And So Winter Begins

I'm very reflective when I ride, and have written hundreds of blog posts in my head, but somehow, as you can see, I rarely end up writing them down when I get home.  I've thought about trying to backtrack and catch up, but that is not going to happen.  So here is my fresh start, once again.

Today was a very wintery commute on my bike!  Kind of unexpected for November.  I hesitated about whether or not to bail and drive my car, and then decided not to let "my big but . . ." get in the way (as in "I would have ridden my bike today, BUT  . . . ").  

Today's ride wasn't so much about enjoying the ride, although with the beautiful sunshine all day, I did actually enjoy the ride.  It was more about . . .

• Facing a challenge and not letting it stop you
• Pushing yourself towards, or to, or beyond your limits and seeing what you can accomplish 
• Setting, meeting, achieving a goal (The goal I set for myself in September was to commute by bike to work as many days as possible until I retire in January.)
• Thinking about "the big picture" - all the things you've experienced and learned in the past - and using that to plan for and execute the ride
• Having an arsenal of appropriate gear and making the right selections when choosing what to wear
• Thinking like a driver - What would the average person driving a car in my neck of the words expect, or not expect when encountering a winter cyclist?  And then using that to shape my visibility and behavior on the road

And what value did I get from my ride today?  Aside from the physical fitness aspect, I ended up with a great sense of personal accomplishment!  What could be better?!

Now, if it had been a blizzard here today like it was to our west, I would NOT have been out riding my bike!  I'm not crazy!