Bike Commute 2011 - Day 56

From 8 Sep 11 -

IN -

I was watching shadows today. As I passed street lights and lights illuminating signs along the way, I watched my shadow gliding along next to me. It looked pretty cool and it seemed to be moving really fast. I mean that thing was bookin' while I was just creeping along. I don't know how I kept up with it.

As I crossed over the highway a car came up behind me. I moved far over to the right. As I came down off the bridge I actually went too far to the right and ended up falling off the asphault and onto the gravel. It was a pretty big jolt and I lost one of my tail lights. Ironically it was the light I had found and doubly ironic was the fact that it was the same spot where I had found that light in the first place. I stopped and went back for it.

If something is doubly ironic is it like a double negative and it actually becomes non-ironic?

I had no gloves today, so I brought quickly rummaged through the closet by the garage door for something. I ended up with a washcloth that we use for washing bathrooms. On the trip my nose was very runny and I actually had to blow my nose in it.

Those things are very absorbent you know.

Every day this week when I get to the corner of Hawley and Midlothian, right at the corner where I leave my subdivision, the light had been red. I press the button, but so far it has taken an unacceptably long time to change, and then it just changes to a left turn arrow. I've had to blow that light three times this week so far.

I wondered why I care that what I write about is actually what happened that day and not some other day.

I got nothing.

I took this photo of my whiteboard at work (one of them, I've lined my cubicle with them). I've had this tally sheet up for months and I actually used the map once to explain to someone how far and where I go. No one has ever actually asked me directly about these papers or about bike commuting because they saw the papers.

Am I the weird one because I always ask people about the things hanging on the walls in their cubes?

HOME -

I felt different today, and not in a bad way. I wanted to do something completely different, make the day extra special.

Well, not completely different, I did wear clothes for instance, and I did use a bicycle and not say, a file cabinet on wheels.

My route was somewhat different.

I took my normal route to St. Mary's Road, but there I went north instead of south. I went to Oak Springs Road and headed west.

Normally I might take Oak Springs on a Friday to get to the Des Plaines River Trail, but today I took it straight on as far as it goes. It passes Minear Lake and I stopped to take a photo of it.

Then when I got to the end of Oak Springs Road I went south, then west, then south, in a zig zag pattern until I got to Garfiled and then I crossed over Hawley to catch the trail.

When I got into Mundelein I went straight across Lake Street and took a slightly different route to get to my subdivision.

I guess it's not earth shatteringly different, but it did shake things up a bit.