my ride home last night wasn't as bad as the ride to work, largely because I got delayed at work and didn't leave until 6pm, when the sun had set, most automotive traffic had died down and the snow had stopped. Remarkably, as I was pushing my bike out the door of my office, my phone rang and I saw it was my mom calling.
Mom: "Where are you?"
Me: "In the office. About to head home."
Mom: "are you in your car or on that bike of yours?"
Me: " ... mom, do you want me to tell you want you want to hear or do you want me to tell the truth?"
Mom: "Oh, you know, I just worry. I was seeing the reports on the news about the blizzard, and..."
Me: "I'll be fine, mom, and I'll call you when I get home, ok?"
Riding through Bedford was a little dicey, especially when I realized that my cantilevered brakes weren't having much of an effect on icy slushy rims. For once, I pine for disc brakes!
Crossing I-95 on 4/225 was remarkably less frightening that I had expected, again, I think because there weren't as many folks on the roads in that hour, and most of the ones who passed me gave me a pretty wide berth. Entering Lexington and comparing them against Bedford was like a lesson in the value of property taxes. Bedford was a slushy mess patrolled by volunteer ploughmen. Lexington invested in some magical salt compound that pretty much disintegrated all of their snow. For more than half my ride, the surface wasn't any dodgier than what you'd see after a particularly heavy rainstorm.
Stopped briefly at Wilson Farms to buy a bouquet of roses for the sweetie. Long stems wouldn't fit in my panniers so I just stuck the bouquet in between my seatstays and rear fender.
Mass Ave in Arlington was starting to see congestion and a lot more slush and snow, and it was tricky to ride on tire tracks since these would inevitably drift into the parking lane and massive mounds of snow. Also, hail. Stopped at a red light in front of a bunch of teenagers shivering and waiting for the bus who were all, "what kind of crazy person rides his bike in weather like this?"
Pointing at my bouquet on the bike, I just said, "Valentines delivery person."
"Aww, you're the sweetest crazy man, I've ever seen."
Rest of the ride was relatively uneventful. Some hail alternating with freezing rain. Ploughed into a snow bank while following car tracks and got some slush in my rear derailleur, which had to be cleared out because it was messing with my chain tension. Rode through one puddle with water up to my bottom bracket. Fortunately, water resistant hiking boots + waterproof socks = r0x0r my s0x0rz. Got home ok. Called mom, celebrated Valentine's with warm cocoa after girlfriend got home from her commute.
Not a bad adventure, all things considered.