Bike-commute day 12—to work with Wagner

Somewhere before checkpoint 2, Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde took hold of my rhythm, and it carried me through to halfway between checkpoint 3 and the end of my commute. My mind's eye pictured the score for the famous Sehnsucht (longing) theme,

...and my mind's ear heard the Act 2 "Prelude" repeatedly. But my memory carries the conducting of Daniel Barenboim and the voices of Siegfried Jerusalem (Tristan) and Waltraud Meier (Isolde)—from the better recording I own of the opera. I also have the Bayreuth performance under Herbert von Karajan, with Ramon Vinay (Tristan) and Martha Mödl (Isolde); but this is a poorly produced document of a live performance that lacks much presence. On the other hand, Meier and Jerusalem through truly believable sparks between each other.

The private concert ended when I saw Pat again with his two dogs, before I crossed Woodbine. I stopped to tell him my nickname for him here: Double-Dog-Jason.

Temperature: 43 to 45°F at 07:20, 48 to 49°F at 09:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 15 mph from the south
Clothing: Top with 3 layers (Lycra longsleeve undershirt, skinsuit, arm warmers, Lycra-wool jacket); Bottom with 2 layers (skinsuit, Lycra tights); ankle socks. Full-finger Gore-tex gloves. (A bit too warm; unzipped top layer before checkpoint 2, unzipped middle layer after checkpoint 2.)
Bike: Lotus fixed-gear
Time: 0:51:00 (approx.) for 11.86 miles
Bikeway users: 2 pedestrians, 2 dogs

08:12—departing from home.
08:27—passing the zig-zag up from the Mad River Bikeway.
08:37—passing the west gate to Eastwood Park.
08:49—passing the trestle remains at Linden.
09:03—arriving at work.