First Day Driving To Work

I can recall my first attempt at bringing my bike to work. It was quite the experience that day....
5:40am: Snooze button
5:50am: Snooze button
6:00am: Snooze button
(What can I say, I love my sleep!)
6:10am: Day finally begins.
6:30am: Thoroughly impressed with my ability for detail. I have dressed accordingly for the trip. Remembered my glasses. Remembered a change of clothes for when I arrived at work, including some sandals. Remembered my rain suit "just incase" since there was only a 30% chance of rain....but the weatherman's been forecasting that for three weeks and we haven't seen a drop yet!
6:40am: Taking bike out of shed. Get snagged on garden hose and tip bike. Notice I have broken the knob off of my brake lever and put a slight scratch on the plastic hand shields.
6:50am: Still trying to lift the bike up. In a frantic dash, run over to neighbours and ask for assistance.
6:55am: Test brakes and give the bike a once-over. Bike seems fine, so it's time to go. Give a quick (and utterly embarassed) thank you to my extremely helpful neighbour and off I go.
7:10am: 1/3 of the way to work. No stalls yet. Seems to good to be true........
7:11am: ........Turns out to be too good to be true. I realize that a fundamental part of the plastic shield that covers the radiator area (ie the nuts and bolts that hold it in place) are missing when the shield pops off and starts flapping in the wind, held on by only one nut. Now reconsider my "thoroughness to detail" strongly. The problems turn out to be quite the inconvenience, but I arrive at work safe and sound!
7:59am: Thoroughly impressed that I even made it to work on time despite the blips along the way. (Perhaps not picking up a Timmies on the way saves some time......though the withdrawal symptoms left something to be desired!) I park on the flattest area of the lot that I can find so that my bike will be in a sturdy location while I'm away.
12:00pm: Take a trip to Langford Lumber in Clinton, ON where the extremely helpful man working at the store assists me in reattaching the plastic shield properly. Thank goodness for small town hospitality!
4:00pm: Work day is over! Excited to go home.....until I look outside in horror. My clever idea of parking on the flattest surface possible turns out to be not so clever afterall. Aside from the fact that I must now drive home in a torrential downpour, the storm drain has backed up and my bike is parked directly in the middle of a 6" deep puddle. Curse the weatherman for being right about the rain for a change.
4:05pm: Hail the size of peas starts. Curse the weatherman for being wrong about the hail.
4:10pm: Resign myself to the fact that the rain probably won't let up, and figure that if I'm to be a true biker, I better be ready for driving in inclement weather. Besides, I should welcome the chance to try out my new rainsuit.
5:30pm: Return home at last. Looking like a drowned rat, but all in one piece. Now's a good time for that long overdue Timmies!!!!

Lessons Learned:
Driving behind gravel trucks hurts.
Hail also hurts.
Running shoes can double as sponges when necessary.