It’s ok to unclench your hands and jaw now, but don’t get too comfortable, close to home is where most people get into accidents.

Every year, when the snow hits, I’m a little surprised at how un-slippery it is.  It feels a bit out of control while your tires are finding the pavement, but people expect it to feel like riding on a skating rink – years ago I did – but it compares much better to riding on a beach.

Every year I remember that I meant to buy goggles. When I rode to work yesterday I didn’t realize I had the wind in my back. I also didn’t realize it would keep snowing all day long. I might have left my bike at home, but I hate to be stuck walking after a storm when the sun has come out, and everything has been cleared.

I worked hard coming home! I had to hop off and push through a few stretches of soft ‘n’ fluffy. Intersections are difficult because the criss-cross of tire tracks turns into sort of a maze of snowbanks. But the biggest hurdle last night was the wind. It’s hard to hop back on the bike, when both the ground and the air are keeping you from gaining momentum. There was lots of traffic, presumably Christmas shoppers. They didn’t seem as frantic and desperate (and dangerous) as last year, or maybe it’s still early. I didn’t enjoy the masses of cars, but without their ruts I woudn’t have ridden at all!

I keep forgetting, the city waits a certain amount of time before they plough/ re-plough the streets. Surprisingly, a lot of the sidewalks were clear! A matter of timing, I suppose.

My usual 15 minute trip home took me 45 minutes.  After about 10 I was just a big wet sponge of sweat, my eyes were watering because snow flakes feel like needles in that wind – a visor can’t keep out horizontal precipitation – and my eyebrows were riddled with icicles because condensation was coming up from my covered mouth and nose. But when I got home and upstairs into the warmth, I felt calm.

I never ride fast or far, so cardio is not part of my daily riding experience, but it was last night!