Gutter bunny is bike slang for a bicycle commuter. To day was my first bicycle commute for the year, so today I was a gutter bunny. I commuted by bike several times last year and have mapped out a pretty good route. It is about fifteen miles long and includes four miles of bike trail. I waited for daylight and launched towards work at seven this morning.
It was 31 this morning and what snow that remained had refrozen. In the places along the route where I ride on sidewalks, I had to walk the bike, due to a few icy spots. This made me think that the four miles of bike path ahead, might not be passable. I decided to take a different route.
One of the highlights of the morning commute was wheeling my bike across the Parkway, where the walk-light had stopped the morning rush for me. I felt empowered stopping all those cars. A cheap thrill, I know, but still a thrill.
I smelled the smell of newly upturned soil, even though there was none. It smelled like spring was coming. Less pleasantly, I also smelled a lot of exhaust, but that is part of being a gutter bunny.
The new route took me around the airport and with a following tailwind, I made good time. I got to work in less then an hour. Usually it takes 75 minutes. I checked the bike computer’s odometer. It showed only eleven miles. That is a four miles from my usual route.
I worked all day and then mounted the bike for the return trip. It was 62 out and there was a stiff headwind from the south, ten to fifteen knots. Rounding the airport was tough. There was more traffic and I was a lot slower. The morning’s ice had turned to melt and I had to ride through a lot of run off. By the time I came to the Parkway it was getting dark. Traffic there was so backed up that I just rode between the parked cars.
I saw four cyclist in the morning, all commuters, like me. I saw eight cyclists in the evening. Sounds like quota to me. I got eleven miles each way, for a total of 22 miles.
The header for today shows the southern approach of the I-70/I-170 interchange. This is a normal sight on my automobile commute. Biking to work makes for a nice change of pace.