Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2048:

35°F this morning. It's absolutely crazy for South Dakota to have a morning temperature above freezing in January. This week has had highs in the 40s. Six years ago today I set my record for my coldest winter commute: -26°F air temperature.

Still hardly any snow on the ground, and none on the pavement. This is great for me taking the road bike to work, but terrible for the moisture outlook this summer. I think all told we've gotten a little over 5" total so far this season. I told a co-worker yesterday afternoon that, while I don't enjoy the process of getting snow, we really, really need to have a very snowy February and March. If we don't, we're in trouble.

Light headwind this morning, which would have been a slog had I been on a slow winter bike. But I was on the fast road bike, so it wasn't too bad. The wind is supposed to shift around this afternoon, so it looks like I'm going to have the same headwind on the way home from work as well.

This morning the headlight that I dropped on the ground on Monday went from being dim, to giving out slightly less light than I would get by holding a match in front of me. It was comically pointless, so I took it off the handlebar and put it in my coat pocket so I wouldn't have to worry about it flying off the mount in the dark. I used my backup light I have strapped to my helmet for the ride to work. The backup isn't as bright as my fully-functional headlight, but is way better than nothing. My replacement light should be delivered tomorrow. I think I can send my old light in along with $40 and have it repaired. Then I'll have a spare in case something like this happens again in the future.