Rides We Like: Out of Office Wednesday #ooow Ride
Things have been busy around the office, so much so I’ve gone the longest time without posting an article. The full time has occupied much of the focus throughout these summer months. Add a strong dosage of near-daily thunderstorms accompanied by 99% humidity and heat, and outdoor rides have been hard to bag. Canceled events have left a scrambled calendar. Then there’s Pennsylvania’s insistence of chipping nearly every surrounding road, and riding morphed into a chore instead of an escape.
I learned the phrase ‘Out of Office Wednesday’ - or the hashtag #ooow - from the Netherlands-based cycling sock boutique Sockeloen. They even have a sock devoted to the concept. An American job could never, but Out of Office Wednesday is where Sockeloen gets out of the office during the normal work day and hits Netherlands gravel. Or sand. It’s a work/ culture approach that would certainly foster primo morale. Imagine each Wednesday every company went out for a bike ride from clock in to clock out and how much enjoyment there would be.
Today I needed to get out of the office. The initial plan was to prep the asphalt bike but #ooow is a gravel event at Sockeloen. Subliminally I already pulled on the Sockeloen Classic Cycling Sock (worn by World Champions) before I found myself pulling the gravel beast off the bike rack. Then the Sockeloen water bottle was slid into the cage and off I went onto recently ravaged Bucks County roads. The route was already established.
The day was heating up, and being late morning, time was of the essence. Luckily, the creakybottombracket.com office is located near several gravel sectors. Cruising the downhill opening miles, and thoughts of work were forcibly extinguished. A gentle tailwind encouraged the first paved sections with ease to enhance the relaxation. Minimal mid-day traffic added to the calm, as did a pedestrian mom pushing a stroller with a balance bike hanging from the push bar, her second child doing loops in the middle of the road on a pink balance bike. This had all the makings of soft outing.
Enter PennDOT. Those who have read articles on the site know the complete disdain for PennDOT. Recently the department has raised the outrage of many residents on account of their endless chipping and sealing program. Roads miles long are chipped as well as the bisecting roads. Today the route had to access sticky miles of tar to reach the gravel loops. It felt like what could only be described as the Labrea Tar Pits for cyclists. No workers were ever seen, but the smudged cones were moved on the return trip. It was the first time riding over sealant-only roads.
Tucked behind a tavern in Ottsville are two gravel roads. The old Fools Classic - now Bucks Gravel - uses both sectors. There’s the hilly Oak Grove/ Gruver Road sector as well as the ever-enjoyable Randts Mill gravel sector. Consigning to two laps, Randts Mill turns onto Oak Grove Road to make a continuous gravel sector for maximum enjoyment. It was within these two loops that enjoyment was discovered. Issues with no resolution gave way to clarity. Stubbornness yielded to devotion. Frustrations wrung out of a demure cloth. Even if for only an hour. It helps that the Randts Mill gravel section is slightly downhill on the way back with chicane at the end for good measure. It was also the farthest point from the office twice on the route.
The route kept getting bumped longer. After passing over the infernal sealed read portion a second time, it was decided to skip the return road and wander a little farther west. This is always a good sign: the desire to ride for a few more minutes. Out of the office longer is always a delight. Toward the end, the fall events schedule gained clarity, not certainty. An article finally materialized to get posted. All this from stepping outside the office on a Wednesday.
I didn’t expect to find answers on the ride, but to be out of the office and on a bike was enjoyable for the reasons any day off would be - those who reported to work are missing out while the bike is being ridden. Or that at the same time we summited Oak Grove Road, we would have been in a meeting a dozen miles away.
Next time the company asks, “What can be done for morale?” Think about Sockeloen’s approach and suggest work lets everyone go for a bike ride for the entire business day. It’ll never fly, but as I’ve said before, what’s the worst that could happen? They say no?
