back in the saddle again

Well it seems Spring has sprung here in Oslo. The weather is frikkin' GORGEOUS. I have had my bike out for almost two weeks, I think everyone is freaking out at such an early early spring. Last year at this time I was definitely still bundled up in my coat.

That doesn't mean I won't be in it again, of course, the weather can change on a dime, but I am enjoying my feet being free of socks and I hereby declare that from now until fall I am Officially Tights Free. No more tights for this girl.

All of Oslo is outside right now, and most of them are congregating at the coffee house beneath our apartment. Oh the conglomeration of hipsters and trendsters and faux blondes with nerpy little purse dogs....it's quite the scene. (I like my apartment, and I like the location of the neighborhood, but some of the people around here? A bit too Kardashian for my liking.)

It has been so NICE being on my bike again. So much fun. I am braver now and am riding on the roads, following the car rules, the wierdest one for Americans being the one that at a crossroads, you yield to the right. So there's no stop signs, and not that many stoplights, you just yield to whoever comes from the right, even if you are on what looks like a bigger road, someone can come shooting out of a side road right in front of you, so you have to watch out. So I have to constantly remind myself of that.

Anyhow, besides the road riding, the BEST part is that I am SO much stronger than last year and I can totally handle the hills that last year kicked my ass. I am really rather proud of myself, and a bit surprised. I just assumed those hills would always be hard and would kick my ass. I don't know, I didn't really think that I had made progress that was measurable in such a physical, noticeable way, you know? And now that they are not quite so hard (I'm still breathing hard, of course, but damned if my legs can't handle it so much better!) I can range farther and push myself a bit on the bike riding. This is a real sea change for me, because last year I really had to force myself to ride the bike and psych myself for the hills, and now I just go up them, and it ain't that bad.

Pleased as punch, I am, and now a whole new, faster, and non-bus way to get around town.

I love spring and summer in Norway. I put up with fall and winter just for this.