Bad Idea, But I'm in One Piece!

Getting to work on Friday was a not so fun 2.5-3 hour deal. Today, I had no idea if the situation would be better or worse, so I began thinking about alternative ways to get to work. I had planned to get up very early to catch the earliest bus from the Oakdale campus, however, that plan did not work out so well. I just could not get up at 5:05 am. I contemplated driving in, wondering if that might get me there quicker, but then thought about all the gas ($$) wasted if I sat in stop-and-go traffic for 2 hours like I did on the bus Friday. So I had the brilliant idea of riding my bike to work. It didn't seem that far and a lot of it was down hill. Surely it had to be quicker than it was on Friday!
So I got dressed, packed work clothes, a water bottle, and some granola bars in my back pack, and got my tires all pumped up with air. Off I set down the North Liberty-Coralville bike trail. It was breezy and nice and I thought to myself "this isn't bad". However, when I was already somewhat tired by the time I actually got out of North Liberty, I knew it wasn't good. But my decision had already been made, I had to press forward. So yes, I rode my bike approximately 11 miles into work this morning, and rode it those same 11 grueling miles back this afternoon. It took me about an hour and a 15 minutes on the way in and about an hour and a half on the way back.
This was not a good idea. Maybe if I was one of those people who biked and worked out all the time, it wouldn't have been so bad, but I'm pretty sure I haven't ridden my bike for at least a year. To make matters worse there was NO traffic this morning. Seriously, none! I might have had more satisfaction if, as I was slowly cranking my way up those hills with my bike in the lowest gear, I was passing cars just sitting in traffic, but this was not to be. Instead cars and buses quickly drove by as I became more and more exhausted and way more sweaty.
Here's some things that I learned in my journey today:

1) There must be A LOT of "non-essential" workers at UI. These people have a week off (paid) and it made a SERIOUS difference in traffic.
2) I sweat, a lot when I'm working out. Really, a lot.
3) Riding ~20-22 miles in one day when you haven't ridden a bike in a year is just asking for pain.
4) There is no shame in walking your bike up some hills on the way home.
5) There is no shame in being passed by fellow bikers, even if they appear to be 50 year old men.
6) Capanna makes a really nice place to rest and recuperate before completing those last two miles. And my iced vanilla latte tasted really, really good!
7) There is an amazing sense of satisfaction when you finally complete the task!
7) Always, always take the bus to work!!!

If nothing else, at least my adventure resulted in approximately 950 calories burned today!!!