How Was Your Commute Today?

[Crankin]

I commuted for the first time in 2 weeks today. It was really warm when I left at 8:45, like 52. Was a bit overdressed and I had to use my "freshen up" wipes a bit. I really could have used my flat iron on my bangs, but I discovered not a bathroom in my office has an outlet. I might invest in a battery powered one, as the weather gets warmer. It was about 70 when I left at 5, and kind of cloudy and I rode home in short sleeves.. You can smell the rain coming, a great spring smell. Traffic was a bit quieter, as it's spring break this week, so no buses, etc. I also wore my Terry knickers that are for spin; they have a very minimal chamois that is fleece, and I actually could wear them as capris all day long. When I come in at this later time, people are arriving and so are some clients, so I feel a bit weird. No one ever saw me in my bike clothes at my teaching job, because I got there so early, but I will wear shorts when it gets hot.

[colorisnt]

People aren't always sure how to react to bike clothes (especially clompy shoes) but I don't think they care usually. Everyone in our dept. who rides is a road cyclist with clompy shoes. Most people commute in on cross bikes. I have just recently joined their "fraternity" or so they call it. I'm the only female on a bike but the male faculty members aren't afraid of spandex which does get them side eye from the grad students. I take the elevator up and it works great with my tiny bike. I sometimes surprise students waiting to see the academic advisor but usually they just gape and then turn to ignore me haha.

[Crankin]

Yeah, the only comments I've gotten from the other therapists is, "Oh you must be serious." I am wearing my mtb shoes with Frogs when I commute, so I am not so clompy with the shoes, although it's quite clear I am wearing cycling shoes with cleats. I did have one older (of course now, that means at least 65) woman ask me about what kind of riding I do, what tours I've been on, etc. It turns out she did a lot of touring up until recently. Most of the "looks," I get are from the admin staff, who try to scare me with cycling crash/injury stories. Apparently, just 2 weeks ago, the DH of one of the admins crashed going over a RR track while on business in San Francisco. He is really messed up, hip broken 3 places, was told he'd never ride again. Of course I didn't say that I always slow, unclip, and scoot over unfamiliar tracks. I did mention our closest friend broke his hip in a crash 4 years ago and was back riding in 4 months, but they just gave me a dirty look! My supervisor, who is a serious runner and avid cyclist, too, broke her collarbone by crashing into her DH a couple of years ago, but she is back riding.

[colorisnt]

Injuries can happen in ANY sport. People don't seem to get that runners are also quite prone to injuries because running is pretty hard on your body comparatively. When people tell me stuff like "oh, what if you fall?" or "what if a car hits you?" I tell them about my poor baby sister getting hit by a dump truck while out running or the season she found out she had been running on a hip fracture due to a stress fracture gone bad. They tend to not know what to say. My own mother worried a lot until she got back into riding with my Dad. They used to be road warriors so I think now she is starting to remember. The BF's family is all runners and triathletes so they don't bother us haha. They chipped in on his new Cross purchase this weekend as a birthday gift.

I rode in today in a dress (liner shorts under) clipped in and got some strange looks. I then put the bike in the car (boo driving) that was parked in my garage last night because we worried about hail damage and don't have a garage at home. Car is fine and the bike is now in it until I leave this afternoon.

[Helene2013]

We are used here seeing "sports" people coming into work, even in a 37th floor building in downtown Montreal. So we pay little attention. We even have showers for our staff who'd like to use one. It's business as usual.

As for falls, I can attest it goes fast.

Today, unfortunately, a 33YO woman just died this morning as she hit by a heavyload truck - almost east-town. Still unclear what happened yet but there is a bike path/sidewalk. Was she using it? Did she fall before and the truck happened to be coming at same time, no way to tell yet. At this point, only the driver can report the event but police is "re-tracking" the map to get the whole picture. So sad. Dying while probably getting to work.

[colorisnt]

That's really terrible

It's great that you have showers, though. I wish more workplaces here were committed. I think if we had a wealthy donor that wanted to build us a new building, my Dept. Chair would demand in-house bike parking and showers for commuters since there are probably 10 of us every day that would make use of these services. However, we don't have the money. This place is surprisingly progressive and, despite the fact that people DO bike commute, most people think we are crazy for doing it here.

[Crankin]

I rode to work this morning, after going to boot camp at 5 AM. I drove to the gym, did my workout, and then came home, ate, showered, and got my pannier ready. Being able to leave at 9 helps a lot with traffic. I just walked over to get a salad from the hospital cafeteria and it feels colder out than when I rode in! It's supposed to be 60 today, but probably will be less when I leave at 6. The sun is gone, too.
Probably will commute tomorrow, too, since the weather looks crappy after that.
My allergies are horrible, with mold counts through the roof. I felt horrible while riding in, but a bit better as the hours go on.