In theory, riding a Jump bike with an electric assist should have been my fastest route downtown yesterday morning. In theory, an hour and a half should have been plenty of time for me to walk to my reserved bike, ride around the top of the city to the Ferry Building in order to purchase my overpriced (but fantastic-smelling) deodorant, then arrive at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in time for a noon event. Theories don’t always hold true.
What actually happened yesterday was this. I practiced longer than planned (the Act II finale of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro is 20 minutes long, after all) then I changed my outfit twice (I need something appropriate for both biking and museum). I left the house with barely over an hour to spare then walked several blocks to the nearest bike. The electric assist wasn’t working and neither were the gears but I hopped on and decided to give it my best shot. By the time I’d pushed my 70 lb bike up the Arguello hill I’d decided that I needed a replacement. I flew down the Arguello hill (fun fact: broken assist means there’s no downhill speed regulation) and found a slew of bikes at the bottom. I attempted to terminate my ride but the app wasn’t working, which meant I also couldn’t pick another bike, which meant my time for shopping was dwindling. I finally reached someone on the phone for assistance and after taking all of my information short of social security number she asked “and you’re in New York City, right?”
Eventually I managed to return one bike and find another that was fully functioning but by this point I was out of extra time and just hoped to make it to the museum by noon.
As I zipped by the marina green and saw the parents and babies out for SoccerTots, I remembered how my kids loved soccer. Aviv spent classes picking flowers and singing into the orange cones. Eitan was perfectly coordinated and did everything the teacher asked, if and when he felt like it.
Further on, as I climbed the hill above Fort Mason I thought of the time Mom and I rented a tandem bike at Fisherman’s wharf with the intention of riding across the bridge and taking the ferry back. Between the steep incline, the seat heights being slightly too tall for both of us and the challenge of coordinating the bike mount while simultaneously beginning to pedal, the hill nearly beat us. In the end, we accomplished our goal but agreed that next time we’d ride our own bikes.
I passed Aquatic Park, where three crazy people were swimming in the bay without wetsuits. I thought fondly back to my Team in Training days and one of my first groggy early morning Wildflower training swims with the crew. I’d intended to wet my hair down pre-swim so my cap would go on easier but instead of water, I doused myself with sticky sports drink. After that I was fully awake.
The Ferry Building appeared on my left with the beautiful Bay Bridge panorama beside it. As I pedaled the final blocks down Howard I texted Ariel my location while holding a bike glove in my teeth and navigating between cars. I parked in front of the CJM as the Tuesday noon emergency sirens sounded.
My ride home was less eventful but more challenging because I was stuffed full of Wise Son’s kale and pastrami caesar, carrying my new gorgeous Sababa cookbook, and riding into the headwind. I did manage to stock up on deodorant first and my bike was noisy but delivered me to Eitan’s school right on time.
While I prefer using my own muscles to power a bike (my knee is finally healthy enough to ride!), I love the speed of an electric assist and the peace of mind knowing my bike won’t get stolen off a rack downtown. I don’t plan on using Jump very often but it beats the bus on any sunny day.
the workout: 16 mile ride, 1,194 ft climbing, pushing 70 lb bike up steep hill
Laura's Training On the GO 