The Wicked Witch of South Lamar

I recently learned that riding my bike does not always bring out the best in me. In fact, it might even bring out the worst. I am a fair-weather biking fan. As I rode from Firas's condo to downtown Austin , I was happy as a clam. We were going downhill, of course. There was a slight breeze, my leg muscles were still relaxed, we were on our way to lunch, and the only thing I had to worry about was staying in the bike lane. We made it to Lucy's where we enjoyed a mediocre lunch and a refreshing dollar mimosa... or two. The hot sun hit us hard when we walked outside, the temperature having risen at least 10 degrees. Without hesitation, we geared up and started our trek back to Firas's condo. We took a few detours on the Town Lake trails and made our way up South Congress before crossing over to South Lamar. Let's just say that by the time we crossed the South Congress bridge, I wanted to give up. Sweat was dripping from every pore on my body. I didn't want to whine, so I quietly made my way through SoCo and focused on staying upright as we navigated through the crowds of people. We took a short break in an alley before making our final move to South Lamar. It was so hot that I felt like my body was shutting down... muscles, organs, and all. I took a few ravenous swigs from our water bottle and kept telling myself that we were "almost there". One mile in, it felt like we had crossed half of the Sahara Desert. Damn you, Texas heat. I asked Firas for one more quick break before tackling the last leg, and the worst hill, of the trip. This is when my true colors bore their fangs. As I paced around the parking lot trying to find some inner energy tucked deep within, Firas thought it would be helpful to encourage me with positive thoughts. "We're so close!" "You can do it!" "Let's do this!" "We're not giving up!" "You can power through it!" Instead of receiving his good intentions with a smile and a high-five, I showed him a scarier side of me. I yammered on about how I don't need a cheerleader, how I felt like I was going to die, and how I hate Texas. It was pretty dramatic. But in all seriousness, my energy supply had depleted and I was running on empty. I finally saddled back up and followed behind Firas as we "powered through" our last big hill of the day. It went something like this... "Look, there's Gourdoughs!" "I DON'T CARE!" "Oh hey, there's LuLuBees to your left!" "STOP TALKING, I JUST WANT TO GET HOME!" He didn't seem to understand that I had very little interest in the scenery.... I had only two things on my mind: water and air conditioning. We finally made it. I apologized for being a complete lunatic. He was a good sport and laughed it off, labeling me the "Wicked Witch of South Lamar". I need to find a way to brave this heat, or I won't be riding up too many hills this summer.

P.S. I didn't really feel like I was going to die. And I don't hate Texas. I'm just not a fan of it's heat.