No, it isn't. Sometimes, a problem is just a problem. There's often a way to make a profit of some kind off the problem, but it can be way less than was lost because of the problem.
That being said, today (and it should be noted that I often use "today" to refer to "since I last slept" rather than "during this actual calendar day" as a result of my work schedule), a problem did become an opportunity. I commute largely by bicycle. Part of the shortest, and as a result most common, route includes a drawbridge. Today, on the way to work, it got closed to traffic and raised just as I was approaching it. I had taken other, longer routes before, but always with guidance from a map program. Knowing that my route had just gotten much longer, I turned around and gambled that I knew the route well enough to not waste time taking my cellphone from my pack, mounting it to my handlebars, and plugging in the route. My gamble was successful, and I arrived with just enough time to shower, having had my overall route length increased by 50%. I felt forced into performing, and that too on a day when I started my ride feeling a bit sluggish, but it was an opportunity to excel.
Thank heaven for planning some spare time in for contingencies.
Which got me to thinking; why make the shortest route my common route for going to work? If I'm trying to improve my performance over longer distances (as in 25 miles or more), why not commute in to work over progressively longer distances that don't include such potential obstacles as drawbridges that open on request, rather than any set schedule? I can maintain speeds in excess of 10 mph; I should be able to leave 3 hours before work starts and achieve 25 miles with time left to shower, if I work up to such a distance slowly. And if the drawbridge is raised on the way home, meh. I'm not ruining anyone's day by relieving them late. I can wait for the bridge or go around as I please.
No comments:
Post a Comment