Thanks, Roger! I'm really enjoying entering into bike commuting and the comm, too. =)

On today's rides I could do no wrong. Chicago's having a string of really gorgeous days, and the air has been crisp and clean. The lake, I have decided, is the best thing ever.

There are three sharp inclines (I hesitate to call anything in Illinois a "hill") on my way in. The first one, I usually make fine. The second two, I always have to walk at least part of the way. The problem in both cases is the traffic light at the bottom, followed by the sharp rise. I lose any momentum I might have had and end up fighting gravity halfway up, then hopping off the bike. Not so today! Even with the traffic stop on the second one, I managed to make it to the top without a walk; and on the final one, I made it to within 4 steps of the top before I had to give in to the laws of physics.

The ride home was just phenomenal. I don't think I've ever been that fast. It didn't feel like work at all, and I was doing more passing than being passed, all the way. None of the inclines bothered me, and while I did nearly die twice (woman with a toy terrier on what seemed to be a 500 yard leash nearly clotheslined me; erratic six-year-old on a bike taller than she was nearly caused a 4-bike pile-up two blocks from my house) it was still a fine, fine ride.