Monday was the day!
Commutes during that first week of days of April were 90% percent dry pavement with just a few slippery treacherous spots so I was seriously questioning keeping The Fatgirl on the road. All the bike folks on the Discord were keeping their studs for the morning ice though, so I heeded their wisdom.
Friday I almost switched on a whim to Omafiets but realized it wasn't an easy thing to do as none of my panniers I had on the go would fit on the rack.
The first 100 metres of my commute were 90% ice so I was glad I stayed with The Fatgirl.
But as the weather stayed warm all weekend, I decided it was time. Greased up the chain, wiped off the dust and took the Skyline for a spin.
The first ride after winter is always disorienting: the handlebars are so narrow; the bike feels a bit tippy, and I can roll for so long with just a few rotations of the cranks.
Another lovely feature of the summer bike is being able to trip the garage door. I don't know if it's the tires or something about the alloy of the frame, but The Fatgirl is rarely able to trigger the garage door to open.i often need to spend several minutes passing soda pop cans over the cuts in the pavement that hit at where the induction loop is buried. (A single errant can, dribbling past can trip the door when I'm dumpster diving for scrap metal but somehow several cans artfully placed in that exact spot struggle to do it.)
The bars are so wide -- and I sometimes have a big load hanging off other side of the rear rack -- that it's really unpleasant to try to navigate a narrow hallway and multiple doors. So I persist but I grumble.
Thus I'm very grateful to save garage door opening time with the Skyline (and Omafiets) who can with a single roll prompt the door to open.
Blue skies and smooth sailing from here on. Except of course, when they're grey and pouring rain.
PS I'm also on Bluesky and finding it just as much fun as Twitter but minus the fascist, white-supremacist, narcissist, empathy-despising owner.
Comments