Biker Babe

Evening, friends! Ugh, I can’t believe this is seriously the last Sunday in August. Summer, where did you go? I guess I’m not all that upset considering fall is my favorite season, though. Hellooooo slouchy sweaters, boots, jackets, and tights! Fall fashion, and I mean fashion in the loosest sense of the word, since I’ve never claimed to have any, is the most fun.

Also with the cooler weather comes my favorite cooking season! I love whipping up goodies in the kitchen year round, but there’s something so relaxing about cooking a nice warm meal in the fall or winter. Using the stove during summertime is an exercise in speed-cooking, because who wants to stand near a 375degree oven in 95degree weather? No one.

So back to the title of the post. I bought a bike! I wish there were some cool story about how I want to train for a triathlon, or I was inspired by the Olympics, but nope. Kman and I were sitting around the apartment one day, lamenting the fact that the nearest 16 Handles froyo shop is 1.2 miles away. We really wanted to go, but it was too hot out. And so, after much searching, this happened the next day:

Followed shortly after by this, because c’mon, obviously.

And the most recent addition to the family came today. Since I’ve been riding my bike to work (more on that shortly), I needed to upgrade things a bit. My lululemon backpack, while stylish and functional for carrying a yoga mat, wasn’t working for a 10 mile round trip ride every day. The incline of Brooklyn Bridge coupled with the weight of my loaded backpack was draggin’ me down, both literally and figuratively. Enter, an Ortlieb bag that attaches to the back rack of my bike. Awe-some.

So yeah, I’ve been biking to work! It’s become my default mode of transportation, barring any planned after work activities, such as happy hour with co-workers, for obvious reasons. I was apprehensive at first about riding in and feeling like a sweaty mess, but I think I’ve got a pretty good system going on.

After bringing my bike up the back elevator, I drop it off at the bike rack in our new office (which, by the way, is stunning), then pop into the bathroom to freshen up. I wear workout gear for the ride, so I change out of that, give my face/neck a quick wipe-down with the Olay cleansing cloths, throw on some extra deodorant, apply some dry-shampoo to combat helmet hair, a spritz each of Ojon revitilizing hair mist and my Molecule 01 perfume then let myself cool down for a minute from the ride. Work clothes that I keep folded neatly in my bag, change of shoes, and a smattering of makeup and I’m good to go!

The whole process, from getting my bike out of the basement, riding to work, changing, and sitting down to get to work takes around 45 minutes, which is about the time it takes me to get to work with the subway, waiting, walking, etc.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make this incredible recipe for Summer Vegetable Tian, which I found on Budget Bytes. Here’s hoping it turns out as well as this!

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