Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Windbroken

So after biking around town this weekend I biked to work yesterday and today. Without a doubt, the best thing ever. I feel almost high after my ride, I sleep better, my appetite is more normal, and I have a ton more energy.

And my ass is divine. No really; touch it and see.

In the morning, as I enter the path along the lake, the sky is light and the sun is just below the horizon. The water is a silvery-to-deep blue, and a gorgeous orange streak lies across its top. It's like music.

But.

The wind, man. The wind is frikkin' KILLING me.

All the way to work (7 miles) a constant headwind. By the time I got to work I was done in. No worries, I thought; the ride home will be wonderful.

The ride home was twice as bad.

The temperature has been changing quite a bit, and this has apparently resulted in wind. Gusting wind. Wind that makes you veer on your bike. Wind that breaks you, that has your streaming eyes squinting as you curse the wind like some demented, doomed Greek tragedian.

It got so bad that I just stopped. I stopped, walked my bike off the path, and tried crossing through the city, thinking that perhaps the presence of buildings would help. Nope. True, I was able to slipstream behind buses and traffic, but for long stretches it was still just me and the wind.

By the time I arrived home (40 minutes later than usual), My legs felt like lead and I had a knot between my shoulder blades that is with me still.

So tomorrow, I'm thinking I'll take the train partway and walk the rest. I'm already used to getting up early; why waste it?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. You're a quitter. I've always known that and once again it is confirmed.

2. "Twice as worse"? What's next? "Twice as bigger"?

Andrew Nolan said...

I once had a bike ... until it was stolen.

Wind sounds better than the car exhaust fumes in London that have all bike riders getting high and dying/going crazy at an early age.

Am saving up to buy another one (and gas mask) ... perhaps one day my arse will look as good as yours?

JC said...

Oh, I had the fumes, too. CTA buses, cars..at one point I found myself in between two street-sweeping vehicles.

As for your behind...well, it may one day be the glorious specimenmine is, but your best bet is to keep cleaning it with Dermalogica.

JC said...

Twice as annoying.

Anonymous said...

As a quick background - Andrew's bike was stolen outside of a Waterloo bathhouse for sodomites and he had to walk back home at four in the morning wearing nothing but a towel and a frown. At the same time, across the river, I was getting ready for morning mass to pray for the poor.

JC said...

Yes, I've heard you enjoy many an hour in the church on your knees.