17 February 2014

Clycling Clergyman Fifth Installment: Just How Nutty I've Become

On Tuesday the weather dipped again below zero.  For a moment I thought about taking the bus rather than riding my bike to work, only for a moment.  That bus-consideration-moment, that was the old Trav thinking, the new Trav realized Tuesday could very well be the last sub zero day for a good piece (according to the extended forecast) and if I didn't ride then I would lose my chance.  That is how far I've come in five simple weeks of riding my bicycle to work. 

Special Monday morning update
This morning the greater Minneapolis area was graced with about five inches of fresh wet snow.  The accumulation allowed me, for the first time, to deflate my bike tires from 60 to 40psi and try the setting out.  Verdict: I couldn't peddle my way down the alley.  I walked it to the main road and peddled away.  Because the side streets were not plowed yet I stuck to the main roads, which meant all kinds of stuff: my back tire kept sliding, cars either came extremely close to me or passed as if I had the plague, and plow trucks - I was more than happy to get as far away off the road as possible for them.

If you've never ridden in heavy snow all I can say is that it is a total body workout!  You constantly have to balance your body and bike (great core burn) and you peddle like you wouldn't believe (great leg burn).  And, as long as cars are at a minimum, it is fun! 

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