FIRST COMMUTE EVER! I think I've given up commuting by car for Lent.
I finally felt prepared to untether myself from the car after the advice and inspiration found here on BF. Instead of doing the 16 mile direct route, I went 3.5 miles the other way to the New Haven station and took a 22 minute train ride and walked the remaining 1.4 miles. Not being able to afford a folder had been holding me back, but I was at work with 20 minutes to spare, so a walking leg will work. Besides, there is a bus if need be.
I rode my Panasonic. The RD is very funky, I have about 5 or 6 of the 12 speeds that work anything close to properly, despite my attempts to adjust it. Whatever, they're the gears I need and I needen't worry about the $40 bike out on the rack too much.
About 24 F, glorious red orange sunrise, at its most colorful as I pedalled East over a high bridge with a grand view of Long Island Sound, waterfowl flying underneath...
Only problem was that these particular work shoes that I rode in don't work too well with my toeclips, but at least I didn't have to toe down the whole ride. I'll probably have to wear different shoes.
On my way back, I can follow a slightly longer route along a beachside MUP.
Some aspects of work have been hell these past few days, and the energy boost from my short ride and walk are carrying me through in the nicest way. Feels great! I'm an instant convert.
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The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley