graceful, i'm not
2008-Jun-26, Thursday 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerWe had a quarterly department meeting this morning, so I went to work at 9am today instead of the usual 1pm. Since I put in my 4 hours and still had lots of sunny time left in the day, I decided to ride my bicycle back to work so I could time myself for the trip. Unfortunately, I have to carry the pager every other week, so I can't ride my bike to work on those days, but on weeks off I could do it. I used to want to do this sort of thing just out of a sense of environmental responsibility. There's also the health benefit. These days, though, my primary motivation is to save on fuel costs. Bicycling could make a serious dent in my expenses. It costs about $4 round trip for me to drive to work each day. Riding the bus would cost the same.
Although there is a locker room to change clothes at work, I'm pretty sure there is no shower. Q: Do any of you know how that works out? Do you end up smelling like a gym locker the whole day, or is a wipedown with a towel sufficient to stay office-fresh for the day?
Anyway, so I was out bicycling to work this afternoon just to time myself. Minneapolis has two major bicycle paved trails that I know of. One of them connects to downtown Minneapolis. It's an old "rails-to-trails" path that I call simply the "bicycle highway". Another area is a World War I memorial parkway with a separate bike/pedestrian road that I call the "northern highway". Conveniently for me, about half of the path that I take from house to work is entirely the northern highway. Very pleasant to ride without having to deal with cars. :)
I was almost all of the way to work. I detoured to the unpaved park bicycle trail that was marked "Difficult" since it seemed to lead directly to the humane society's parking lot. Yes, it is difficult. I had a hard time pedaling without hitting the rocks that jutted up from the dirt trail. I had the parking lot in sight. I paused to consider how best to make it down the steep hill safely. Am I already rolling downhill? Brakes. Bike stopped, good. Hey, I'm still moving! I actually rolled forward off of my bicycle down the hill and landed with my back (no shirt, I was enjoying the sunshine) against tree bark. Oops.
I picked up my bicycle and walked the rest of the way down to the parking lot. About 30 seconds later is when the lightheaded/deaf phase arrived. I thought adrenaline worked a lot faster than that, so I can't guess what prompted that episode. It passed in only a minute or so. I found someone outside in back on their break and asked them what time it was. It took me one hour to reach work from the house. I could go faster easily enough, but a 1 hour trip seems like a good plan.
I started to take off back home when I realized that the bike seat had fallen down the shaft during the bike roll. I fixed that and made it back home without incident. I checked out my back in the bathroom mirror once I got back home. It'll probably make an impressive scab this weekend, but it didn't seem bad at all for now. When I sat down at the computer, though, T'Reese came over right away to sniff at at. I guess maybe it looks worse than it feels. :) This is why I wear a helmet whenever I ride. Small step to prevent a serious injury.
At least the tube repair that I did this weekend has held very well. I didn't have to air the back tire even once during the trip.
Although there is a locker room to change clothes at work, I'm pretty sure there is no shower. Q: Do any of you know how that works out? Do you end up smelling like a gym locker the whole day, or is a wipedown with a towel sufficient to stay office-fresh for the day?
Anyway, so I was out bicycling to work this afternoon just to time myself. Minneapolis has two major bicycle paved trails that I know of. One of them connects to downtown Minneapolis. It's an old "rails-to-trails" path that I call simply the "bicycle highway". Another area is a World War I memorial parkway with a separate bike/pedestrian road that I call the "northern highway". Conveniently for me, about half of the path that I take from house to work is entirely the northern highway. Very pleasant to ride without having to deal with cars. :)
I was almost all of the way to work. I detoured to the unpaved park bicycle trail that was marked "Difficult" since it seemed to lead directly to the humane society's parking lot. Yes, it is difficult. I had a hard time pedaling without hitting the rocks that jutted up from the dirt trail. I had the parking lot in sight. I paused to consider how best to make it down the steep hill safely. Am I already rolling downhill? Brakes. Bike stopped, good. Hey, I'm still moving! I actually rolled forward off of my bicycle down the hill and landed with my back (no shirt, I was enjoying the sunshine) against tree bark. Oops.
I picked up my bicycle and walked the rest of the way down to the parking lot. About 30 seconds later is when the lightheaded/deaf phase arrived. I thought adrenaline worked a lot faster than that, so I can't guess what prompted that episode. It passed in only a minute or so. I found someone outside in back on their break and asked them what time it was. It took me one hour to reach work from the house. I could go faster easily enough, but a 1 hour trip seems like a good plan.
I started to take off back home when I realized that the bike seat had fallen down the shaft during the bike roll. I fixed that and made it back home without incident. I checked out my back in the bathroom mirror once I got back home. It'll probably make an impressive scab this weekend, but it didn't seem bad at all for now. When I sat down at the computer, though, T'Reese came over right away to sniff at at. I guess maybe it looks worse than it feels. :) This is why I wear a helmet whenever I ride. Small step to prevent a serious injury.
At least the tube repair that I did this weekend has held very well. I didn't have to air the back tire even once during the trip.
no subject
Date: 2008-Jun-26, Thursday 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-Jun-27, Friday 01:06 am (UTC)