‘Nice pull dude!’….said the perfect physical specimen of a cyclist. A cross between Tank and BenG and probably a dozen years my junior. I hadn’t heard that in awhile; long enough now I’d forgotten what it felt like. A later look showed my HR in the mid-170s with virtually no sweat left to fall off me.
Naturally I felt great as he was a member of the Freshbikes/UnitedHealth Team–the host riding group I and a couple others had latched on. After my single lap pull late in the session I was cooked–perhaps it would have been different had I not arrived so early and put in a few miles ahead of the official ride. I was disappointed with my performance at several events over the past week so I was determined to show up on time to something. Paybacks are tough I guess. Chatting up one of the guys earlier (to verify rules, expectations) I learned he (Jeff) is originally from Colorado and landed here by way of Des Moines, IA. Drake even. Used to live just off 42nd close to Uptown/Hy-Vee. I told him I’m familiar.
Beating yet another torrential downpour by mere minutes, actually exactly the amount of time it takes to get from the garage up the elevator to the apartment, I was at once relieved, exhausted and relatively satisfied I’d made up some of the ground lost to a few of my earlier tardy episodes. Some.
Timeliness has never been a personal strength. Unfortunately it’s also rarely been of a major concern. Standing in the general public restroom with my arms and shoulders under the air dryer for the second consecutive day I was torn between tossing in the towel right then or tearing off my shirt so I could stop contorting myself to fit under the dryer. If only the door locked and the custodial staff weren’t in the restroom with me….
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| Time To Buy An Umbrella |
Decision made I unbuttoned and removed the still half-drenched shirt, made a quick comment and apology to the attendant staff and hastened the drying process. Once the security officer walked in I was sure I’d be escorted off property—a quick comment to him, he responded right back with a chuckle, ‘You alright, you alright’ and went about his business. This day I was considerably late to training due to a combination of drying out a partially rain-soaked, partially sweat drenched shirt. At over 85% humidity the umbrella (which I’d forgotten the day before) did little to keep me dry while standing in the steamy train stations and crowded cars. Fortunately the prior day I planned on getting to the office so far ahead of schedule all the time spent under the hands-dryer put me at an official arrival time only a couple minutes late and ahead of a couple others. I’ll be relieved once my badge is coded and I can start biking in, relieving the dependence on an efficient, yet not completely reliable transit system. Plus it’ll be helpful to sharpen my city riding with forced rides through high-traffic times and parts of town. Timeliness next to godliness?? Eh–I vote time is a mere illusion.
AniMal
