Of all the things I find so dismaying about biking is the one I have absolutely no control over: mother nature.
In honor of Bike To Work week in Chicago, I decided to wheel it to work today, and found that the head wind I was riding into kept me at a sluggish pace. I attribute this partially to me being out of shape and still a smoker, but wow. I was an exhausted sweaty mess upon arriving at work. So when they asked me to go work at another location, and one of my colleagues asked if I was going to bike over there, my exhaustion took over and I responded with ‘hell no!’
It seems so trivial about griping about the wind, but weather can be a definitive adversary in any sport as equally as it can be your friend. Biking along Chicago’s lakefront can make this particularly troublesome, as you never know if the wind will be at your back, which has made for very pleasant riding, or blowing straight on in your face, pushing you to the limit. And the fact that it can change from moment to moment isn’t particularly fun either.
I think the best example of this came about a year or so ago, when I was treking home from a doctor’s appointment. As a came up to Wilson Avenue, A cold front suddenly slammed into Chicago. One moment it was 70° and sunny, and the very next moment the wind was howling and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. It took me an extra 10 minutes to get home, and I was blue knuckled the entire last mile. I was as bitter as the wind was sharp. Ugh.
Sometimes the wind can be a friendly challenger that pushes the body to compensate, and as a result prove to be a better cardio work out. But I remember Alan and I training for the North Shore Century three years ago, and when it hits you like a bus at the 24th mile, you just want to curl up in a ball and cry uncle. The stretch on the south part of the Lakeshore path, just beyond McCormick Place and north of Jackson Park, was some of the most challenging stretches in my biking experience.
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Speaking of getting hit by a bus, one of the associates who works at another store in my company was just struck by a vehicle this past week as he commuted to another store. He was shaken up but all in all is okay. This was yet another reason, in addition to my exhaustion from my morning ride, that I chose to public transit it over to the other store today. Sticking to the lake path is one thing, but riding over onto Clybourn Avenue seemed less enticing and not very good for my health. Thankfully, the associate who was injured did not become one of the five fatalities that has occurred in Chicago since the season has begun.
With more and more people riding bikes to save on gas, the road has become a little more crowded. However, the most recent in these accidents have not been the bikers’ fault, but rather, someone in a vehicle, like the guy who doored a poor cyclist into oncoming traffic, where he was run over and later died. With this recent spate of accidents, I’ve steered more to the paths and less on the main thoroughfares, even those with bike lanes. I know what it’s like to be hit by a car, and flying over the handle bars is not a pleasant experience. What’s more, half the time the drivers act like they are the ones being wronged. How self centered.
I’m not saying cyclists are completely faultless. Take the one guy who ran through an intersection earlier this year and was struck by a car, and died on the scene. We ALL need to follow the rules of the road. Yes, sometimes I do cross at an intersection when I don’t have the light, but it’s usually when there is nothing coming at all. I value my body, and even while I have plenty of cushion to shield me, I don’t relish waking up in a hospital bed, or not getting to wake up ever again, simply because I wanted to ignore the traffic laws.I do wish to say while the man I mentioned about flouted the law, he certainly did NOT deserve to be hit and be killed either.
The flip side is that motorists need to be aware that they are sharing the roads with us. Just like we must be vigilant of pedestrians on the lake front path (even while some of them are not as vigilant or conscious of others around them), drivers need to do the same for us. It’s a big road out there- make some room, pay attention, and please don’t hit me.
Rants of The Misanthrope and other musings 