In Which I Enjoy Cold Rides, But Not a Cold

I’ve had a cold, which is finally starting to break. Thursday was rough—I hadn’t slept all that well the night before, and was very tired.

But the weather was good, though chilly, so I rode my bike to work. Just a bit more slowly than usual—so I arrived barely in time for my 8 a.m. class, which luckily I co-teach with my wife, so she could teach both sections while I cheered her on by coughing on the sidelines.

The history lecture in my next class felt rather long, even though I love history.

I debated about whether to bike that morning, but am glad I did. Despite the cold, and my cold, it felt good to get some fresh air. Although the lack of sleep and the cold (the virus, not the air temperature) left me so tired that afternoon, that during the second half of an office hour, I gave up and “measured my futon.” (I have a futon in my office, and on the rare days when I take a nap on it,I call it “measuring the futon.”)

As luck would have it, as I was losing consciousness, I sensed a voice out in the hall. “I’ll just leave this in Joe’s bike basket, I’m sure he’ll find it there,” I thought I heard someone say.

Later, I found a note in my bike basket, with a very nice thank-you card and tickets to a Christmas concert.

The card was signed by the president of the university I teach at—and  it was probably her voice that I heard as I drifted off to dreamland.

My usual futon-measuring session is about 20 minutes. This time, I knocked off at 1:30 p.m. and didn’t glance at my watch again until after 3:30. A two hour nap is very unusual for me … but it was very refreshing. I think it marked the end of the “bad part” of the cold. I was feeling just a little better as I biked home Thursday night.

The cool days and evenings have actually been pretty nice for biking. I’m just using my old bike for now—I have not had time to swap pedals on Argent yet (I broke the right pedal, probably by cracking it on a curb, but I have a spare set of pedals to put on). Honestly, on the 4 miles to work, the slower, older bike is not much of a handicap. On the rides this week, I have had to watch a few icy spots where the streets were wet and frozen, but mostly the only issue with the rides is that I always have to use lights, morning and afternoon.

Anyway, it was very frosty this morning, about 28 when I rode in. Because I didn’t have an 8 a.m. class, the sun was already up, but it was early enough and cool enough that the frost still lay across the world, leaving a grey, sparkly blanket on everything. It was pretty.

8 a.m. sun this morning on frosty lawn at Kenwood School during my bike ride to work.

Tonight, I had an extra ride, I was meeting my wife and daughter at a restaurant for supper. It was in the 40s, but a bit windier, which meant it actually felt a chillier on the way home.

But, I could pretty much taste the food. I still have a lingering cough, and sniffle, but the cold is thankfully fading. So the riding is even more pleasant. And I hope I will be awake next time when the president stops by!