Big commute day yesterday. The car's still in the shop and I had improv practice 12 miles uphill after work.

I took my lightest bike, the 2006 Felt F-65 aluminum/carbon 700x25 2x10. I packed a light backpack but added toiletries, rain gear, reflective vest and headlamp.

First, I took off to work in the morning using the commute route I should have taken yesterday from the car repair shop. While repaved close to the house, the initial street, Chelton, was originally asphalt but now had degraded to cobble-stone status, which was tough with the skinny tires.

Then Bijou, which I had remembered as 2 miles of pleasant downhill going west, was initially uphill for the first third. But it was still low traffic with more bike lanes than I remember.

The rest of the ride in was just fine,

I left work a little early. It was in the low 90s, with high overcast and a little more humid than usual. I must have had a slight tailwind because I didn't notice the mild uphill portions as much. The Greenway trail was not as crowded as I had expected. I did listen to a podcast to help distract from any discomfort, but I had none and the gorgeous, full late-summer foliage and the intermittent glimpses of the spectacular Colorado front-range foothill/mountain vistas kept distracting me from the podcast.

I stopped to eat at the Wendy's I usually eat at before practice. I stayed in my bike clothes and sat away from others. Then it was a very steep 1/3 mile up to the Library where we meet. I arrived early enough to cool off. Then I went in and changed back into my office clothes.

A couple hours later I changed back into my bike clothes, put on the reflective vest, clamped my main headlamp to the bike and took off for the 12-mile downhill home. It was still light when I left and after the first mile I was out away from traffic and picking up speed. It wasn't too long before the headlamp was the man illumination. I've ridden this path after dark before, but this time it seemed like all but two other bikes had any sort of lighting, and none of the pedestrians or dog walkers did. It reminded me of all those years encountering 'bike ninjas' by the college on my old job's commute route...although going downhill, averaging 17mph, often reaching 24mph for long stretches made for some exciting night riding.

I wish I would have packed my neck gaiter as the defining feature of mile 2 through 8 was gnats...gnats, gnats, gnats! I could feel them hitting my legs and arms and see them smacking my glasses. I spit out quite a few, and unfortunately inhaled a couple...one causing great coughing and hacking for a minute or two.

But the gnats subsided and I slipped through the cool-ish night air at speed until I reached home and a can of Maui Coconut Hiwa Porter (so good!).