This morning it was drizzling in Madrid, the kind of rain that in Mexico we call "rain that dissuades fools", but sounds more elegant in Spanish. I debated whether to bike to work or ride the subway. As of late, I'm splitting it about half and half. Sometimes I feel like catching up on my WhatsApp messages, or reading a bit of the NYTimes or completing one of their puzzles—Oh man I've become a fully domesticated office drone so quickly!
This morning, despite the drizzle and carrying my yoga mat, I took the bike. My ride to work is not an easy one, especially at peak hour. It goes downhill from Cuatro Caminos to Nuevos Ministerios, and then steep incline uphill to República de Argentina, then an illegal ride on the bus lane towards Parque Berlín.
Biking in Madrid requires considerable skill if you are going to commute. I've biked through Mexico City, Cancún, Puebla, Montreal, Barcelona, and Toronto; and I know from experience that Madrid is the most dangerous city where I've biked. In the main avenues bike lanes are shared with cars, and when people are in a rush you must be very attentive of the intentions of each vehicle so that you can make way for them rather than "holding your ground" because it's your lane and you have the right of way.
In any case, I completed my commute this morning without much incident, other than making way for a small car that didn't see me because I came into the bike lane coming out of the bus lane, and I arrived to work in about half the time it would have taken me if I had taken the subway. I was energized and I wondered why the heck do I even take the subway if the commute is so quick and exciting. I always think this after riding the bike to work, but I never think it when I'm considering the subway or the bike.
This is just to notice: the prospect is not the outcome.
And, with the extra minutes I gained on my quick bike commute, I was able to write this entry. Now to work.