On Wednesday, I was thrilled to finally be able to ride my bike into campus! I love riding my bike, and I hadn't had a chance to ride since before the move. While I was on campus I had some errands to run, including getting an ID made, getting keys to my department and departmental office, gaining library access, checking out some library books, and figuring out how to print and get copies made at my institution. It was hot and humid, but the air flow created by moving quickly on my bike made it bearable. It was far less enjoyable by foot, as I quickly found out.
When I went to leave campus and bike home, I realized that the key to my bike lock was missing from my key ring. I searched through my bag; I went back to my office and searched my desk, shelves, and floor; I retraced my steps; I visited several lost and founds on campus. My key wasn't anywhere. Finally, I called my husband to see if he could bring me my spare bike lock key. Since we had just moved, he had no idea where it was and I didn't either.
He came to campus and picked me up. Did I mention that I left my cell phone at home that day? So finding each other was a bit of an adventure, as well, and I spent some more time broiling in the heat. We went home and began looking for my spare key. While we were searching, I was envisioning never getting my bike unlocked or worse that I would get back to campus with the key the next day and it would have been stolen. I eventually found it in a small box of flash drives and memory cards and miscellanea on my writing desk.
We returned to campus and retrieved my bike. This misadventure ended well, and I figure that it did because of good bike kharma. You see, when I was in Florence, I really wanted to steal this bike:
But I resisted the urge. My own bike might not be as cute as a purple cruiser, but I love her.
She has been my companion for several years. Do you ever commute by bike? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages to cycling to work? Have you ever lost the key to your lock?
