EDITOR’S NOTE: Aviva Stephens is a Seattle native and financial professional who discovered the benefits and joys of cycling on her challenging work commute between Ballard and the Eastside. Find more of her writing on Medium and follow her on Instagram at @avivarachelle.
It’s been a wet fall, but riding a bike in the rain is not as bad as it may seem. In fact conquering the weather can make me feel like fucking super woman ready to combat whatever office drama may come my way.
Becoming Super Woman
The other day I found myself stranded at the bus stop because the bike rack was full and my only commute choice was to pedal five miles to my destination. This was one of those rainy days with a winter weather advisory to the effect of “Warning: If you leave your house today you might die.” Admittedly, even as a bike advocate, I opt for public transport for most of my morning commute and reserve the long ride for the evening commute. So on this day I was not looking forward to getting sweaty and wet before a long day of meetings.
As I stood stranded on the curb I contemplated my options:
- Ride five miles in the heavy rain and wind,
- Coast back home and work from my cozy, warm and dry abode, or
- Pop back into the coffee shop and pretend to be a carefree hipster for a day.
Although the fantasy of working from the comfortable confines of home and/or a coffee shop and not exerting all of my energy just to get to work sounded appealing, I also realized that they were choices rooted in fear. Fear of exhaustion, fear of looking unkempt, fear of an offending odor, fear of tumbleweed hair, fear of the rain…this last one seems absurd to me because I just got out of the shower and survived! (more…)