Commuting to Work

I carpooled with Nick today. To the end of the driveway. That shaves like five minutes off of my commuting time if I don't have to walk the bike down the driveway. It was a nice morning. I rode kinda slow. It took well over an hour to cover the 15 miles. Ah well. Maybe I just didn't want to get to work.

Last week a couple of my former KTIV co-workers texted me to say that they were biking to Burbank to have lunch at Whimp's on Friday. I said that I'd meet them. I thought that it'd be more fun to bike it. I woke up feeling like crap, but that went away. I didn't get going until 7:30 though. Better than an hour later than I'd meant.

At 11 my friends called to say they were in Elk Point. So I changed again and headed down there. I took a really long lunch break. Again, oops (I skipped biking on Sunday to go to work and make up time). I hadn't seen Al and Melissa for maybe three years. It's funny how time slips by. Though we'd been harassing each other by text and email messages that whole time.

Al's always been an avid cyclist. When I worked at KTIV, 6 years ago, I was active enough. I would go and rollerblade on the bike trails, generally six or so miles at a crack. Even during the winter, as long as it was in the 30s or so, sunny and clear of ice. Al would often mention that he was going to do a quick 20 mile loop on his bike after work. I, of course, thought that sounded like a crazy idea.

It never occured to me to bike. I did have a bike. The Huffy mountain bike that I'd received when I was 12. It never really occured to me that the bike was way too small. I guess that I didn't ride it very often, the tires didn't hold air and I wasn't sure where to take it to be fixed.

Flash forward to when I started at South Dakota Public Broadcasting. I'd been working there for a year. In the meantime, I tried to run occasionally. I was working on the couch to 5k plan. The Argus Leader was going to have its inaugural TDK. I got to do the Dakota Life segment about it. I thought to myself, "Running a marathon might be a bit out of reach, for now, but I think that I could do something like this."

And that's how I got bit by the bug. Big and bad. I started shopping for a hybrid. I got one in July. By August I did the 30 mile loop of the Margarita ride with Angie. It was a SUPER windy day, it took us FOREVER. I seem to remember drafting behind a SAG wagon. Maybe Mrs. Bikingbrady was driving.

The next spring I decided to look for a roadbike. The LBS owner asks, "Didn't you just get a bike? Have you worn it out already?" No. I just wanted something different. :D He did sell me a roadbike.

That year I completed my first century with the MS150. The year later I tried the TDK and this year I finished.

And just a few years ago, the thought had never crossed my mind. Now, any ride less than 15 miles is almost not worth getting dressed for. :D But that's what gym shorts and the hybrid is for.