I Made It!!

Yes, I officially made it by bike to my school.  Here's a picture of the sign at the front of the school.

Here is a picture of the sign at the back of the school.

So I really did make it.  But it wasn't as close as I figured it would be because my "car free" bike route probably added 5 km to my over all commute, which was only suppose to be about 10 km and I'm sure ended up closer to 15 km.  No worry, I'll find better ways to get there, which are still safe for me as a cyclist.  

The one thing I didn't realize was how windy it was .  While it's often windy here I think today was a bit windier than normal (38+ km/h winds).  It was also warm and I'd say about 35c so between the heat and the wind it felt like I was riding inside a hot oven with the fan on full blast.

I'm also out of shape - running, biking, and swimming shape.  That's what 3.5 weeks of travel and a few days of visitors can do to a person.  My riding shape will come back quickly (and hopefully my swimming and running will too) so the commute should get easier.  It's really not that far away.

In the end it took me close to an hour to come home (I was much longer on the way as I kept stopping to check where I was, where I should be, and any where I could find some shade). A lot of the time is because it was windy and also because there are several places that I have to stop and wait for light to change.  I waited over three minutes at one of the lights.  But safety is more important to me so I'll wait.

So now I just need to find a shorter, faster route.