back on the bike, again

Today was the third time this spring I biked to work, though there have been a few more days when I said I would bike and I didn't. I'm such a slacker. I have yet to get back into any biking routine. I'm still heavily [emotionally?] dependent on my car. Why is it so hard to get out of one's automobile?!

Anyhow, in honor of Vanessa, I'm doing this blog quiz-style.

What is your favorite thing about your bike? I LOVE how light weight it is. I forget if it's 15 or 17 pounds, but it's just heavy enough that pressing it up military press-style is mildly satisfying. But it really is very very light weight, which, if you don't know, creates the sensation that I AM MY BIKE. I move and it moves and we are one. This is sweet.

Also, I very much enjoy my clipless pedals. 1) I feel very much connected with the bike. 2) Pulling up on the pedals when I'm going uphill makes me feel really strong and powerful and I like that. 3) Putting more of the work in my psoas and hamstrings and taking it out of my quads makes me feel good about creating more of a balanced musculature.

Also, I very much enjoy my hip angle on this bike. I like how more of my downward force can come from my glut max and less from my quads (as is the case on my mountain bike) which seems like a much more efficient way to ride. The gluteus maximus is, after all, the biggest muscle in the body--make it work! (AND, hopefully, it aids in the development of nice butt.)

What do you like least about your bike? My handlebars are freakin' uncomfortable. I have the thickest biking gloves I could find, but sometimes my hands still go numb sometimes. I feel like I'm constantly moving my hands around, looking for a more comfortable position and I never really find one. (Any ideas, boys?) I suppose it's time to try out those aerobars, but navigating city streets on them makes me nervous.

What's the hardest thing about getting out the door and onto the bike? There are a few things. Time is one of them. It takes me roughly 32-35 minutes to bike to work. To drive there, now, with Ridge and various other pockets under construction, I need to allow 30+ minutes. So the time in transit is virtually equal. But as biking makes me SWEATY, because I'm the kind of girl who sweats, I have to shower at work. And move my bike to the basement. And eat something. And maybe stretch. And so I have to leave an hour before work. But if I shower at home, I can wait 15 more minutes........ So the schedule would look like this:

If biking:
8:30 leave on bike
9:03 get to work
9:05-9:30 shower at work, eat, stretch, move bike, etc
9:30 massage

-OR-

If driving:
8:45 shower at home
9:00-9:28 drive to work
9:30 massage

It's only 15 minutes, but it trips me up! Because I'm in the middle of doing something and I don't want to quit doing it 15 minutes early. Of course, as I'm writing this, I'm aware of how perfectly ridiculous this reason is. It's absurd! I really SAVE time by biking to work because then there is one less workout I have to do. Absurd, I am, truly.

Also, there are things like figuring out what is the proper attire for the weather conditions. Checking the weather forecast online. Gathering the inner fire and determination and strength of will to battle with the elements and disgruntled drivers. It does involve a bit more planning and...well, strength of will.

What's the best thing about biking? Passing stupid ass people who are locked up, alone in their metal boxes, polluting and killing the earth. Yep. That's number one. But two is: I have HUGE road rage when I'm a stupid ass people locked up, alone, in my metal earth killer...and being aware of the contrast of how I feel on the bike--happy and strong and powerful and knowing I'm transporting myself with my own energy--is AWESOME. Knowing my chickpeas and apples and spinach are my fuel. That's a good feeling.

Also, showing up someplace pumped up and energized and full of life--that's better than how I feel when I roll in somewhere in an automobile--sedate and half asleep.

What's the worst thing about biking? It can be cold. It can be wet. Driver's can be mean and scary.

What's your favorite stretch of your commute? Green Bay Road in Wilmette. Wide shoulders, relatively smooth pavement and lots of cars stopped at lots of lights. I think I passed 60 cars this morning that never caught up to me. It was definitely faster to ride than drive.

What's your least favorite stretch? Kenilworth and Winnetka upset me because there are so many bumps and potholes my head hurts. There's a stretch on Asbury that has no shoulder going south, there's aways at least one car here that pisses me off. And the bit of Howard I jog over on sometimes distresses me--lots of scary drivers there.

And one final question, what do you recommend for people who are considering biking to work for the first time? (Heehee, this is fun.) Set a goal. Come up with a workable plan: give yourself a timeline, figure out what you're going to wear, come up with a contingency (if you bike breaks, what will you do, can you hop on a bus?). And write me if you're interested or want to be talked into it...apparently, I'm VERY convincing. :)