Ice Ad Hoc
11/1/13 10:22![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkemeraldsI broke a rule of mine today and rode my bike on ice. (Spoiler: no accidents happen in this post.)
This was black ice, not sheets of the stuff, you understand: a light evening rainfall was succeeded by a sub-freezing night. This is the kind of ice that vanishes as soon as the sun hits it. (In Portland that could mean "in May," but happily the cold front comes with clear skies.)
When I saw the crystalline surface of the street from my living room window I considered catching a bus, just this once. But even with ice the bus seemed like a huge hassle (check schedule. Find fare money. Walk to stop. Freeze ass off at stop...) and my bike seemed easy. Also, I was running late as usual and the bus ride takes considerably longer than the bike ride.
For this bracing January commute I wore a short skirt, a pullover, a suit jacket, woolly tights, and office shoes. For outerwear: a cashmere muffler, a light ski-type jacket, a wool cap under my helmet and two pairs of gloves. I got to work with painfully cold fingers and chilly toes, so I'll do ski mitts and Docs-and-socks next time, but otherwise I was comfortable.
I did make two important adjustments to my routine: a) I left late in the hopes that the fog would lift and the ice would start to melt (it did, and it did); and b) I had to ride v-e-r-y slowly on several shady blocks, and get off and walk on one really icy ramp. Accordingly, I was extra-extra late to work--an option that I was able to exercise today because my supervisor's on vacation and it's Friday and nobody's looking and I'm a known flake, so my reputational damage is already done.
Point is, I just expanded my riding repertoire by one condition. And it worked! Because of ad hoc adjustments! And I'm still basically lazy! I love that.
This was black ice, not sheets of the stuff, you understand: a light evening rainfall was succeeded by a sub-freezing night. This is the kind of ice that vanishes as soon as the sun hits it. (In Portland that could mean "in May," but happily the cold front comes with clear skies.)
When I saw the crystalline surface of the street from my living room window I considered catching a bus, just this once. But even with ice the bus seemed like a huge hassle (check schedule. Find fare money. Walk to stop. Freeze ass off at stop...) and my bike seemed easy. Also, I was running late as usual and the bus ride takes considerably longer than the bike ride.
For this bracing January commute I wore a short skirt, a pullover, a suit jacket, woolly tights, and office shoes. For outerwear: a cashmere muffler, a light ski-type jacket, a wool cap under my helmet and two pairs of gloves. I got to work with painfully cold fingers and chilly toes, so I'll do ski mitts and Docs-and-socks next time, but otherwise I was comfortable.
I did make two important adjustments to my routine: a) I left late in the hopes that the fog would lift and the ice would start to melt (it did, and it did); and b) I had to ride v-e-r-y slowly on several shady blocks, and get off and walk on one really icy ramp. Accordingly, I was extra-extra late to work--an option that I was able to exercise today because my supervisor's on vacation and it's Friday and nobody's looking and I'm a known flake, so my reputational damage is already done.
Point is, I just expanded my riding repertoire by one condition. And it worked! Because of ad hoc adjustments! And I'm still basically lazy! I love that.
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