Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

• Once upon a time, it was possible to ride a century, shower, and put in a full day at the office.

  Once upon a time, it was possible to ride a century, rest, and put in a half day at the office.

  Once upon a time, it was possible to ride a century, and be able to walk the following morning.

  Apparently, these times are no longer those times.

  And so after putting in a half day from the (home) office, I limped down a few flights of stairs and shuffled through the snow over to the Batavus Old Dutch. Oh, Old Dutch: so stoic, so sober! You make my other rigs seem so frivolous and trivial! With an insatiable craving for raw chard, I knew my legs wouldn't last the few blocks to the grocery, so it was up to the Batavus to schlepp me there and home again.

  Living in a neighborhood with only occasional road salting, it was no surprise that my street was slick and slippery. Despite only a day's accumulation of snow, drivers were having a little difficulty overcoming inertia and keeping their cars pointed in the right direction. There were walkers out, to be sure, but mainly those of the canine-accompanying variety. And so, despite it clearly being the most ideal method of transport for the job, I rode to the chard store and back -- the only cyclist in sight.

  A stomach full of chard later, I'm only a little less miserable. There are eight more hours of debugging ahead of me, a couple of hours of rest, then Ice Cross 2.3, which I am very seriously considering contesting on the Batavus, as I don't think I can lift my leg high enough to dismount anything else.