Afternoon Appointment

[emptysea]

"No. No, I can not."

That is my simple, sometimes terse, reply to the oft-stated assumption, "You own your own business; you can take off whenever you want to." The reality is that I have family, clients, staff, who count on me to be at work. Besides, I like what I do. Insurance is not a glamorous profession, but I get to help people with my knowledge and guidance. Not bad.

Running my own show, while not allowing me to just disappear, does allow me a little flexibility in my schedule. The forecast for Februaury 1 in Chicago was for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature of 45F. It rained the night before so the roads were a bit icy in the morning, but when I saw that the forecast was coming to fruition, the streets were drying out, and my immediate obligations to work were minimal, I made the executive decision to tell my staff "You guys keep working hard, I'm going for a ride. See ya." Well, actually I told them that I had an appointment at 2:00 and that I wouldn't make it back to the office by 5:00. I figured that was better than explaining that I have to ride in February in order to get to 24 consecutive riding months, that the weekend forecast looks bad for riding, that I'm going to be out of town the following weekend, blah, blah.

Got home, geared up, and on the bike by 2:30 (which, by the way, is the perfect time for a dental appointment). I rode a loop which I have described here many times--along the Skokie Lagoons, east to the Lake, north on Sheridan Rd. to IL176, west to St. Mary's Rd., and then back south toward home.

All the curvy sections of road, of which there are few, are shaded or low-lying and were still wet when I rode them. Slowly. I stopped at a few places to look out at Lake Michigan which is a different kind of beautiful in the winter months.

The return trip was not especially fun since the Monday evening rush hour had begun, but it was still better than being at work. Got home 62 miles later, 24 riding months completed, and with a core body temp slightly below 98.6. My "appointment" was very productive and, as it turned out, I had a real work appointment for dinner, so was able to punctuate the day with a martini and a prime rib sandwich. Not bad.

Sometimes, you just have to get a grip on your workday.


What a difference 7 months make.

LSD Group Ride, June 2015


February 1, 2016


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