Temperatures have dropped, rain has turned to ice, and green has turned to white. The weather out there is super poopy, as we had freezing rain on Thursday night that turned the entire city into a skating rink. To make matters worse, the rain finally turned to snow in the early hours of the morning, so for our commute to work, we had a fresh blanket of snow covering the dangerous ice beneath.
Last year, my knee injury forced me to take the bus (or walk when I was feeling adventurous) to work, but this year I’m determined to take my bike as much as possible. When I went to unlock my bike on Friday morning, it was coated with ice. I had to break the ice off the saddle and handlebars so my hands and tush wouldn’t freeze on the way to work. Biking the morning after an ice storm is not the funnest thing in the world, but one advantage is that most cars are going more slowly then usual, so I felt safe the whole way to work. Angelo also gave me a good tip: ride in the car’s tire tracks where there is less ice. Also, I think having flashing lights on my bike (even in the daylight) is key. And double mittens. Double mittens are a must!!
My commute was about 20min – which is about 5min slower than on a normal day. But that’s okay, the bike messengers are out there for 8 hours, so I really can’t complain! Here’s a video that Angelo made in the winter of 2007 (when we had record-breaking snow fall). Enjoy!