WEATHER THERE: Overcast, 9C, 11 km/hr tailwinds
WEATHER BACK: Raining, 15C, 13 km/hr crosswinds
What an auspicious (re)start to biking! The first day of the week - Tuesday - was my first day of my new job, and given that I hauled in an entire suitcase full of decorative knicknacks, textbooks, framed art/degrees/certificates, and dissertation-related documents, I figured it would be best to drive. I spent most of the first day arranging my little office into something I'd be comfortable living and working in for the next nine months. I didn't do any sort of nesting like this when I did my internship last year - and who knows - maybe that contributed to me feeling so burnt out by the end. So, I determined to make a greater effort not to let myself burn out this year. With just a little decorative flair, a few scented candles, and dark-wood-framed degrees and certificates for some narcissistic demonstration of my accomplishments, now I've got a charming little office to call my home-away-from-home! Much better than the industrial chic I'm used to.
Wednesday and Thursday are my days off, and those days this week were spent working from home and attending a few meetings to get my dissertation kick-started again after a year-long hiatus. Between working from home on Wednesday and attending three meetings in three different locations back to back with very little commuting time alotted between each, I was unable to bike for either of those days.
So - Friday! My first official day back to bike-commuting! I took the new mountain bike - name still to be determined - and appreciated the smoothness of the ride even as I encountered roads deeply pockmarked with potholes, small rocks, and numerous puddles. Though it wasn't raining when I left the house in the morning and it wasn't calling for rain later in the day, it had rained overnight and left puddles all over, so I opted to wear my rain jacket. This proved to be a most prudent decision, as the late afternoon sky opened up and started pouring rain just before I left the office for the day. Note to self: always bring rain gear!
I still need to equip my new bike with a bell and lights, and I also just noticed that the bike didn't come with reflectors so I'll have to get those too. I'll also need a reflective leg band to keep my right pantleg off the chain, as the bike didn't come with a crash guard so my pants manage to get sucked into the whirling vortex of the front chain ring more often than I'd like. Despite the rain, and despite how I was panting so hard I kind of felt like puking after cresting the hill at the end of the High Level Bridge, it felt damn good to get back to it today. I know my strength will come back, and so will my stamina, and every day that stupid hill is going to get easier. Meanwhile, I'll get to save money on parking and gas, start my day with pink cheeks and a rosy glow, get some much-needed exercise as we enter into the cold season, and demonstrate to my daughter how natural, easy, and fun daily exercise can be as I haul her to daycare in the bike trailer.
Bike commuting: 1. Driving: 0.
