Tuesday was, as it was, the most stressful day of the past week. Tuesdays are typically my “biking before work” days. Now that we are in this short period of early sunrises, I am trying very hard not to miss any of these opportunities. However, that meant going to work a little bit later to make a longer bike ride, and I was debating with myself whether I should cut some time off my already congested day. Finally, I decided that the weather was too nice to miss and that I would get both more energized and more relaxed if I went. So I did.

There is a 2.5-mile ride through the streets before I get to the Lake Front Trial, and when I was almost there (I was just about to make the last turn towards the lake), I suddenly saw a message on my watch: Your keys are no longer near you. Last seen on Farewell… It was a little bit chilly at 5 AM on Tuesday, and I put on a different biking jacket and didn’t pull a zipper all the way up after I got out of the bike room, so somehow, the keys fell off. I didn’t even realize at first that I was already very far away from the keys, and started to walk back, looking down at the road. A minute later it registered to me, that the keys were lost on Farewell, and that ten minutes on the bike on the empty streets would take you very far from your starting point.

I got back on the bike and biked back to where my phone was saying the keys were left, and was imagining all sorts of things that could happen if somebody took them. The phone was showing the keys at the same location, but no guarantee it was the whole case, not just the AirTag. Finally, I reached the turn to Farewell, and when I turned left i immediately saw the case with the keys in the middle of the road! It was a relief, and for a moment I started thinking whether I should go back for a bike ride :). Then I decided that I do not have enough time for anything more than just reaching the Lake Front, and that I can go down to the gym for 20 min.

So I continued my ride home, put my bike back to the bike room, climbed up to my apartment and took the apartment key out. It won’t fit into the lock! I took a look and realized that at least one car went over my key case! The key was badly bended. Several people have my keys, but no one whom I would dare to disturb at 5-40 AM!

i was desperate. I stepped on the key trying to straighten it, and I did it – a little bit. And then, I managed to push it all the way in, and the door was unlocked! I was even able to pull it out, but that was it – I was unable to push it in one more time. Fortunately, I had several extra copies of the apartment key, so I just replaced it.

… when the day started like that, it was very difficult to convince myself that it’s not the end of the world, and the rest of the day will be fine! (spoiler alert – it ended up well!)