On Riding Uphill Both Ways

You know the story?  The one your parents or grandparents tell about how they got to school when they were young?  How they had to walk to school.  Barefoot.  In the snow.  Uphill.  Both ways.  That's certainly one shared in my family for at least a generation.  Well, that's how I felt last week on my rides both to and from work. 

 

Typically my ride to the office is fairly easy.  Yes, there are a few hills - the steepest one being right outside our front door - but none are particularly challenging.  The first hill is the only one I even bother changing gears for.  But for some reason, my rides to work last week were painful.  The first day I blamed it on my new workout routine.  I've been going to a class at my gym on Monday's and Wednesday's that has been great but has left me very, very sore.  I figured all the extra quad and hamstring work was leaving me weak for my ride.  The ride home was even worse.  I thought there was something seriously wrong with me.  But, maybe I was just out of practice.  I figured it'd get better on the second day.   Well, it didn't. 

 

After this second journey I decided that something had to give.  It must be a bike maintenance issue.  If anything, my gym classes should be making me stronger rather than weaker, right?  So, when I arrived home from work feeling defeated by the ridiculously low gears I had to employ, I brought my bike straight into the apartment rather than to it's usual home in the bike room.  I checked the breaks first.  They seemed fine.  Then I checked the chain.  I didn't think it would be the issue and - in fact - it wasn't.  And then I checked the most obvious thing, the first thing I should have checked, the thing I should have checked anyway... My tires.  And sure enough, that was the cause of my pain.  They weren't just low.  They were flat.  My tires take about 100psi.  They were each at about 20psi.  NOT GOOD.  About five minutes and a minimum amount of effort later, my bike was good-as-new.  And when I rode Blue Beauty today, it was a whole different experience.  The ride in was easy as it used to be and the ride home didn't feel like a punishment.

 

And so I'm left remembering that being lazy in the short term (not checking ones tires regularly) can often lead to more work in the long run.  I'm also reminded of my father, who has been on my mind a lot lately anyway.  Every single time we left our home on family trips for the six hour adventure to Northern New York state, he would check the tires and wash the windows.  It didn't matter if it was 95 and humid or five below and snowing, he was out there checking the tire pressure on our trusty Saab 900.  It always seemed like a waste of time to me but now I know it quite possibly prevented a lot of potential trouble in the long run.  And what's great is that I'm now engaged to a man who feels the exact same way about tire maintenance (and even bought me a pressure gauge this summer).  I guess I'm lucky that the men in my life take such care of my car tires.  They provide a good example of how I should treat the tires on my other mode of transportation.

On An Addendum

My previous blog post was on accessories.  But I failed to mention one new addition to my favorite accessories.  When my left hand is resting on my left handlebar, there now sits a new point of light.  My honey would refer to it as a commonplace, expensive piece of dirt.  I would prefer to call it the shiniest most beautiful thing I've ever seen.  Specifically, it is an ideal-cut, Tiffany-set diamond engagement ring given to me by my honey from my home city of NYC.  I was actually really nervous the first day I biked with it on.  It's slightly big for me and in the cooler weather it can spin a bit on my finger.  I was also worried - irrationally so - that somehow the diamond would leap from the seemingly gravity-defying four prong setting and I'd find myself biking along with a shiny platinum band complete with four lonely spikes.  But, so far, so good.

While most days involve a wedding conversation with my now-fiance, my mother, his parents, friends or coworkers, my bike now provides another welcome benefit... When I'm on my bike, I don't have to talk or think about wedding plans.  I get to be the same me from 5 weeks ago who just rides her bike to work free of the entanglements of downtown DC traffic.  So thank you, Blue Beauty, for providing the refuge I didn't even know I needed!

On Accessoriding

Blue Beauty

I never need much of an excuse to shop.  And while my shopping has decreased - or, more accurately, been directed at one particular event - in the past month, I still value the right accessories for every activity.  And one's commute is no exception (I imagine this is why things like driving shoes exist).  As my faithful readers will remember, my bike-to-work experiment began in the early summer months when long days and warm weather were the norm. Yes, there were rainy days, but that wasn't much cause for alarm or altered dress.  Then, my only real worry was an awesome pannier.  I only had two requirements: 1) It had to be waterproof and 2) it had to look like it belonged to a woman (and yes, a woman, not a 7 year old girl).  Thanks to a friend, I found this fantastic website with lots of great options.  The one I decided on has been perfect (pictured above on Blue Beauty).  As an added (vanity alert!) bonus, I've recieved multiple compliments on it from my fellow bike-commuters.  One guy even asked me for the website where I bought it so he could get it as a birthday gift for his wife while waiting at a very long red light. I also have a rockin' front basket that is perfect for my giant purse or an all-too-"green" trip to the hardware store to pick up our CSA share.

Now it's getting cooler and the days are getting shorter, meaning that the accessories needed for both me and my bike are changing.  With the days getting shorter, I frequently leave the house before it's light and get home again after dark.  I have a small front light, a decent blinky back light, and reflectors for my ankles.  But, I'm still in the market for a few additional lights - one to attach to the back of my helmet and one that provides some visibility off the handlebars so I can actually see where I'm going on those dark Georgetown streets.  I'm open to suggestions.  Anybody?