Cycling to Work

Each day, Monday to Friday, Elaine shouts in my door at, I'm guessing 6.30am to get up.
I pull on a pair of shorts and t-shirt and pack my bag, laptop, working clothes, a face cloth (explained later) and shower gel.
We leave whenever we are ready. We cycle a different way going to work than coming home, each with their own advantages & disadvantages.

Our morning journey is along more main roads and we cycle on the footpath. It is usually quite busy with people going to work and selling some stuff. People still shout at us when we cycle by which I've figured out it isn't always because they want to sell us stuff. A few times when I've heard someone shout at me, I've turned around and they just wave or ask "how are you?", seemingly proud that they can speak a bit of English. The cycle is about 8km. There is one part which I have learned to absolutely love. At a place where all the dala dalas stop, we have to abandon the path as it's too crowded and we have to cycle on the road. I love the insanity of it.
I usually keep behind one vehicle and follow it's path if I'm fast enough. Plenty of dust and exhaust in the face but there is something really fun about it all.

The main thing I hate about cycling to work is, at the entrance to the University, there is a monster of a hill to get to the building we work in. Sweat is dripping off me by the time I reach the top.
In work I take a shower. They installed a shower-head in a cubicle that contains a hole in the ground toilet, so naturally I keep my sandals on in the shower. I use the face cloth (or small towel, as I requested) to dry myself and I put on my work clothes and my cycle clothes in a plastic bag in my gear bag and go up to the office. I'm still sweating when I'm up there but as the days go on, the length it takes to cool down is reducing.

After work, I put on my cycling clothes again which is definitely not the most pleasant experience. Cycling down the hill is. I love that, which is immediately followed by on-road cycling but the other way which is on an even dustier road but still it has a fun element which I don't know why I love. We partly cycle home on smaller roads, which means more bumps, which means sitting down on the saddle of my bike is not recommended. After this, we cycle the rest of the way on the road again. There is no path and the edge of the road can sometimes be defined by a daunting 3 or 4 inch drop.

When I get home, I have a well earned shower.

I'm sure there will be alot more tales to tell but so far I've almost cycled over a stupid hen that, while dodging Elaine's bike almost ran under my wheel. (My silky cycling skills on a bumpy road saved him, although by now I'd say his head has been butchered off and his ass has been grilled)
And more recently, in a lapse of concentration, I cycled over quite a big stone which made me skid sideways and almost into the back of an old woman. I doubt she would have appreciated me knocking her over and leaving tire tracks up her back, so I'm also glad I avoided that accident.

My helmet has saved my head from 2 major bumps. Both of which occurred while I was standing beside my bike. First one, when I was unlocking my bike in the University I cracked into a ledge above me.
The 2ND was coming into Elaine's gate, I smacked my head quite hard against the wall above the gate. Maybe I just wear it all day long for safety.