This past Wednesday while I commuted, I enjoyed immensely the encroaching fog on the shore of Monona Bay. Ice was melting and breaking up. The final thaw of the year is underway.
The many waterways of the city are in transition from icy and bitter cold winter to lighter, warmer and longer spring days.
The water is a brilliant deep indigo color in some places especially close to shore and tranquil turquoise under thinner ice in other places with sprays of pure white snow on top further out. Geese have been frolicking on broken ice sheets.
A sandhill crane had landed way out in the center of the bay. Their call breaks through the ice and into spring.
I had a maintenance success on Saturday. I looked at the 10-day weather forecast and decided it was time to swap in my three season tires in place of the winter ones.
I envisioned all seven steps and gave me 10-15 minutes to complete the task. Thinking the steps through first definitely made the difference. My mind was clearer and my performance was sharp. It took only 10 minutes.
With this newfound momentum, I pulled out my portable truing stand and trued up my rear commuter wheel.
I think we tend to forget about self-reliance, self-resilience and self-fortitude during longer commuting seasons.
I’ve had two punctures in my time that forced me to walk with my bicycle several miles.
On these occasions especially you learn to power through doubt and angst and just get home. It’s only you and the bicycle and you have to get it home on your commute one way or another.