I want to ride my bicycle

This is Day 2 of driving to work because my bicycle needs repairs. I'm getting really depressed about it because I'm not getting enough excericse which means I feel guilty about food and my brain isn't creating enough seratonin. I really need to get my bike fixed.

I found a place here in town that will fix just the brakes for about $15. That's more reasonable than the $75 base fee for a tune-up I was quoted elsewhere. Considering the bike is only worth about $80 and I'd like a new one in about 6 months, I prefer to keep repair costs to a minimum. So my plan is to take my bike to this other shop tomorrow to have the brakes repaired and start riding again on Friday.

However, the pavement has been crazy slippery in the mornings lately, causing me some concern over my safety. For example: this morning I parked on the upper deck of the courthouse parking garage and was climbing out of my car only to completely lose my footing and wind up on the pavement! Go ahead, laugh, whatever. It hurt like hell. This was partly due to my shoes sans traction and partly due to the completely invisible nature of the ice that had built up overnight. Either way it was embarassing and hurt like hell AND made me wonder if I'll suffer a similar fate while riding my bike to work one morning, resulting in a broken arm or collar bone. That would suck.

So I'll go ahead and get my bike fixed on Thursday and get back to riding soon enough, but if I find myself sliding around too much on the thing I might have to start driving to work and making time in the evenings for fitness rides (as opposed to commuting rides). We'll see. I am told that lots of people ride their bikes to work throughout the winter here so I know it's possible, I just need to develop certain skills and possibly invest in winter equipment (i.e. snow tires, body armor, etc).

After Christmas I'm hoping some mid-range bikes will be on sale because I would love a new one. Right now my bike is about 10 years old, has had at least 2 or 3 owners, has 18 gears and no front shocks. It's a cool bike and I love riding it. I really like that the frame is a good 3 or 4 inches too big for me (according to experts) because it allows me to really stretch out when I ride. Other bikes I've owned before always made me feel hunched over and cramped, but my dear bike Lola makes me feel like I'm getting cardio while actively stretching my muscles. Pretty awesome. Unfortunately Lola is showing her age, especially in crappy weather, and I'm putting a lot of miles on her (about 75 per week), so I think she'll go into retirement soon.

Anyway, I'm going to take my lunch now then back to the grindstone.