21°

The sun is just breaking through my blinds and the Punch Brothers is playing bluegrass on my phone telling me to wake up. When I look at my phone I look up in the corner and there it is... 21°.
"Is this how it's going to be" I thought to myself as I scrounged for layers to wear. "My Jeep is right outside..." kept popping into my head, but I stayed true to the bike.
Under armor
Long sleeve shirt
Sweater (thin)
Other long sleeve shirt
Bigger sweater
Scarf and gloves
And always a helmet.

The ride was really rather pleasant. The air, cold though it may have been, was fresh and the sun broke bright against the small traces of snow still on the ground. I saw birds that came from possibly as far as my stomping grounds of Buffalo NY.

I parked my bike in the dressing room, put on some tights and hopped around in a room for a couple of hours...

Back on the bike: I wandered aimlessly around southside Birmingham AL. From the still new railroad park through the blocks of UAB hospital on to Forest Park and the street named Cliff road... which was a climb. Then (after coffee with a friend in 5pts south) I found a nice long climb through crisp winter afternoon and on until home.

Bike, dance, then bike sounds pretty swell to me.

So if you say it's to far or cold or early or whatever excuse not to ride. Try to find a better excuse for why you're missing the joy and beauty of a nice joy ride.

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more pics of my bike.

More baby pics.

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first day on the Jamis

Finally, she's here...

I wake up. With the ballet only days from returning to work it's a cold morning... for the south.
I have rehearsal with the local modern dance company (southern dance works) and had to leave quickly. "Finally," I thought "I can test my new Jamis Aurora."

She rode like a dream. The steel absorbing all the... shall I say less than savory roads of the city of Birmingham. A perfect example of velo efficiency. The true commuter, I finally and truly grasp the saying "steel is real."

The rehearsal went well... always fun and productive. But in all honesty I could only think of the rich crimson beauty of a bike that waited for me out front.

A few hours pass and it's time to leave. Giddy I get changed and call one of my cycling friends looking for some way to pass time this Saturday in Alabama. We settled on Netflix movies (as there was not much to do). Truly I suggested that because in order to watch Netflix I would have to go home first to get my laptop and then ride back to her house immediately doubling the time on the saddle.

I went home, packed up my computer and a sandwich, let my dog Layla out and hit the road.

There were two routs I had to consider. The easy... and the hilly. Naturally I chose the latter. The Shimano 105 rear derailleur worked like a charm. I shifted effortlessly through the hills and got to watch movies in no time.

Time passed and movies were watched. But the highlight was a co-workers birthday party in a loft downtown. Driving on my bike to the party felt more representative of taking a ride on a luxurious speed boat, floating over potholes and gliding down streets. The party was fantastic and a perfect ending to the evening.

One thing all the cars did not know when they saw me riding on my bike was what they actually were witnessing was a man falling in love... velo love.

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This is a good song and a nice bicycle cameo. I wish I had that tweed outfit.