop for me to cross. However, because I have a bike with me (or because the drivers are just straight-up assholes), most of the time nobody stops unless I get off my bike and cautiously start walking into the intersection. When I'm partway through the lane the cars will finally stop for me, with some drivers wearing looks of exasperation as though I haven't the right to slow them down during their commute.
Today, I tried crossing this stretch of road without getting off my bike. This was a mistake. I know that when I approach a crosswalk and intend to cross it as a pedestrian, I technically should dismount and walk my bike across. But dismounting and remounting takes extra time, and I don't like wasting time if I don't have to! However, as I found out today, it's probably time worth spending, because if I thought drivers were hesitant to stop for a pedestrian trying to cross the crosswalk, they are downright hostile to cyclists who try to cross there.
On my way to work this morning, a woman driving a minivan came to a hard stop in front of me as I was crossing, then made some gesture with her arm that I can only assume meant something along the lines of "you're lucky I stopped for you, asshole!". On the way home from work, I had already slowly and cautiously made my way halfway through the intersection as cars continued to drive through it with their drivers glaring at me and (at least as I imagined it) shouting obscenities at me behind their windshields.
I muttered some unpleasantries to these drivers under my breath, but truth be told I knew that as much as they weren't exactly being polite, it was I who was in violation of a bylaw. I'm pretty sure this feeling of having done something wrong stuck with me throughout the day, because I was one grumpy lady all day today. I announced to my colleagues that I was having an "angry day" at lunch as I bitterly stuffed snap peas into my scowling mouth. When my last client of the day kept extending the session 10, 15, and 20 minutes beyond the typical ending time despite my continual efforts to wrap things up, I became aware of the way I was gripping my pen cap while I glared at her impatiently, which I have to say isn't the most therapeutic way to be with a client.
I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll behave a little nicer all around. And I think I'll start by following the rules and dismounting at the crosswalk, even if I lose some time to do so.
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