Monday!

I rode in today.  It was a bit of a challenge, and had I not told my self that I was absolutely, positively, no doubt about it, going to commute in today I'd have come up with about 8 excuses of why I couldn't.  But alas, I dispelled each and every excuse and Copper and I arrived to work via bicycle (and bicycle trailer).

I'm so happy that we did!!  It was a warm but beautiful morning for a ride. 

Excuse #1:  I left my clipless shoes at work.   Excuse Busted: Change yer dang pedals!  So I did.  At first I lamented about the amount of weight I was carrying to work and how, with all of that weight, could I possibly arrive happily without the added power of having my clipless shoe/pedal combo?!  Then I told myself to suck it up; not everyone pedals with a clipless setup so why did I have to.  So I just put beefy platform pedals on my commuter and started out.

Excuse #2:  It's hot out.  Excuse Busted: It's only May!!!  If you think this is hot, move back to the mountains.  So, I put on a tank top and some cycling shorts, packed my change of clothes and dealt with the heat.

Anyway, I could list out all sorts of other excuses, but that would be whiny.  The fact of the matter is I rode and I'm glad I did.

So, I took a bit of a different route today and am overjoyed to be able to say: I HAD A COMPLETELY SAFE AND INCIDENT-FREE TRIP IN TODAY!!!!!  Isn't that exciting!?   No shouting, no "Get on the sidewalk", no close calls with motorists attempting to smear me into the curb...nothing.  Thank you Omaha drivers!!

There were a few positive comments (or at least bemused) thrown my way.  Most of them involve the fact that I'm pulling a 70 pound Golden Retriever behind me.  It always seems that the folks at bus stops are particularly enamoured with the set-up.  Today a few large ladies waiting for the bus on Leavenworth St. really were pleased to see me pulling my dog.  One literally started jumping up and down saying, "Look at that dog in thar; look at that dog!!"  To which the other responded by laughing heartily.

The only other reaction was an older gentleman in a large pick-up truck with aviator glasses (not the cool kind) and a flat billed trucker hat (not the cool kind) who passed me on Leavenworth and turned around as he was passing and gave me a thumbs up.  Now, I do have to say that this could have been interpreted one of two ways: either he was giving me a postive thumbs up or he could have been trying to point me onto the sidewalk with his thumb. I don't rightly know.  I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he was really excited that I was riding a bike.  I'm going with that.

I took a different route today as well; I'll post that later but suppose for the time being, I should get my orders in!

Over and out.
SJ