Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Sorry, Guys

Image courtesy of http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/images/Issue57/BeaufortSea_l.jpg

I started to get dressed this morning fully intending to ride my bike to work. Jon asked what the temperature was and I repeated what I heard on our local NPR station this morning. "Nine degrees, with a wind chill of -10." He told me I should drive my truck to work, that I had to set some limits. Perhaps.

When I think about whether I can ride my bike in frigid temperatures, I think about Jill Homer, the Alaska journalist who is training for the human-powered Iditarod race, a multi-day event in which she will bike across the Alaska wilderness in sub-zero temperatures. She chronicles her training in her blog Arctic Glass. Her reasons for riding are different than mine, but an inspiration nonetheless. When I fret about my 1.5 mile commute, I check Jill's blog to see that she rode 22 miles yesterday in 28 degree temperatures.

I console myself with the reminder that driving to work will give me the opportunity to sherpa home the large garbage bag full of empty plastic bottles I have collected at work so they can be recycled.

3 comments:

jer said...

ya'll are insane, that is just entirely too cold.

freakin' hippies.

Unknown said...

let Jer choke on his carbon-filled, acid-rain spewing atmosphere.
How much carbon is there? There's so much carbon, it's carbonated. It's like Coke!

I drove my big-ass suburban to work today. Am I a hypocrite?
luv ya jer, mean it!

More power to you. I rode ~3hrs Saturday. It was 28 degrees, but not 9. Brrr!

jer said...

you know i'm just yankin your chain.

good on ya for enduring the weather, i just couldn't do it, its like 30 here today and ya'll know how much i love the cold.