Unmatched grace and elegance

I ride my bike to work every day. When it is nice, it is really, really nice: along the Embarcadero with beautiful views of the bridge and the water. And when it is nasty, it is really really nasty. The wind whips and howls especially fiercely along the waterfront and even in full body rain gear I still seem to end up soaked and with a line of grit from the street up my back courtesy of my back wheel.

Today it looks really, really nice but don't be fooled - it is like a sandstorm without the sand out there. Big winds coming from all directions. I discovered this repeatedly on my ride into the office today when the wind kept trying to throw me in front of cars.

Even on a non-windy day, the trickiest part of the ride is the home stretch which is a narrow wooden ramp up onto a raised deck and the front door. No big deal, usually, but it can feel a little precarious.

Today as I swooped around the corner and onto the ramp, there was a woman walking down it, as well. This is not usually the case. I slowed down and was about to hop off my bike to walk the rest of the way when a big gust of wind rushed over us and, at the same time, my heel got caught in the pedal on the side I was planning to dismount on. That was the same moment when she walked right between me and the railing. I wouldn't say I fell on her, but I definitely leaned heavily on her squashing her against the railing for a solid 25 seconds as I struggled to get my balance and she struggled to escape. My muttered apologies didn't seem to help. She ran away.