There are times...

…When it sounds crazy to hop on a bike first thing in the morning.

Like all summer in South Texas. Technically, summer started today. It’s been in the 90s for weeks already, however, with heat indexes (indeces?) of 110-115. When I start out at 6am, I pass one of those rotating message boards, and the temperature has never once been lower than 82 degrees. At 6am.

Not so tough in the morning, but come afternoon I’m happy to hop on a bus. The $1.25 I pay for the Express Commuter shuttle from downtown saves me an hour in the sun (I am so terribly pale) and possible heat stroke, so it’s well worth it to me.

That being said, I’ll be overjoyed when it cools off enough that I can make the full 18-mile roundtrip commute by bike!

For the record, the bicycle I commute on is a 2006 Dahon Cadenza (seen to the left). It folds, which I love, so is easily stowed in a closet. It's got a mountain bike frame and road bike tires, which makes it comfy on the admittedly horrendous roads here.