Departure: 7:50am (20 minutes too late)
Temp: 9
Attire: Oxford heels, stockings, fishtail skirt, singlet, tshirt, cardi, roll neck poncho.
Well I picked the right day to get on the bike again. There was hardly any wind and I didn't even need to put on my gloves or scarf! In fact it was so mild that I'd taken off my poncho after a few minutes, and then my cardi even before halfway!
My ride is about 12k/s and it takes me about 40 minutes to ride through Footscray, Docklands and finally Fishermen's bend. Today I consciously tried to take it easy - the length of my ride means that if I sweat too much I really need to have a change clothes and that just adds precious weight to Pashley and time when I arrive at work. Yes Yes I was bringing my outfits in by car for a while there but that requires added planning so I try to avoid it.
The layers really helped (and of course the mild weather) but the distance and a bit of a head wind on Lorimer Street got the better of me. I make sure I take it easy for the last stretch, cruising along and using the breeze to lower my body temperature by the time I stop pedalling.
I had a spare t shirt to change into but I found that when I arrived a quick freshen up with deodorant was all I needed! This is of course a different story in summer - so I'm going to make the most of these cooler days while they're still here.
The ride itself was lovely, the grass on Footscray Road has been freshly mown, giving off that clean spring scent and the City of Melbourne has finally removed that rusty bit of pole that was poking a couple of inches out of the tramway at the intersection of Docklands Hwy and Docklands Drive. Yay!
Lorimer Street still scares me a lot. The outbound bike lane disappears quickly and you can either take your chances on the shared footpath - with many driveways whose high walls prevent any visibility whatsoever (did that once and never again) or you can share the 2 lane road with cars and trucks. I wince as I hear a loud engine approaching behind me and lots of them pass so close. Too close. Can't wait to show you the bike lane on the way home, it's not even funny.
Overall I definitely feel more relaxed and positive today than I did yesterday in the car. I'd prefer to have given myself more time to get in as I was at my desk 7 minutes late, and I could have been 15 minutes early - it's a much more enjoyable journey if I'm just cruising along admiring the city - not worrying about the time.
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