After having a day off work yesterday, I really had a hard time getting my act together and getting out the door this morning…..
The key to a successful bike commuting experience is planning and preparation. I always pack my pannier and lunch the evening before (a post about that coming sometime soon), and I did that OK yesterday. The trouble started this morning. Actually, it probably technically started last evening when I failed to make note of the fact that the forecasted low for this morning was significantly cooler than we’ve experienced this fall.
The morning started with Pam deciding at 5:00 am that we should sleep an extra hour instead of going to the fitness center. She’s got a birthday coming later in the week, and she’s fully into what I call the “milking your birthday for all it’s worth” mode. That woman can celebrate her birthday or Mother’s Day for weeks on end! So today, we went back to bed in celebration of the big day to come!
When we did get up, I got ready to head out the door as normal, then had an “aha” moment when I realized it was 44 degrees on the back porch. I’ve been wearing a vest, arm warmers, light gloves, and tights (occasionally) in the morning. On the way from the bedroom to the kitchen I decided I needed my skullcap with earflaps and warmer gloves today. Unfortunately, those two items were buried in my “cycling accessories” drawer. I’m sure you’ve got one of those…it’s the drawer that you just fling everything in for storage. Mine is full of cycling stuff…ranging from booties to ear warmers. And, it’s all black. And jumbled together. And actually spread between two drawers. It’s not the place you want to be digging through at the last minute on the way out the door. After several growls, I finally found what I was looking for and headed to the kitchen where I had to dig around for the right pairs of glasses (amber lenses for the morning and sunglasses for the afternoon).
That done, I put on the amber lenses and just about had a heart attack! They were dirty! I can’t wear dirty glasses….it’s just not in my genes, so I had to stop and clean them. Opening the garage door, I felt the coolness of the morning air and immediately decided my vest wasn’t going to cut it. I considered whether it would be easier to take my blue jacket off the pannier or go inside for my heavier black one, and opted for the black one. I slipped it on, then realized I had better take my arm warmers off or I would quickly be roasted!
After all that, I finally hit the road only to realize I wouldn’t have complained if I had some warmer gloves and my booties! It wasn’t too bad, but my hands and feet did get chilly on the way to work. Good grief! I’m gonna do better tomorrow…..
As I pulled into the courtyard at work, Betsy followed me in. I’ve known her to ride to work on occasion, but this is the first time in a long while that I’ve seen her do it. Good job!
Say 'hello' to Betsy!
God bless….
TW
