Determination

I woke up this morning with relief that I had a ride to work. We have 3 vehicles, 4 drivers, & 2 of the cars have been in the shop this week. Normally, it is not a big deal since Lance & I both commute by bike.
The weather has been hovering around 20-30° F. Not warm but a temperature we have gotten used to.
The kids would just have to work their schedules out & share a car. Today our fleet was back up to 2. Getting a ride would be easy.

Then I jumped on Twitter & I saw many posts from Chicago cyclist talking about girding their loins & riding to work. There were links to blog posts that discussed layers & how to not freeze. I've read all these before & this time I felt like they were laying down a challenge. "I have mastered the layered look", I thought. I bet I could ride to work and be just fine.

And so I did. Lance has the day off so I was going it alone. He tried to talk me out of it but gave up pretty quickly. Instead he went out and started up the van, just in case I changed my mind.

As I was heading out my neighbor (who rides) came over and showed me the temperature and tried to talk me out of it. Lance quickly cut him off by saying, "No amount of facts will deter her!"

So how was the ride? It wasn't bad. The wind froze my forehead but other than that I stayed very warm. I was doubly layered with wool & fur. A full face mask would be nice but I already struggle looking both directions with my face covered like it is. And let's face it. Riding in single digits is not my norm. I love a self-imposed challenge. Now that I've done it I will feel no shame if I decide to get a ride home from work!

Frost on the scarf from my breath