Bike to Work Day Update

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. I thought about riding my bike to swim practice, too, but then opted for simplicity and speed; I drove to the pool, drove home, and then hopped on the bike. Yeah, I know, that probably wasn't exactly what Dr. Cog had in mind.

Despite my preparations for the day, it still took me longer to get out the door and onto the bike path than I thought it would. I had to pump up my tires, and of course, put on my helmet & gloves, etc. And I didn't remember the water bottles until I was ready to mount up, so I had to walk back up the sidewalk in my cleats, fish out my keys, grab the bottles and then lock up the place all over again. If any of my neighbors were watching, they probably got a good chuckle out of my struggles to get ready.

About a mile into the ride, I realized that I had forgotten to apply sunscreen. Ever since my bout with skin cancer years ago (no doubt due to my years of fanatical intentional tanning as a kid), I have been at peace with the idea of spending summers as an albino, and I normally slather on the SPF-30 whenever I go out. But dadgummit, getting to this point in the ride had already taken too much time; I rationalized that the sun was still low above the horizon, and the killer UV rays would have to pass through the city smog to reach me...so I decided to risk cellular mutation in exchange for trip efficiency.

My plan was to take the C-470 bike path down to Kipling, then cross under 470 and ride down to where the frontage road meets Deer Creek Canyon. I expected to see billions and billions of other bikers, since I know that all Coloradoans share my deep commitment to environmental responsibility, and are also willing to opt for emissionless transport -- for one day a year.

I did pass a few folks biking in the opposite direction (toward downtown)...but no other riders seemed to be going in the same direction I was. The condition of the bike path made riding a bit tricky--there are gigantic cracks running down the middle of the concrete along the entire path, the 3-foot weeds were encroaching in from the sides like some sort of Wizard of Oz forest, and the mice (voles?) all seemed to be out for their morning exercise. Seriously: I saw more than half a dozen furry little scurriers zipping back and forth across the path in front of me as I rode. Perhaps on our "bike to work day", the rodents have their own event -- "play chicken with the humans day". (Have no fear, animal lovers...I didn't squish any of them.)

Their event seemed more successful. I think I saw more mice than bikers. I'll leave it to you to speculate on what that says about the relative cultural development of the two species.

Anyway, once I got off the bike path, I felt like I could pick up the pace a bit, and I cranked pretty hard the rest of the way down Deer Creek and along the road into the plant. Of course, about the time I turned onto the main road, I realized that my senility had struck again; I had forgotten my badge. At this point, if I turned around to go back home, I'd probably just bag the whole day and go back to bed, so I pressed onward. I'd just stop at the guard shack and humbly beg for a temporary ID.

I did finally see a couple of other riders as I puffed and panted up the steep hill that leads into the plant. Cyclists who pass each other normally offer a friendly greeting (or at least a smiling nod), but such rituals are abandoned when you're barely moving in your granny gear and huffing and puffing so hard that the roadside trees are swaying from your own sucking wind. It's a tough hill.

The guard was friendly and efficient. He told me that he had ridden his bike today, too -- "only it has four cylinders". He smiled as he handed me my badge. As I remounted my bike, I flashed the badge at the sentry...and promptly dropped it in the gutter. (Sigh.) I was moving too slowly on the steep uphill to stop without falling over in the time it took me to release my cleat, so I had to ride up the hill a bit, stop, and clomp back down on foot to retrieve the fallen badge. Eventually, I was able to remount and start moving again, and arrived at the office feeling pretty darn good, despite the fact that my trip had not been the smoothly efficient experience I had anticipated.

I changed in the restroom, using a wet washcloth to freshen up, and was ready for the workday. Because the forecast had mentioned the possibility of afternoon storms, I made several trips to the window throughout the day, secretly hoping that it would cloud up, so I could use the excuse to take off early. Alas, the weather stayed fine, so I ended up working a full day.

The ride home was mostly uneventful. The voles had apparently restricted their gaming to the morning commute; I saw no sidewalk wildlife the entire ride home. Very few bikers, either, though a guy came up from behind me pretty quickly on the bike path. I kept expecting him to go around me, but he just hung on my wheel. When we came to the biggest hill, I stood up and decided to use whatever energy I had left. Since I know I'm weak on climbing, I still expected this to be the time when he'd go around me...but when I reached the top, I realized that he hadn't come with me. Bummer; I was kinda looking forward to having somebody to chase for a while.

Oh well. It was a good ride, and I think I got a better workout on the way home than I had on the way to the office. I arrived home feeling good, and thanks to the sunscreen I had applied at the office, smelling more like chemistry than sweat. A quick shower, a nice meal, and I was ready to call it a day.

Will I ride to work again this summer? Probably. Stay tuned to find out. And have a great day!