More Bike, Less Bus, Movies and a Mouse

As I start building back up to my normal bike riding, I continue to feel more like myself, less trapped. My motivation this weekend was to catch up on pre-Oscar movie viewing and make a Trader Joe’s run for heavy staples (soymilk, yogurt, tofu, trail mix).

On Friday, I had intended to bike to physical therapy but, as I was about to leave the house, it seemed to be raining. I was worried about having to bike home from the metro at the end of the day in the dark rain, so I changed my mind and took the bus. Big mistake. The bus ran way late, making me late for my appointment, although, on the bright side, I’m starting to develop a pretty nice bus stop yoga routine.

So when Saturday dawned foggy and drizzly, I hopped on the bike, undeterred. In the morning there was just a light mist, but by afternoon, the sun had come out and I ended up being overdressed, peeling off layers for the trip home. I saw the hilarious Silver Linings Playbook, did my shopping and got in about 9 miles of bike riding.

This morning, I biked to yoga and – surprise – at long last there was bike parking in front of the studio! No more locking my bike to the railing and (slightly) obstructing the yogis’ entrance to the studio (which I always considered somewhat bad form, being the teacher and all). There were still bits of plastic clinging to the “staple” and the cement looked fresh. There was one staple right in front of the studio and another down the block in front of the hardware store. I was delighted to see that, by the time I left, there was another bike locked to the other staple. Although today was even drizzlier than yesterday, the streets of Arlington were peopled with other cyclists, enjoying the mild temperature. After yoga, I grabbed some lunch and went to see Argo. I needed the yoga after that movie, which had me on the edge of my seat.

If you look closely you can still see bits of plastic wrap clinging to the "staple"

On the way home, I took the street route (shorter and fewer hills than the bike path) and chanced to see a small gray mouse cross George Mason Drive in front of me. Seeing how tiny and scared it looked, it made me feel foolish that I have such an overblown fear of the mice that have invaded my house this winter. Worse, I felt ashamed about my vicious attempts to eradicate them in a very un-yogic way. So much for ahimsa (non-harming). What can I say, my two little Westies are falling down on the job: they’re terriers and should have more zeal for hunting small rodents. Still, if I’d been in a motor vehicle, I probably wouldn’t have even seen the mouse – which gave me a moment for reflection this afternoon. Another benefit of bike riding…