What happened:
- Esri Canada announced that the monthly company update would be another “in-person” event this month. i.e. come in to the office and people will be there as well as lunch.
- Snow came.
- Ian and I got his bike ready for winter riding, and I put my studded tires on my gravel bike too.
I’ve never really done winter bike commuting. In years past, I haven’t had studded tires and whenever there was a significant threat of icy roads, I’ve taken the train. My crash of 2016 was an example of what happened when I tried starting my bike commuting season too early and found ice. I knew studded tires would solve the problem, but I never seriously considered it. I had my indoor virtual riding to keep fit. But then last year Ian insisted on giving winter bike riding a try. I guess he really didn’t like riding the bus to high school. When buying Ian studded tires last year, I got some for myself. I didn’t really have a plan, but thought maybe I’d get some pathway rides in during the winter. I got out a few times, but not many.
Today was the first time that everything aligned. The temperature was -11. There was no forecast snow. I took clothing cues from Ian (he’s the experienced one!) and bundled up and headed out. It was a success, and I got to work safely. However:
- I was pretty slow: it was over an hour to get to work. I didn’t have any early meetings, thank goodness.
- I was actually overdressed on top. I was sweating by the time I got to work, which wasn’t planned.
- I didn’t see any other cyclists until I got to Montgomery. I was a little later than “rush hour”
- Since I stayed on paths and back roads, I never had any issues with cars or trucks.
I headed out from work a little before three, and dressed lighter on the way home. My backpack was bulging with the extra clothes in there, but I was thankful for the cooler clothing.
In Bowness, I checked the time. It was 3:27, and I knew the Ian would be getting out of school soon. I decided not to meet him at school, but try to meet up with him along the way. I rode to the 85th Street bridge on the north side of the river, and then stopped and checked Find My. Sure enough, Ian came into view on the south side of the river in moments. I paced him as we converged on the climb up to Tuscany and we rode home together from there.
I don’t expect this to be a regular thing: it’s very convenient to take the train to the office. However, it could be an occasional change of pace.
Until today, I might have added “and I don’t really go the office very often” to that. However, things might be changing. As usual, going into the office today, I was met with the usual issues with being productive:
- I have a permanent cubicle desk, but since COVID, I took my good equipment home, so it feels like “camping” with a blurry monitor, crappy keyboard, etc.
- My days are dominated by Teams video calls, and doing them in a cubicle farm makes me self-conscious, as I don’t want to speak quietly or mumble, but then I don’t want to annoy all the people around me. I can pick up my laptop and sit in a meeting room or an empty office, but I can’t really do that 3 to 8 times per day.
I’ve maintained that my job changed enough during COVID (remote meetings via Teams, not to mention now managing a team that is across Canada) that I really couldn’t be effective at the office without being able to close the door.
Today, with a fair number of people in the office, it struck me how all but one of the offices on the west side of the building were empty, either through people working remotely, or two new vacancies from Sepideh leaving and Dave. G. moving to Canmore. I decided to speak to the Regional Director (who is effectively the landlord) about the possibility of having a door I could close. I wasn’t really prepared for him to jump right on it and offer Sepideh’s old office. He was very emphatic and told me to email Facilities to tell them and move my stuff right in.
Things are going to change. I have an office for the first time since 2000 at Timberline when I briefly had one.
