First Commute for the Year

I haven't commuted to work since early December, when the snow came in great abundance. That's a long time. Longer than I imagined it'd be. But it was a harsh winter. December: snow, snow, snow. January: bitter cold. Febuaury: snow, cold and ankle injury. March: melting snow and perhaps sloth. Perhaps. It is 13 miles to work and my route would have been unpredictable. Parts of it are shared with cars and some of the trails would have been real dicey. As time went by, the idea of commuting seemed more and more daunting. It became a mental barrier that kept me in the car, commuting. Finally, the weather cooperated, making excuses seem less defendable. Even though the last 2 weeks have been very nice, I had too many conflicts. So, today was the day.

I rode Zippy, my lightweight Gary Fisher, because I wanted to get in shape before riding Harvey. After riding Harvey for most of the month, Zippy was a very fast ride. I liked it, but it did feel a little too fast at time, so I slowed it up some(Gave me an idea for a future post).

Exit, stage right

The route I take out to Plymouth, the suburb where I work, has many lakes and lots of nature. While riding on Wirth Parkway, I stopped to take a picture of the a pond. When I looked over, this Deer was sitting right in the middle of a perfect picture. But, my camera was stowed in my pack. By the time I had dug it out, she was heading away from me and this is the best I could do. Next time I'll keep that camera holstered!

From Wirth Parkway, just before the Death Trap

After work I decided that I must have have a chai. So, I turned right on Wirth Pkwy. instead of left, and headed toward Uptown. But before I got there I had a little big surprise. I came upon a cyclist who looked familiar. Last year, I used to see her on this same stretch, every so often. She was very pretty and rode a cool, older bike. Some mornings, last year, when the idea of riding was seeming a bit drastic, the thought that I might come across her again, would get me on my bike... hey! Whatever gets you on your bike, so much the better.

Well, today as I'm riding up on her I notice that her bike is a Schwinn... and Orange(And I must say, Orange is her color), just like Harvey! I traded pleasantry's with her, telling her that it was a very cool bike she was riding and that I had bought a Schwinn, last November. Not wanting to seem like a creepy stalker, I moved ahead and went on my way. Only later, did it dawn on me that I should have asked her if I could take a picture. Again, missing the shot.

North end of Cedar Lake

The blessed Chai

You don't know what your missing, until you ride again.