Yeah, I'm still going to spend every morning, when I go uphill, thinking, "Grumble grumble complain bitch moan!" Or something along those lines. It's worth it for the "Wheeeeeeeeee!!!" in my head as I go downhill in the afternoons.
And this morning, not only did I go up the hill one gear higher than usual, but I had a woman at work tell me, "I see you go up that hill every morning. It's a big hill, but you're getting faster!" :)
Way to go on the improvement. I still haven't determined whether I like the uphill part on the way to work, or from work. Granted, the exhilaration is there on both sides, so I always feel great coming in to work, but coasting most of the way home and then cracking a beer almost seems like cheating.
FYI, I worked it out. There is about an 800 ft elevation gain over 10 miles from home to work. It's subtle, but makes a difference, and it's relatively even. Only about two big hills, and they are just there to make me mad and allow me to say I biked to work, uphill, both ways. :-)
But wind...fuck wind. That shit is stupid.
[...]
And still better than driving. I think I'll probably break 300 miles next month.
Firstly - good on ya for upping your goal! Yeah, I used to despise the wind. Ottawa isn't all that bad for winds - not compared to Wellington, NZ, where I used to commute regularly into 50-70km/h winds - gusts that would make your bike almost come to a standstill. However, I played a jedi mind trick on myself and said FUCK IT - I love the wind because I am getting an awesome resistance training workout - for free! Now, I hardly notice if there is a wind or not. Same goes for hills too! Try it and report back :-)
Not necessarily upping my goal, just getting back into the groove of almost completely switching my commute to bicycle. Also just heard a rumor that there may be showers hiding somewhere in this building, so that's a plus if it's true. Still have to go to Denver 1-2 times a month (it'd be a 75 mile ride, one way), so that's the ultimate goal for my commute. Got some work on the bike to do first. As for a free awesome resistance training workout...I can have one of those whenever I want, and I usually
don't want one on the way to work. That being said, I did just switch from my broken toe clips to Power Grips...huge difference (biking in Vibrams comes with a unique set of challenges) and now I definitely look at hills a bit more as a fun challenge. Maybe as I get back in practice, wind will turn out the same.
For now though:
I have been known to angrily yell insults at the wind on particularly bad days. Then I remember where I am and that everyone around me is staring at the crazy guy on the bike. Then I remember that, as the crazy guy on a bike I don't give a shit what everyone around me thinks and continue on my way.
I'll just do that.