Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2051:

Some days you just don't "feel it". I woke up to see the thermometer showing an air temperature of 0°F, and the wind blowing at 16 mph making the wind chill -20°F. I sat down in my chair and fought the fear of riding my bike. This happens sometimes on really cold days. I know from experience that once I actually start riding, it's rarely as big of a deal as my mind has made it. However, that doesn't make the feeling of dread go away.

I forced myself to get up and put all my gear on. I was scheduled to ride 8 miles to our office. I briefly considered riding to a client's office instead, which would have cut the ride in half. But I decided that in the past I've ridden to our office on colder days, so I could suck it up and do it again today.

As is usually the case, once I was riding it was a much smaller endeavor than I had envisioned. There is still very little snow and ice on the ground here in Sioux Falls, so I took the road bike. This made the commute much faster, at the expense of colder fingers and toes. I kept flexing my fingers as I rode and the blood flow helped keep my fingers at a tolerable temperature. I tried the same thing with my feet, but my ventilated clipless shoes just let too much air through to allow them to stay warm. As I type this an hour after arriving at work and after taking a hot shower, my toes are still angry at me.

I'm already having fears about the ride home. The temp is supposed to get up to 16°F, but the wind is supposed to blow harder and I am going to ride straight into it the whole way home. I know once again my mind is probably making a bigger deal of it than it really is.