the uaw went on strike against chrysler, yesterday, just long enough not to ship the part chauncey was waiting on. it really sucks for me and they guy who took of work to pick up the part, but i do find the humor in it as well.

jqr was kind enough to loan me his truck all week, but he's leaving for tennessee, this morning, to visit chuwie. so, that left me without wheels today. sure, i could have asked femtron or, perhaps, even surjay for a ride, but, with the way those relationships are going, i'd really hate to be indebted to either of them. i also could have waited for jqr to wake up, but there just isn't much to do to pass the time at 6:00 a.m. when you're already out of bed.

so, i rode my bike, sparkle motion, to work.

in retrospect, riding on the monon before sunrise was not terribly smart. it was, however, a much better decision that the subsequent choice to ride across 30^th to emerson. (i don't even drive across 30^th!) still, it was kind of lucky that the skeezy homeless dude was there to tell me what street it was and prevent me from missing my turn.

moreover, this being the first year i've owned a bike i actually ride, i wasn't adequately prepared for the autumn weather. i was going to wear my lined windbreaker, but i worked up a terrible sweat just pumping up my tires (which, of course, began with a similar dilemma as the last time i tried to ride alone). so, i opted for just a t-shirt and a long-sleeved biking shirt. that wasn't too bad, i think, but i'm not sure i noticed much beyond how unbelievably cold my ears were.

and i'm still cold. chilled to the bone. i got the guys in the office to agree to bump the thermostat up five degrees for a half hour, but 75 isn't really cutting it. i also borrowed a sweatshirt from bang bang nick lange. i think he's about 10,000 feet taller than chuwie, so you can only imagine how ridiculous i look in his hoodie.

oh. and i also got chain oil all on my favorite jeans. stupid, stupid, stupid.

still, overall, i feel good and it only took me an extra 15 minutes to get to work. not a bad start to a (hopefully) fabulous friday.