Pedal Strike

I firmly believe there are three kinds of sweat: the hot, dry kind of casual summer rides around town, the squeamishly humid kind that won’t ever seem to abate, and last but not least [and possibly the best], the drenching, dripping, addicting kind that can only be a product of a decent training ride.

I’ve been experiencing too much of the second kind these days.

And even if I’ve spent the past few days running around NYC, then Boston, with someone who’s already seen me sweaty and eyeliner-less, it’s still bothering me. The sweat, that is. Or, more accurately, the sweat/rainwater mix that necessitates cycling in a soft shell jacket which can never ventilate fast enough and instead wraps me up in its suffocating, sauna-like grip. By the time I get to work, I’m almost dizzy with dehydration.

Okay, it’s not that bad. But when you have a friend visiting, the rain tends to really kill your plans. Thank God, though, that M1 loves good coffee, because other than my favorite bike shops [IBC and CB], I’m only capable of hanging out at places where I can cradle a good Americano.

So after a [too early] Sunday morning bus ride back to Boston, that’s exactly what I was doing at Cafe Fixe, savoring an intensely dark Americano in small sips until I felt my heart pumping that rich brown liquid through my veins. Caffeine buzzing in my brain, I wondered what I would do without promises of coffee waiting for me before, after, and in between rides [the answer being “be more of a complete raging psycho-bitch”].

Especially when the weather outside makes you simultaneously shiver and sweat; the rain sticking to your skin and mixing with that humid steam that won’t stop pouring out of your pores. And especially when, in typical New England style, you finally jump back onto your bike after taking shelter under some scaffolding because you think the rain’s let up, only to be caught in a mini hurricane on your way across the Mass Ave bridge.

At least there were more friends and a piping hot Americano waiting for me on the other side.

If I keep this up, stock prices for espresso beans is going to skyrocket.

Tags:   boston · cafe fixe · coffee · espresso · m1 · nyc · sweaty3 Comments