Great commute this morning after the worst ride of the winter yesterday afternoon. I forgot to hang up my base shirt and cycling shorts when I got changed yesterday morning, so my clothes were damp and cold when I get dressed to leave in the afternoon. It was one of the coldest afternoon commutes of the winter, with temps in the low 40s and winds gusting to 30 mph, and wet clothes didn't help. The winds were out of the NW, so that meant I had headwinds almost all the way home.

This morning was a complete reversal in fortune, despite the coldest temperatures in March I can ever remember. It was 23 F when I left my house and didn't warm up any, but the winds had lightened up from yesterday and weren't blowing in my face. For one of my few commutes ever, I made it from my house all the way downtown (13 miles) without catching a single red light. This is remarkable because I pass through about 15 traffic signals on the way there and usually catch at least half of them. Plus, it seems like I usually catch more lights on very cold days. I did catch a couple of lights once I got downtown, but it is virtually impossible to get all greens there because the lights are not synched correctly and there are so many of them. I was quite thirsty when I got to the office because I usually drink while stopped at red lights, but my water bottle was frozen due to the cold.

One other item of note. I passed another cyclist about 6:45 am going the opposite direction who did not appear to be a commuter because he wasn't carrying any gear. It was still dark and the dude was dressed entirely in black with no headlight. I didn't even notice him until I heard him breathing as he was nearly invisible. What a freakin idiot. Did people like this think they have a force shield protecting them?