Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2093:

I forgot to mention I tried a new thing during Tuesday's ride home from work in the pouring rain. I generally don't wear socks when I ride in the rain, as they act like sponges and wick moisture into my shoes. My feet actually stay drier longer without socks. However, it was 35°F and I wasn't all that enthused about going sockless in that temperature while wearing ventilated bike shoes. Plus I had brand new white socks, and riding in the rain tends to turn my socks black from all the road gunk spraying off my front tire.

So I went in the kitchen at work and grabbed a box of plastic cling wrap. I put my socks and neoprene toe covers on, then wrapped both of my feet and lower legs with Saran wrap. I had to be careful not to wrap them too tightly as I was just trying to stay dry, not cut off circulation to my legs.

I'm happy to report that the experiment mostly worked. My feet stayed warm the whole way home. They also stayed dry from the rain water, but I did notice when I arrived at home and unwrapped everything my socks were soaked with sweat. However, sweat doesn't stain white socks the way road gunk does. I'm not going to use the Saran wrap method every time it rains, but it's nice to know I have another tool in my belt if needed.

Today we get a one-day break in the rain, so this morning I took the road bike. The temp was 34°F, and I had to ride into the wind on the way to our office. I much prefer fighting the wind in the morning and getting it out of the way, and then having a relatively easy ride later. Today I'm working from multiple locations so over lunch I'll ride to a client. Probably wind up riding about 22 miles total.

This week and the next two are going to be challenging. We're approaching opening night for the theater production I'm in, which means starting earlier this week we have practice or a performance every night immediately after work until 10 PM or later. I've been getting home at nearly 10:30 at night, and by the time I eat some supper and do a few things around the house, it's been midnight or later before I crawl in bed. Then the alarm goes off at 5:30 AM to get up for work.

It's a lot of fun and overall it's worth it, but by the time our last performance is done on the 19th I'm going to be pretty exhausted.