
Riding to work
Blue skies! Hooray! I jump out of bed, load up the Purple Monster and set off down the road to work. Well, sure, I actually didn’t just go from jumping out of bed to leaving for work. There was a period in between during which I pottered around making breakfast and watching some television. But, that just doesn’t sound as good as saying that I jumped out of bed and hit the road.

Waiting for the lights
I have recently discovered the joys of Instagram and have been going crazy trying out all the different photo formats. What I really like about the app is that it’s making me see simple things in a whole new light. For example, who would have thought that avoiding a dangerous roundabout by crossing the road on a bike path would have been interesting. But with Instagram I was able to see the process for the uniquely cycling experience that it is. And check out all those bright colours that make up our every day world – you don’t have to travel thousands of miles from home to be bedazzled.

The wheels keep spinning
I had a university class last night so was able to enjoy the late afternoon daylight hours on my bike. Usually, I don’t leave work until about 5:30pm, which means I do a lot of my commuting in the dark from March through to November. But yesterday I had an excuse to leave just around 3:30pm to enjoy a leisurely cruise up the V1 cycleway to my university campus. Sure, I had to ride about 10km of the 21km ride on roads but I prefer to focus on the cycleway experience. I just love how it feels to see and feel my wheels spinning away on paths designed specifically for us cyclists.

Riding to university
Did I mention yet that I finally bought myself a new jersey? You might have noticed that I’m always wearing the same jersey in all my photos. I actually have two that are the same. I now have a third jersey that I picked up for the bargain basement price of $15 (yes, that’s not a typo) because it was slightly soiled (it has a small blue dot on the back). And boy is it comfortable. Perhaps that’s why I had a big smile on my face in this selfie.

Lights reflecting on wet bikeway
As my university class came to an end, around 7:30pm, I looked out the window to see flashes of lightning followed by crashes of thunder. It was all being washed down by big heavy rain drops. In the past, I would have simply phoned home and grovelled to my partner for a lift home. But, as they say, there’s no bad weather, just bad clothing choices. I had come prepared so pulled my rain jacket out of my pannier bags, threw a reflective vest over the top and set off to ride 35km (20 miles) in the deluge. Since starting Audax cycling, I have become quite accepting of night riding so it was with great pleasure that I spun my legs as the heavens put on an amazing display of lightning streaks and forks.

What? I was hungry
Hunger took over at 8:30pm when I still had 20km to ride. So I found a Hungry Jacks (Burger King to the rest of the world) and bought junior Whopper and small fries to get me through. I hadn’t eaten a meal since 1pm so fast food never tasted so good.
Total: 66.6km cycle commuting