It's Over!
I think my time as a biker this year is done. I'll still go short distances, of course, but biking to work is a little too much at this temperature. Sure, I could dress up in tons of warm clothes and then make the trek, but by the time I get there, everything would be drenched in sweat and my backpack isn't big enough to carry an extra change of clothes for the ride home!
This saddens me quite a bite because I feel like I was actually making some great progress with all this biking I had been doing. I definitely felt like the trip was much easier than when I had began. Like, when I first started biking to work, I had to leave like a half hour earlier than normal just so I'd have time to sit around and catch my breath when I finally got to work. Now I can safely say I'll make it in about 45 minutes every time and not be entirely exhausted. I've also learned how to work my gears a little better because before, I would just leave it cranked on high and bust my ass off to get up the hills. Making good use of the gears, I feel like I can actually get anywhere in this town without being too worn out (assuming I take the right path).
Winter saddens me. I'm highly discouraged to go outside. Being cold makes me miserable and coming back inside just leaves a pile of water on the floor from all of the snow that dries off on me. Cold and wet. I wish we had a real Fall this year. Duluth always just bypasses this part of the year and goes straight to cold. Eau Claire never did this. It always had a long fall that stretched into November - perfect for a true Halloween. I remember all of October when I would walk to elementary school and the leaves would be all sorts of colors. They would bunch up at certain spots on the sidewalk and I'd make sure to slush my way through every bit of it just so I could hear the crunchy sound. Those were the days when I was always wanting to be outside; when I was always staring at the ground to see what was going on down there. I still feel that sense of wonder somewhat when I go outside now, but it's greatly shortened and I have to really *want* to go outside if it's cold in order to make that happen.
So, I don't know. Maybe I just need warmer clothes. Either way, I'll have to bust out the DDR pads so I can make sure to stay somewhat in shape over this chilly season. I don't want to lose all my biking skills!! Next Summer I want to dominate!
This saddens me quite a bite because I feel like I was actually making some great progress with all this biking I had been doing. I definitely felt like the trip was much easier than when I had began. Like, when I first started biking to work, I had to leave like a half hour earlier than normal just so I'd have time to sit around and catch my breath when I finally got to work. Now I can safely say I'll make it in about 45 minutes every time and not be entirely exhausted. I've also learned how to work my gears a little better because before, I would just leave it cranked on high and bust my ass off to get up the hills. Making good use of the gears, I feel like I can actually get anywhere in this town without being too worn out (assuming I take the right path).
Winter saddens me. I'm highly discouraged to go outside. Being cold makes me miserable and coming back inside just leaves a pile of water on the floor from all of the snow that dries off on me. Cold and wet. I wish we had a real Fall this year. Duluth always just bypasses this part of the year and goes straight to cold. Eau Claire never did this. It always had a long fall that stretched into November - perfect for a true Halloween. I remember all of October when I would walk to elementary school and the leaves would be all sorts of colors. They would bunch up at certain spots on the sidewalk and I'd make sure to slush my way through every bit of it just so I could hear the crunchy sound. Those were the days when I was always wanting to be outside; when I was always staring at the ground to see what was going on down there. I still feel that sense of wonder somewhat when I go outside now, but it's greatly shortened and I have to really *want* to go outside if it's cold in order to make that happen.
So, I don't know. Maybe I just need warmer clothes. Either way, I'll have to bust out the DDR pads so I can make sure to stay somewhat in shape over this chilly season. I don't want to lose all my biking skills!! Next Summer I want to dominate!