Saturday, February 28, 2009

Week 14 (February 23-27)

The summary:

Monday - Car (single occupant)
Tuesday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Friday - Car (single occupant)

The excuses:

Monday - had to drive to client site in St. Louis Park again, didn't feel like toting the laptop there and back.
Tuesday - Too tired to get my gear ready and get up early.
Wednesday - Success!
Thursday - A ton of snow was forecasted and actually arrived on Thursday. Getting through 4-6 inches without the studded tires wasn't the challenge I was looking for this week.
Friday - see Monday

The week wasn't a total failure. I logged a bicycle commute for the seventh straight week, and my fears of a disastrous rush-hour drive home on Friday didn't materialize. Having to even think about traffic is one of the aspects of being an Iowa boy living in Minneapolis that I'm still not used to. But other than a slight bottleneck at 394 and 100, everything flowed smoothly, and I got home without an angry heart.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Week 13 (February 16-20)

Monday - Car (single occupant)
Tuesday - Bicycle
Wednesday - Car (single occupant)
Thursday - Car (single occupant)
Friday - Bicycle

In my jubilation to announce the discovery of the conference room shower last week, I failed to describe the ride home. It was great to breathe in fresh early evening air, but since I had work to do over the weekend I used a backpack to bring home my laptop.

I wasn't excited about the prospect of starting off the week with 7 lbs strapped to my back, so I opted for the two ton death trap instead, deferring my commuting joy for a day. I awoke with a smile on Tuesday, packed up my gear, and pedaled off, excited to cover new ground by cycling to a client site for once. It didn't matter how hard I pushed or how much I sweat since a shower awaited me at the workplace.

The shower stall had been used as a repository for the Company's beverage supplies, but with permission from the client, I moved about five cases of cans to the kitchenette. After lifting the last 12 pack of Diet Pepsi, I gazed dumbstruck at the permanently sealed plug in the shower drain. My facial expression likely remained unchanged for a good five minutes, though in times of intense trauma it becomes difficult to measure the elapsed periods of time.

Finally, the shock wore off and I realized that I had previously cleansed myself with far fewer resources (i.e., Mexico). In 15 minutes I emerged from the conference room, not quite a new man, but adequately refreshed for the day's work.

Since my return trip home was after daylight hours and I didn't feel like getting robbed on the Greenway, I decided to ride on-street for most of the way home. There was slight rain and fog, but my fenders kept me dry. It was actually nice to breeze past a drizzly Lake Calhoun, and the traffic on Lake Street was light enough for a relatively peaceful ride.

All things considered, Tuesday's experience wasn't terribly deflating and it didn't keep me from a round-trip bicycle commute on Friday. I had established an informal goal of riding two days during the week, and I was happy to have reached it. The prospect of riding any days to this client site had appeared extremely remote just two weeks before, so I considered the experience a glaring success.

The next three weeks of my schedule have me booked downtown, so my plan is to ride at least 2-3 times a week.


Friday, February 13, 2009

Week 12 (February 9-14)

Monday - Car (single occupant)
Tuesday - Car (single occupant)
Wednesday - Car (single occupant)
Thursday - Car (single occupant)
Friday - Car & Bicycle

After four depressing days of being a regular working stiff driving himself to work, a glimmer of hope shone through today. Four late nights of work coupled with what would be a longer commute (4 miles into downtown vs. a 10 mile ride across town) kept me from entertaining any thoughts of commuting to work. Plus my connection for a morning shower fell through. By Thursday, my head was throbbing from a constant surge of adrenaline, and I decided that nothing would remedy the situation like biking home from work. I proposed a plan to my wife, she consented, and Friday was glorious. Here's what happened:

Alarm goes off, 6:30 sharp.

I'm exhausted, but I remember:

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Guess I won't hit the snooze button today.

Pati and I threw my laptop in the car, mounted the rack and the bike, and off we drove to our old stomping grounds for a Friday morning coffee date, close to the client site. (They're usually on Saturday, but since friends are in town this weekend we thought we'd mix it up). The coffee and muffin were decent, but the company was fantastic.

My morning coffee buzz kept me going strong through early afternoon, and the rest of the day was a blur, but a good kind of blur. A few hours before quitting time, I asked our client contact if they had a larger bathroom that I could change in for the ride home. His reply almost made me weep for joy: their conference room has a kitchenette and shower attached to it.

I don't need to know, don't care why in the world this company has a shower in their conference room. All that matters is that it is at my disposal for the next week.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. (And sometimes in the afternoon)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Winter Gear

Before it gets too warm to stop wearing all of this stuff, I figured I'd post a link to the gear I use for winter commuting. Enjoy:

Winter Gear

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Week 11 (February 2-7)

This week was bookended with bicycle commutes, and I was at least able to take advantage of some round trip carpooling with the wife on two of the days which was nice.

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Wednesday - Car & LRT (AM carpool)
Thursday - Car (AM & PM carpool)
Friday - Bicycle

The week started off well, and Monday's ride in (~6 degrees) was almost ideal. My hands and feet weren't too cold, and the rest of my body was comfortable and not too warm.

Everything was fine until 15 yards from the bike rack. As I crossed 6th Street at 3rd Avenue, I encountered some pedestrians so I shifted around them to the left and turned a sharp right onto the sidewalk. The granite slab on the sidewalks proved less than ideal for studded tires, and the bike slid out from under me. This time I was hurled onto my right shoulder, which no longer felt neglected after last week's incident. A citizen in the 40-50, white female, motherly-like demographic ran over asking if I was okay and I shot her a sheepish thumbs up before scooting over to the bike rack. I have never been happier to sport a balaclava covering 75% of my face. Plus I escaped any bodily harm.

There had been a considerable warm-up over the weekend, and the studded tires seemed out of place, given the scarcity of ice and snow-pack. I did not want to wear down the studs, so when I finally had a chance on Thursday night, I switched them out for the original tires. The ride in on Friday felt like a breeze after ditching the studs.

A very serious challenge is confronting me for the remainder of my busy season, despite the anticipated warming trend. I am assigned on a client in St Louis Park for the next two weeks which does not have bicycling amenities. I might be able to work something out at a friend's house who lives a mile or so from the client, but that's uncertain at this time.

Otherwise, I'll have two or three weeks after that in the office to get some rides in, and then the last two weeks at a client site in Minneapolis (not downtown). If I can ride one day each of those weeks, I'll consider it a tremendous success. Wish me luck.