Day 2: From road grit to Goldilocks

Day 2 miles to/from work: 26.8
Total for S4S: 63.4

Yesterday morning as I prepared for the day ahead, Weather Dude was cheerfully promising a clear and lovely day ahead. Nice! I heard a jet passing overhead. Then another. Then… crap! Those aren't jets. That's thunder. This was followed by what felt like the house being pummeled with body punches by wind-whipped downpour. No. No way. Not on Day 2 of this Magnificent Adventure. We just got started. (This thought was followed by lightning and more thunder.) I stipulated from the beginning that I wouldn't bike with lightning, but it's only Day 2. I can't not go. Thank goodness for the waterproof panniers. Nevertheless, I double-wrapped everything in plastic bags and put my iPhone in a baggie. My iPhone is, in theory, protected by its Otterbox case; but in theory the sun was supposed to be shining, too. I armed myself for bicycle battle.

One comforting thought prevailed: this meant a little more money for shelter animals. My friend, fellow cyclist, and Hash House Harrier Dave Erickson pledged $1 to DCHS for every day that I ride, but amps it right up to $2 if it rains. Suh-weet. Not to mention funny. When Monte Baxter asked how to pledge, and I told him about the many creative pledge options y'all have created for yourselves, he decided to match Dave. So rain = more pledge money. It was nevertheless a great relief that by the time I got out the door, the rain and its companion rabble rousers had subsided to a meek patter.

Starting the ride, I was sporting my bright yellow, waterproof, breathable, made-for-cycling rain jacket. (Why isn't this amazing fashion piece a must-have for everyone's wardrobe? See picture. 'Nuf said.) Every time I wear it, I prove that it is just breathable enough to allow water in and just waterproof enough to be an oven. It was off within two miles. The rain was not enough to make riding a miserable experience, but it was adequate cause for aggravation. Even sans rain jacket, I was sweating like a porker; and the rain commingled chummily with that. Passing cars and trucks sprayed a fine mist of road grit on me as they passed, and my bike tires contributed their share to my calves and ankles. But aggravating and grubby do not detract all that much from a joyous experience. Something about being on a bike on a workday, even if it's taking me to work, has a delicious playing-hooky feel to it. There is also the significant bonus of not having to deal with the idiots and drama of the belt line, and I am never stuck in traffic.

I love how from a bicycle seat, details of the landscape— invisible from a car—show themselves and tell their stories.

The moonflower by the sewage treatment plant was perky and beautiful and perfectly happy with the weather. Then there was the black flip-flop.

I had just crossed the railroad tracks when I saw a lone flip-flop just off the bike path. It's easy to imagine such footwear easily coming off on the railroad tracks or rough surface of the bike path. But would the wearer not notice? As I got closer, I saw that it was a black sequined flip-flop with a red "flying W", emblem of the University of Wisconsin. Ahhh… suddenly the entire scenario was clear. Female college student. Football game last night. The mating cry of the college coed was almost audible, "I'm soooooooo drunk." Case closed.

I got to work a bit gritty but without incident, happy that it was Friday before a long weekend. Woot! Unlike Day 1, I had no outside appointments or errands, so my only biking was to and from work. I think I'll keep it that way. Mid-workday bike forays are too time-consuming and all-consuming to change in and out of bike clothes and maintain some semblance of cleanliness between rides, not to mention the time of the ride itself.

Whereas the morning ride had been too threatening, too wet, and too gritty, going home was a Goldilocks ride of just right. Just sunny enough to be cheery; just cloudy enough to mute the heat; just breezy enough to be pleasant.* The ride got even better (and sorry to admit, a bit ego-driven) when I was able to pass a few cyclists who were younger, riding upscale road bikes, and not weighed down by 30 pounds of cargo. This is where it is mandatory to balance the ego scales and relate the time I was on my road bike, going 20 mph, and a guy pedaling with sandals, on a bike with tires that looked like they came off a John Deere, and pulling a baby trailer passed me. I am humbled.

Scott and I were hosting a party starting at 6:30, so I was doubly motivated to put some fire in the engine. (On the return trip, I observed that the black flip flop, having not only a story but a life of its own, had moved a few feet from its original position.)

When I got home, I took a quick shower, washed my greasy hair, and became almost civilized-looking in time to greet our guests.

This is a bit off-topic of cycling and animal rescue; but it is still relevant to this whole project and the people participating in it, if only by reading this blog. (That would be you.) The gathering we had last night—and if you weren't there, I wish you could have been—was a reminder of how blessed we are to have such genuine, fun, intelligent, and quirky people in our lives. And boy, do we know how to throw a party, or do our friends know how to make it one! Victor and Ruth, who were just married last Saturday, earned the newlywed toast. Then Sara Goldstein made the best excuse ever for leaving a party early when she announced that her water had broken, and she and Jon had to leave that minute for the hospital for the arrival of Baby Goldstein #2. Now that's a party with family values.
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*How do I charge Dave's and Monte's pledges for today with a wet a.m. ride and gorgeous p.m.? I'm thinking $1.50 each. I don't want them to have to get second mortgages to meet this pledge.