Yay! I tried my first bike commute to SWA this morning from Lewisville and had a blast, figuratively and literally! Maybe I'm just still riding high from the endorphins.
Here's the route: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/SWA-to-Lewisville
I left around 6:10. Official sunrise is at 6:20 right now, but with the early dawn and some cloud cover it seemed bright enough to leave. This morning was cooler and less breezy than it has been lately, maybe around 75 degrees or so, which is much cooler than when I've been commuting to REI in the late mornings.
The route I take overlaps with the first half of my route to REI, so it's becoming somewhat normal now. I have a couple of spots where I know I should be at a certain time. My friend Rob, for instance, lives in Coppell at the 9-ish mile mark. I got to his house about 8 minutes sooner than I have been lately, this time at about the 37 minute mark. My next checkpoint is the hour mark, which is usually when I cross under 35E. Today, I hit that same spot at 50 minutes. WHee!! I must be getting stronger and this doesn't feel like work!
Where my paths to REI and SWA diverge is right around Josey and Beltline. The roads through this area all the way to 635 underpass are busy and have a lot of traffic. Fortunately, it was still only about 7:10am so I'm hoping the traffic was a little light. I tried to stay on sidewalks where I could, but it seems as if there was a lot of glass on them.
I made it past that hairy part and was on the last 6 mile home stretch. This takes me through some pretty neighborhoods north of Love Field and east of the 'hood area. I felt safe. Next thing you know, I was popping out on Northwest Hwy and thinking I'd make it to work in about 1:45 or 1:50 which is under the 2 hours I'd estimated. Sure enough, I hit some glass, heard a popping sound that didn't sound like a rock, and as I crossed Northwest Hwy to Bachman Lake, I noticed that the back tire was flat. Damn!
Fortunately, that spot is about 1.5 miles from the back door of work. At that point, I weighed the option of changing the tire there or walking it in. Either way, it was going to be about hte same amount of time, so I opted to just walk it. I secretly hoped someone I work with might see me and throw the bike in the back, but no luck. Or maybe they did see me and kept going. LOL!
In any case, it went well and I love it. I have a spare and will change it out before I leave today. Actually, I need to make sure I can get a ride if I don't get it changed out. LOL! The ride home should be interesting as well as it'll be warmer and probably more traffic. Hope to leave around 5-5:30 to make it home.
Oh and there's another ride tomorrow morning. 30 miles with Debbie and Donna. Yay!
HAPPY SUMMER, everyone!
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