Man, am I out of shape

I've lived within 10 miles of my office since 1999. (Ok, I lived at my office in 1999 and 2000!) I've always intended to ride my bike to work and for one reason or another (or perhaps for no good reason) it has never happened.

This year we joined the downtown Y so that my wife could work out on her way into work and so that I could have a place to shower after I rode my bike in. The new Boll Family Y is a really wonderful facility right downtown just a few blocks from my office.


Well 8 months later, inspired by Kevin and Emily riding from Detroit to Chicago, I finally did it - I rode into work yesterday! It was about 10.1 miles and it took me about an hour. After about 6 miles I was sure there was no way I was riding back home that night. In my distant past I've ridden 80 miles in a single day and 10 miles shouldn't have been that hard.


The ride was uneventful and relatively flat. I had a mild head-wind, but nothing too terrible. I was just really out of shape.


So, I got to the Y, locked up my bike, took a shower and walked to the office, still unsure of whether or not I'd ride home.

At the end of the day, I was rested enough to give it a shot. I decided to try out the newly opened portions of our new Riverfront. The opened portions are beautiful and leave me anxious for the remaining portions.

The down side is that it somehow added 2 miles to the trip home. Although again wondering if I'd make it, I perservered and made it all the way home - but just barely!