The Bicycle Revolution Day 25

The Green Way should be temporarily renamed The Icy Way.

I hit the snooze twice this morning.  At 5:40 am, the spirit surged inside me.  I popped out of bed.  Rolling the bike down the front steps, I noticed an abnormal thud.  The back tire was flat.

“Damn.”

I changed the tire and biked into the snowy morning.  It had rained all day yesterday which is strangely weird for Minnesota in January.  The water had turned to ice overnight and it was hella icy.  Turning to Marshall, I realized that I forgot to wear a scarf.  I kept going over the Lake Street Bridge.

There were more bikers than usual on The Green Way creating a false sense of security.  Where there we no trees, the whipping wind created ice rinks.  My face was cold.  The guy that sped ahead of me with crazy blinking red lights on his back wiped.  I slowed next to him.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ve wiped three times so far this winter.  The snow helps the fall a little bit.”

“A little,” he replied unconvincingly.

I cautiously crept ahead.  It wasn’t long before the bike wheels turned sideways.  I knew that I was going down.  It was all in slow motion.  The neck muscles grew firmer.  This was going to hurt.  A harsh contact was made from my shoulder to the slick ice.  A split second of stars came to view.

“Ugh.  Fuck this ice!”  I yelled.

I popped up walking the bike to my side.  The blinking red light guy caught up to me.  Looking back, he expressed condolences.

I bit the dusty snow two more times that day.  It was the most challenging day yet in the Bicycle Revolution.

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