Bike Friday

So my boss decided to make Fridays "Ride Your Bike to Work Day."

There are usually only 2.5 of us in the office on Fridays. Me, another guy, and my boss is in and out. We all live pretty close to the office, and since gas is up to almost $4 and we all at least try to be environmentally savvy… we decided it would be a good idea.

I have ridden my bike to work before… once. It wasn’t too bad. But I was hesitant this time because the bridge that I take to and from work every morning is close. It’s actually completely gone. They are rebuilding it, just like every single other bridge in the state. Even the little bridge at the entrance to REI in Bloomington is closed. My boss said someone came to inspect it and found a crack, so they’re making REI rebuild it. No joke. I think we can all agree that’s a bit of overkill.

In any case, I knew I would get a lot of crap for it if I didn’t participate. After all, I do live the closest of all my coworkers at only three miles give or take. Even with the detour, I’m closer to the office than anyone else by at least five miles. So as reluctant as I was, this morning I laid in bed weighing the pros and cons. Mostly the cons, but I still decided to do it. Even though it meant getting up and leaving a little earlier. That, in itself, is a miracle to behold.

It was challenging to get out of bed. But the other challenge is that Friday is mandatory Caribou (coffee) day for me. Any other day is negotiable and I am often able to talk myself out of stopping. And by "often," I mean, "not very often." But Friday is officially Caribou day. That’s my treat for making it through the week. With my detour, I have to go right past my regular store anyway, so I decided to take a travel mug and carry it in my bike’s bottle holder.

Well, the mug didn't fit. I'm not sure why I still decided to get coffee. I suppose because I'm stubborn. I should have just tossed the mug in the garage and went straight to work. But no, I thought I could handle it. I'm lame like that. The ride from our house up to 66th and over to Lyndale went relatively smoothly, so I thought this would be no problem. I thought, I'll see if Caribou has a skinnier mug. But for some reason I still brought ours with me. I don't know - it's too early for this crap. Anyway, they didn't. So I still got coffee because I didn't want to look stupid. They do know me there. Also because I'm stubborn. I think I mentioned that. But I got my coffee - in the mug that's too big.

Oh yeah, it's hard to ride a bike while holding a travel mug in one hand (which leaked) and a purse over your other shoulder. And - Lyndale has HORRIBLE sidewalks. I was very frustrated, but I felt bad for this little old lady trying to pull one of those little wheely-carts. The cracks and gouges are like three inches tall! Anyway, so I decided to get off Lyndale and ride on the side streets instead. Much better. Still had spilled coffee on my handlebars, but at least it wasn't a fountain anymore. So I'm riding, making pretty decent time again... and I hit railroad tracks. It's one of those things where the roads end on both sides and the tracks are up on a mound of grass with weeds and ditches on both sides. Seriously? So I had to ride on this skinny little dirt path on the side of the tracks, next to peoples' crappy garages and stuff. I hoped that maybe Dustin would try to call me this morning in case I was abducted and didn't make it to work. But then there was a break in the garages and I was able to jump into an open lot. I saw a guy who must have been walking to work. He was carrying a travel mug. He looked at me and smiled as if to say "That's why I don't ride my bike, moron." By that time there was a road that crossed the tracks and I was home free.

Then I hit Nicollet and had to wait for the light. I was watching one way and there were no cars coming, so I started to go. But then I realized there was a hoard of traffic coming from the other way, so I stopped and backed up. There was a woman (walking) crossing at the same place. I looked at her and let out a little awkward laugh. I guess I wasn't at preschool the day they taught us to look both directions before crossing. She wasn't amused. Maybe it was too early for her this morning too.

Okay, so I crossed 76th and crossed Nicollet, and continued on my way. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, since it was only a couple more blocks to my office. I was truly expecting to pull into the parking lot and find everyone's cars... but nope! No cars! And now I realize that I have to ride my bike back home at the end of the day. I suppose that will be another adventure.