"Two legs good, two wheels better," chant the sheep
This morning, like most mornings, I rode my bike to work. It's my not-so-secret weapon in the Union College faculty and staff wellness competition. Between the high winds and cold, it took twice as much time to get to work than it did this summer. After I got to the office, the snow started coming down.
Most of this winter I've been trying to avoid biking in the snow. I didn't think it was as safe as walking. That is, until lunch time.
Tanya and I are developing habits and one of them is lunching at her place on Mondays and Wednesdays. So, around 12:20 I was on my way down Prescott to dine on tasty black bean chili and quesadillas. Crossing a street, I stepped on extremely slick ice cleverly masked by snow. My right ankle turned left, my knee turned right, and I sat on top of them both.
It hurt a lot at first and then I realized the cracking sound I'd heard (and on which I based my rationale for being in pain) was the ice and not my bones. I got up and hobbled along. By the time I got to Tanya's, I'd decided I hadn't done any permanent damage. I don't think I even sprained it. And yet it's kind of a dull pain all the time and a sharp pain when ascending or descending stairs.
That's not really the point though. Tonight I worked until 8:30, partly because I have plenty to do, partly because it's a Tanya and Scott space night, and mostly because I didn't really want to ride home with the awkward ankle and the snow, ice and wind.
Finally I did leave and got on the bike with some trepidation. And it was great.
It's amazing how much traction a bike actually has on snow and ice. I slid a lot less on my two wheels than on my two feet. It just goes to show that sometimes I'm wrong.
But please, don't tell anyone.
