Another real cycling adventure!

My Sunday morning commute :-)

I have so much to say about yesterday, which was Hellesen family day (and one of my favorite days of my abroad experience), but today is reserved for studying for a huge exam that I have on Tuesday and finishing a Danish presentation. However, I simply do not want to wait until tomorrow (or later) to share this morning's accomplishment, which allowed me to check my #1 item off my Denmark Bucket List: riding my bike all the way from home to school.

It may not sound like something that is a huge deal, but from the day that I arrived, I've longed to be confident enough with my bike skills and my knowledge of the city's layout and bike rules to take the trip from home to school the way that many Danes would... 100% by bike.

my directions from GoogleMaps (though I took a slight variation)

Yes parents, I did wear my helmet since I was biking in the city ;-)

The ride was AMAZING... the weather is so beautiful and with the bike lanes (that are as wide as car lanes) and the mini bike traffic lights (and Lars' instruction beforehand) it could not have been easier or more enjoyable. I biked past huge fields, a giant lake, the zoo, my volunteering job, Central Station, Tivoli (the theme park) and through the heart of the city. Amazingly, it only took me 41 minutes (which is shorter than a commute on the bike/train on a Sunday)! I am a little sweaty from a giant hill and powering it out as I sped down the roads, but I could not feel better. The the ease with which I stopped and started at intersections, the beauty of the scenes I passed, and the comfort of realizing that I know these city streets so well left me feeling like I was flying on top of the world! Look how far I've come, I kept thinking to myself, and then put out my hand to signal a turn.
I'm now sitting in an empty classroom in DIS. I've pushed all the windows open, letting sunlight and fresh air stream in. I've got to get down to work learning my 16 chapters of material (that's 790 pages of textbook) and finalizing my portion of a powerpoint, but I do so with a sense of pride and inner peace. It all goes back to the knowledge that regardless of my grades on these upcoming assignments, I've done what I set out to do. :-)