I got better things on the other side of town....

Since I started cycling to work at the back end of summer last year, I have only driven to work a couple of times: appointment at the dentist; visit to the clinic at hospital... that sort of stuff.  I feel like I put in the hard yards through the winter, so now I'm really starting to enjoy the warmer days, the lighter mornings and the stretched out evenings where I don't need to ride home with my bike lights on.  In fact, it's hard not to look at the people in the bikesheds at work who have clearly only started cycling in since the clocks changed without a tiny touch of resentment.  Dammit!  Where the hell were you in the dark days of December? The hardcore have earned this!  At least these newbies could park at the back of the shed or something, right?

Tsk.

I've cycled 1,250 miles backwards and forwards from the office since August last year.  That's mostly in 4 mile bursts, but that's just about long enough to clear my head.  Eight miles a day, five days a week.  Sometimes a bit further when I ride to the gym.  When I can't cycle, I really miss it.

A combination of a blood test - gotta make sure that beta-interferon isn't killing my liver - and an away day meant I needed to use the car today.  Never mind.  We finished early enough that at least I was going to be able to get to the gym earlier than usual for a swim.  Well... except that Nottingham's shitty rush hour traffic meant that I spent all that extra time sitting in a queue of traffic with people carving each other up to gain a perceived fractional advantage by changing lane.

I've never missed my bike more.

Maybe all that time on my bike has robbed me of the aggression needed to drive a car in traffic?  Or does riding a bike through traffic require even more anger*?  Perhaps it's best for everyone if I just stick to the cyclepaths on the way to work, eh?

* I stop at red lights, by the way.  I'm not one of those cyclists.