Living Car Free - Yesterday was a good day to be car free...

...because if I'd had a car, I wouldn't have gone out in that snow without a metal roof and a heater, and then I would have got stuck in the queues as BMWs (always seemed to be BMWs) got stuck on gentle slopes, doing slow-motion powerslides; buses went sideways; and the police closed roads while they got a tractor to tow the gritting lorry up the hill.

I didn't take my bike either, I'm not convinced a Brompton with standard tyres is the ideal transport when 6 inches of snow has fallen overnight, and more is falling all the time. Instead I pulled on some sturdy boots, and an army surplus coat with a hood, and went for a walk in a winter wonderland, looking like the snowman when I got back. Oh how I laughed at all the wheelspinning cars, at the people giving up trying to move them out of the parking spaces, with sheer joy at being outside in the snow! :D

I'm with you--if a lot of snow has fallen recently, and especially if it's still falling, I usually walk instead of riding. I have an MTB with studded tires, so for me the main issue for me is visibility. Between the whiteout conditions and the snow and ice caking on my glasses, it seems safer to walk.

When I get to work in those conditions, I have beaten my co-workers there. They all come in complaining about how horrible the driving was. Me? I feel blessed because I spent time in the snow, which somehow makes the city streets seem like a country landscape.

I love waving to all the people shoveling out their cars as I walk by. It makes me feel blessed to be one of a few people in on the secret that our own two legs work as an excellent means of transportation.

Monday was probably the worst commuting day I have ever experienced. There were cars everywhere, many of them lined up for blocks. There was a forecast of a Christmas storm, so they all decided not to go home via the freeway but to stay in town and visit the stores.

One nice thing about the freeway: it's a real car sink.