Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1785:

Over the weekend we got about 1/4" of snow on top of a thin layer of ice, which made the roads really slick. I assumed I would have to pull my winter bike with studded tires out of storage and get it tuned up for Monday's commute. Unfortunately, due to some other serenity consuming events that happened this weekend, I never got around to prepping the winter bike. By Monday morning enough of the snow and ice had melted that I felt comfortable riding my hybrid bike and just dodging the ice patches.

This morning (Tuesday) the ice was 95% clear, so I took the road bike. The temp was 14°F, but there was barely any wind. I'm slowly donning my winter skin. My legs and feet were pretty numb by the time I made it the 8 miles to the office, but the rest of me wasn't doing too bad.

There was a full moon this morning, and it was as bright of a moon as I've probably ever seen. There were no clouds in the sky and the moonlight lit up the MUP pretty well. Too bad I only encountered one other person out enjoying the moonlight on the MUP.

My cut-off for switching from glasses to goggles is 20°F, which meant this morning I was wearing goggles. Unfortunately, when I wear goggles I don't have my "take a look" mirror available. Riding in traffic without a mirror is much more harrowing than riding with one. I crossed one intersection and began to signal for my left turn which happens immediately after I cross, when suddenly a car sped by me on the left side. I was fully in the lane which meant they deliberately chose to pass me in the intersection. I would have seen it happening with my mirror. With the goggles it was a sudden surprise.

There's a part of my commute where I have to cross one of the busiest roads in the state. This intersection is controlled by stoplights but for some reason, this morning they were in flashing mode. I don't think I've ever seen this intersection in flashing mode, even in the middle of the night. The street I was on had the flashing red light, and the busy street I was trying to cross had the flashing yellow. Given the amount of traffic on the road I was crossing and the fact that they didn't have to stop for the flashing yellow light meant that I stood at the intersection for quite a while hoping for a break in traffic. Eventually I realized the break wasn't going to happen, so I had to play Frogger and do some dicey moves to get across. I hope they have the lights repaired by the time I leave the office.

The hot shower after I arrived at work felt glorious. I was five minutes late getting to my desk because I was thoroughly enjoying the warmth.