So apparently May is Bike to Work Month. I didn't realize that until today, when I actually read one of the fliers they have posted on every elevator. I seldom actually read the fliers because I have discovered that my cell phone, which I can use to check my email, also functions as a magical elevator summoner. If I pull it out and start checking my mail, the elevator comes immediately (because you can't check your email IN the elevator). But if I don't, I have to wait.
I do NOT have an email addiction. I just don't want to keep any of you waiting for a response!
Anyway, in my defense, I DID know that today was ride your bike to work DAY. I saw lots of people doing just that.
I didn't ride my bike (or my wife's for that matter, since mine is a $58 Walmart special. No, I am not exaggerating). I drove.
I like the idea of biking to work. I hope to start doing it when I head over to FSI next month.
What I don't like is the idea of my coworkers commenting on how bad I smell.
I am from the South. Like seriously from the South. Like American Indian indigenous to the South and really really acclimated to heat kind of from the South.
I don't glisten. I sweat. Serious sweat...buckets of water kind of sweat. And my lovely wife has informed me that this sweat, especially after running (yes, I am still doing it...I am up to week 8 of the Couch to 5K program), doesn't smell good.
And at least I do that in shorts and a t-shirt. Do people who bike in every day take a shower at work? Every day? Do they bring their suits with them? How do they keep them from being wrinkled?
If I could answer these questions, I would be far more inclined to bike to work. Or at least get my tires pumped so I could consider it!
Luckily, my office has a small, slightly scary gym that has some pretty nice bathrooms with showers. When I bike to work (which isn't often enough), I'll take a quick shower there. I have a full suit and a dress hanging behind my door, and a bag of toiletries under my desk.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend in HR at Annex 1 who bikes to work from Huntington every Friday, and she goes to a gym (I think at Main State) to shower and get ready. She also keeps a change of clothes at work.
Haha. Its okay, I sweat buckets too. It really really sucks when I get it in my eyes while running. One time, after running, I was sweating (obviously) and I felt a drop of water on my cheek.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was raining...no, just me sweating
This is the dilemma that keeps me from biking to work, too.
ReplyDeleteI used to bike to work when I lived in Copenhagen, pre-State career. I found the trick was to bike real damn slow. Don't think of it as exercise (i.e. running) but a way to get from here to there (i.e. walking). Of course, that requires you to live close to work. I'm planning to live at Oakwood Rosslyn when I return to FSI this fall and bike into language training, regular "work" clothes, shoes, and all. Will let you know how it goes!
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