Post 10 – This completes my set on my bike Odyssey. Riding my bike to work has been one of the most consistent parts of my work life. Through changes in jobs, offices, success & failure, the biking has stayed more or less the same. I ride from March to November, so I get to see the changes of three seasons.
I arrive at work in much better shape than if I were to drive or when I take the Metro. You get a chance to think when you are riding and the cardio exercise keeps your brain fed with oxygen. By the time I get to the office, I have worked through many of the problems I will face. Beyond that is the sublime experience of mixing your effort with the peace of nature and the changes of the days and the seasons.
Different parts of the evoke memories of thoughts past. I understand that thoughts gestate but they sometimes come out as epiphanies and for me they are most likely to do this when I am on the trails. Biking in the morning calm is conducive to this as nothing else.
For my first twenty years, I rode both ways. Going back is harder than going to work, since it is more uphill and I am tired at the end of the day. Then I discovered that I could take the Metro back. You can take your bike on the Metro after 7pm. This was great for a couple reasons. For one, it extended my bike season. The gathering darkness used to stop me in late September. If I do not need to worry about the dark, I can ride through middle November.
It is sad to think that this will soon come to an end. It will be almost like the ending of a long and happy relationship.