Swarm!

Tomorrow is the third swarm night! I missed the last two due to packing up and moving to a new place, and my bike was in transit. And my derailleur was broken. And I was moving. And I was tired. I should stop procrastinating.

Over the weekend I fixed up my bike, replaced the chain, mended any broken pieces, and charged the light. I still can't gear into my big ring, unfortunately. I've gotta figure that one out. I'm hoping it's the derailleur and shifters and not the crank.

Swarm is a weekly occurrence here at Tippett, and only recently have we started back up. Once a week, a bunch of us gather together to ride trails in the Bay area at night. Starting around 7, we tackle a local East Bay trail (or sometimes a wicked North Bay one), and mountain bike until 10pm or so. It's a great thrill, with the temperatures much cooler, and the lack of people on the trails makes everything much nicer.

My first swarm several years ago was great. We had about fourteen people out that night, with head lights and bike lights flickering in the darkness, with no sound save for the clicking of derailleurs, the squeal of brakes, and the occasional crash. It gave me the opportunity to meet new people at Tippett that I didn't see before, or had never worked with.

Given that we work almost ten hours every day in front of a computer, it's imperative that we get out there and exercise the body! At a previous employer in Vancouver, I was able to bike to work in 15 minutes, and get home in 10. They had a shower facility, and it made it quite easy for commute! Here at Tippett we have a shower in one of the buildings, so hopefully now that I'm closer I will be able to cut down on gas (whatever gas I use up in two miles) and bike to work.