Bike Home From Work Day is Next Thursday*!

*If it's not raining, and if there's not a playoff soccer game.

I have located my ancient (maybe three whole years old!) GPS unit and concluded that it appears to know the gravel paths in the forest park I need to cut through on my bike ride home next Thursday. Now I just will need to make a list of all the roads I'll take so I can be prepared and look super cool as I ride, wearing my helmet, $16 eBay jersey, and GPS strapped to my handlebars with rubber bands and/or zip ties.

I am hopeful it won't rain. If it does, I will totally need to do this another day. The playoff soccer game, I'm not as worried about, as the younger daughter's game apparently is Wednesday and unlikely she'll have another one the very next day. The older daughter's game is this Saturday, and there will be another game after it if the team wins, which is a 50/50 proposition. Then, if they win, the game would need to be on Thursday. If it is on Thursday, and it's not raining, I may leave work early for the trip home.

The route appears to be maybe 35 miles, so it may take me a little over 2 hours. Luckily, it's primarily going in the southerly direction, which as we all know feels a lot like riding downhill. I am fortunate that this is the case, and feel pity for those who would need to bike north, and thus towards the top of the map which would cause a greater effort to be asserted.

One wildcard variable is my growing concern with my rear wheel. I am needing to true it up almost weekly, sometimes with more frequency. Replacement wheels start at about $50, and I can get a decent pair (front and back, but my front wheel's not a problem) delivered for about $160. Then I'd get to figure out how to remove the freewheel and put it on the new wheel. Or maybe get a new freewheel too. But for now I will keep on truing up the old rear wheel. It's the best wheel I have!

I dare say that nobody in my office is aware of my intended plan. They most likely won't know until it's too late for them to try to talk me out of it, and they will be forced to drive home and shake their heads in amazed confusion at how eccentric I am becoming.