Today I tried out my new bike for the first time. The bike itself was very nice to ride. It actually was more comfortable than I expected having last ridden more than a decade ago. My hope is to eventually be able to ride to the Firestone library 2-3 days a week. It’s about a 10 mile ride one way.

Today I rode about 7 miles in 35 minutes. I definitely need to get use to riding the bike more before I attempt a work commute. I exercise a fair bit (usually 1 – 1 1/4 hours/day). However, riding the bike I suddenly felt completely out of shape. Even though I rode 7 miles I didn’t have any baggage (i.e. computer, lunch, work clothes etc.) weighing me down. My current plan is to try substituting bike riding for my normal exercise 2-3 days a week and see how it goes from there.

I’m also a little nervous about my understanding of biker/car relationships. According to Colorado’s Bicycling Manual it’s safer to ride on the shoulder of the rode than in the sidewalk (not that the sidewalk is an option on CO-119). However, I’m a little fuzzy about what the correct procedure is when suddenly there is a right turn lane. I think technically, the bicyclist is suppose to continue straight so the turn lane is to their right (assuming they aren’t turning). At least, this is how it appears when there is a designated bicycle lane. However, this doesn’t feel particularly safe to me on 119. I think I probably just need to get a little more use to being the smallest thing on the rode. I’m also dubious about left turns as I’m not nearly as fast as other bicyclists at this point and I’m afraid I’ll get in the way of cars.

Hopefully, I figure this all out before I get run over by a car. If I do end up getting hit by a car, it would at least be nice if it wasn’t my fault. And yes, I was feeling paranoid enough today to make sure I had my phone, ID and insurance card with me

I’m currently sick and incredibly bored.

Wednesday I wasn’t feeling very good but I had a very busy schedule so I went to work anyway. My last scheduled activity of the day was teaching a report class to staff. Normally I’m pretty energetic when I teach classes but I felt barely coherent by the time I was finished. I felt that was enough usefulness for the day and so wrapped everything up and tottered home. At home, I took for temperature for fun. I never run fevers so I was shocked when the thermometer claimed I had a temperature of 101.5. I tried it again and this time it said it was 101.7. I truly do not remember the last time I ran a fever that hot. It’s been years (possibly a decade?).

Based on the fever, I decided I probably should take Thursday off. I still had a fever Thursday night but it wasn’t so high so I figured that I would probably be better by Friday. I woke up this morning and had no temperature (well, it was 98.5 and I normally run 97.7 but still with normal bounds). I still had all the other cold symptoms but that normally wouldn’t prevent me from showing up to work (or at least working from home). However, I decided that I should probably take the day off to make sure my recovery stuck. Well, it didn’t. I’m once again running a fever.

I think there are few things more boring than being really sick. Within the past 2 days I’ve read 3 books and watched hours of online TV episodes (we don’t have broadcast/cable). It’s incredibly mind numbing. Since I thought I was getting better today, I decided it would be a good time to clean house since my parents are coming on Sunday (yea! ). However, I only got the kitchen moderately picked up before collapsing into bed for the rest of the day. Yes, bed is also boring, particularly when you can’t sleep because you can’t breathe.

Okay, that’s more than enough of me whining

The last couple of months have actually been pretty interesting (both in a good way and the Chinese curse way). We spent Christmas at Jaeger’s parents place and had lots of fun. We then came back and Fested for several days which was also lots of fun.

Early in January, I got contacted to see if I was interested in another library job. It was tempting but after a lot of thought, I decided it really wasn’t the right fit for me right now. Too bad the job couldn’t have waited another 5 years or so, it would have been perfect then.

Jaeger also had lots of job excitement. Namely, his employer had to lay him off due to lack of projects. This obviously caused us some stress but my obsession with creating an emergency fund made the process a little easier for me. Jaeger did find another job which sounds very interesting but it’s a start-up so they don’t pay as well as we’re use to (at least right now). Hard to say how things will turn out but as long as Jaeger’s happy, I am too.

The Weld Library District opened up a library in Erie in January and I’ve spent quite a bit of time down there making sure everything is working smoothly. It’s been interesting watching a whole new library come together. We’re also opening another library in Firestone in March. At the moment, the district is considering having me work at one of the two new libraries 3 days a week and spend the other two in Greeley. While I don’t have an office at the new libraries, the commute is almost half of what it takes to get to Greeley so I’m enjoying the change (though I miss all my friends up in Greeley).

After looking at Google maps, I came to realize that the Firestone library is only about 10 miles away from my house. This, in combination with pretty good roads*, made me think that it might be feasible to bike to work instead of drive. It’d be better for the environment, less expensive than driving — at least in the long run, and a great form of exercise. I started researching bicycles and last Sunday Jaeger and I went to Niwot Cycles and I bought a bike! I haven’t had a bike for at least a decade and this one isn’t like any of the mountain bikes I’ve owned before. It’s a Giant FCR3. I’m hoping it’s a good beginning bike for me to try commuting on. I still don’t know if my idea is feasible or not. I left the bike at the shop because I ordered a bicycle rack for panniers so I can carry my bags with me to work. Since I don’t have an office, I have to carry my office with me which can be a little awkward. The bicycle shop called this week to let me know that the bike was ready but I haven’t felt well enough yet to go pick it up. Anyway, it should be a great adventure

*Erie is closer but doesn’t have good roads for a novice bike rider.