Back in the Saddle - Part II

To quote an old Aerosmith song, I'm back in the saddle again. Well, commuting saddle anyway. I've been riding on weekends and suffering through the occasional trainer session in the garage; however, the wheels fell off the commuting wagon many months ago. My lamest winter in years. That's been rectified as of today to kick off the Commute Challenge, me being Team Captain of Team Jerckx - that's our official team name - little wordplay on Eddy Merckx. I'd feel kinda lame not rolling it out on kick off day, even if the weather was in the 40s and raining. Yes, a wet 17 miles to work it was.



Commuting Tip #42: Spare PC makes an excellent dryer for wet bike clothes. Disable screen saver and/or hit keyboard throughout the day to keep the heat cranking. Rotate clothes a bit after a few hours for even drying. Presto, warm and dry clothes for ride home. Horrified look on coworkers faces included at no extra charge.

Exhaust fan of PC makes a nifty shoe dryer. Being a Mac fan, I always knew PCs were good for something. Before you get your geek tizzy all lathered up, I've been involved with PC and Mac support for decades now. Pros and cons to both. The old PC does make an excellent shoe dryer however...

The 17 miles home only offered a spritz of rain. I didn't miss the pair of sloshy Sidi shoes at all. Here, my trusty Ibis Hakkalugi rests against a public notice informing peasants a 2 mile stretch of the Burke-Gilman Trail - one of the most used trails in the U.S. - will soon be closed for 6 months for renovations. No detour info provided. Sweet. Besides being my commute route, about a zillion people use this trail on sunny weekends. The summer sounds like a perfect time to close it. Excellent idea. Detours around this will not be easy, since a mixture of confusing and/or busy roads are the only option. For commuting, I'll probably just use the bus lane of the busy road mentioned (no shoulder on this road) and time trial for 2 miles to make it quick as possible. I'm betting other bike commuters will be pulling off the same commando operation.

Now that my commuting slump has been officially busted, let the riding begin. My body says it's February, the calendar says it's May - time to get moving. Ramping up from zero to 170 miles per week (my full commute schedule) takes time. With my lame winter, late start, and Commute Challenge now in full swing - I'll be rushing that pace a bit. It'll be fun and painful at the same time. Let the commuting wheels start rolling.