Almost a Cliche'

I had a looooong day today.
I started the day at 6:30am  getting into a zipcar and driving out to site meetings in the burbs.  A  tough site meeting is like running a gauntlet of people beating you with sticks.  A good site meeting is like running a gauntlet of people beating you with Nerf Noodles.  Had one of each today.  One is debilitating, the other is just tiring.

Got back to Harvard around 11, stopped at home just long enough to eat some breakfast (!)
and rode into work. I took a run at riding the Charles River path, but it was too snowy and "mashed potato-ey" to ride comfortably, so I portaged over a giant snowbank, and got back onto the mostly clear streets.

By 8pm when my day was over (lots of processing things from the site meetings, plus getting caught up from my extra day traveling back from vacation)  I was so tired I didn't think I could make it down to the lobby, let alone ride home.  The Scientist offered to pick me up, but I wanted my bike for errands over the long weekend.

But (here's the truism part)- I got on my bike, and I started to ride,  and before long,  I felt better: more relaxed,  happier, less tired.  How many drivers finish their commute and say "I feel so refreshed?"

It's a founding mythology of bicycle commuting, that a good ride home cures all ills- it's so oft repeated that it's almost a cliche'.  But you know what?  Just because it's a cliche' doesn't mean it isn't true.

I think that a lot of people who see me riding on a snowy day think I'm crazy or masochistic or maybe I have a DUI or can't afford a car.  But they just don't get it.  It's just not something you can understand until you've experienced the endorphins of a good ride home

Snowed In

It's a sad sight to see so many bikes stored outside buried in snow:

Gilbert and Minerva are so glad that they have a nice dry space under the stairs to live,
Although I will say, digging out a bike is a LOT easier than a car!

Christmas in warmer climes

Sorry for the lapse, have been spending the holidays with the Scientist's family in Dallas where they think 37F is a cold front. At least theoretically will be back tomorrow if our flight isn't cancelled in the wake of the blizzard that is currently dumping a foot of snow on home. Something to look forward to-shoveling out!
Hope everyone of y'all had a wonderful Christmas with people you love!

Somehow I don't think he drives an Escalade

 'Evidently,  Cliff Lee, the lefty ace that the Phillies just snatched from the Yankees, was lured out of Texas by the.....Public Transit options!

No word on whether he bikes in the off season,  but he and his family just prefer to take the train places rather than be trapped in their cars....Imagine!

On a related note, the red line was delayed this morning as I T'd in.  Was wishing I could ride my bike  instead, since the roads were largely cleared, although sloppy

Chickening out

The prediction was for "flurries' and "no accumulation" when I biked to work this morning.
Around 6, when I was ready to leave, there was about 1 1/2" on the ground, and big flakes coming hard sideways, and no sign of a plow.   If I'd had a protected cycle track or even MUP all the way home, I think I would have been happy to go, but the news was full of stories about fender benders and snarled traffic.
The street outside my office: (can you see the biker in the far distance (next to the 2nd car on the right?)

It seems like every first snow drivers have to remember what they learned last year about a) everything, including braking, happening slower in fresh snow  and b) just because you can go (4WD) doesn't mean you can stop.   A fender bender is one thing if you're in a steel cage, but I just wasn't brave enough to risk playing bumper cars.   The bike lane outside my house:

I felt like a bit of a wimp though when I saw three bikes within 5 minutes of leaving my office, and a total of 10 bikes out and about in the snowy night.  Still coming down as I write this:

Wheelbarrow Load, and a Silent Night

Remember the trashpicked wheelbarrow?
I sanded it down, painted it, and now it's off to it's yuletide recipient- my 2 year old nephew.

I wanted to send it via UPS ground through my office, so I strapped it on the back of Gilbert, pushing the limits of my luggage straps.

It was so sunny and relatively warm  that I ended up stripping down to just my cords, a very thick wool sweater, gloves and scarf,  and still being too warm.  I know that Uggs are considered a fashion crime by many, but I have the smooth leather footed version that looks a little better, and boy are they toasty warm!

In the evening, I had a very calm and quiet ride home, thanks largely to off street paths.  I rode the Vassar street cycletrack all the way down to the "secret" shortcut through Ft. Washington park,  and thence through quiet residential streets in Cambridgeport to Trader Joe's, and then along the river path home to Harvard Sq.

View Larger Map

With very few cars, and on a crisp cold night, the city seems so quiet-  all I can hear are the soft noises of my bike- the whirr of the wheels, the click of the freewheel,  the small noises of chain and axle.

I've made some tweaks to my saddle position and am feeling unusually connected and tuned into the bike.  Everything just feels so natural, like the bike is an extension of my body that I use to get places simply and quickly.  What a pleasant and calm ride- the best kind of silent night.

Oh, and Somervillain really wants me to remind people of the Illuminations ride in Somerville,  and say that Bloc 11 closes at 8 on Saturdays, so we will probably go to 1369 instead.   For best results, meet us at the ride, and we'll all decide where to go from there!

Infectious Holiday Cheer (Bike Meetup)

My co-worker P.  was inspired by Gilbert's basket lights to do his own bicycle holiday decorations:

His are much more cool and modern than my goofy lights- they suit his nicely updated city bike.

Holiday Cheer!

In the Spirit of holiday cheer, please join me, Somervillain from Boston Retro Wheelmen,  and hopefully Charlotte from Chic Cyclists  at the Somerville Illuminations Holiday Tour.  Tour leaves City hall at 7:15 sharp.  Afterwards, please join us for a warming beverage and bike chatting, almost certainly at Bloc 11 coffeeshop in nearby Union Sq.  Bicycle decoration is fabulous but not required.