Bicycles for Dummies

Cycling in the snow is for idiots - like me. I skidded on the ice on the way to work this morning and fell off. Fortunately my nice pants (a present from TA the last time she went back to Malaysia - when I went back she wouldn't let me get her clothes, so I just gave food) weren't torn, nor my knee. Even more fortunately, there was no car behind me. Gah. I'm going to stay on the sidewalk after this.

There's something addictive about cycling. For me, it's partly just the physical thrill, the lovely sensation of swooping down the road at superhuman speeds even though the only thing powering the machine is still your own body. At this point, with nasty freezing temperatures, it's mostly the convenience. The people at my workplace keep asking, with a poorly masked undertone of shock, "Did you ride your bike today?" and I keep going "Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to do it any more." But when you're late for the bus because you dawdled over breakfast, panic overtakes common sense. Madison buses have bicycle racks on the front, which is very nice.