My ride home tonight will mark mile 1000 exactly 6 months since I started commuting! Not as many miles as I had hoped/anticipated but it’s a milestone none the less.

I took the short cut across the lake last night! It was an experience that I won’t do again… at least this year. The little snow that we have had has blown into hard 6” tall drifts every 10 – 20 feet. It was like driving through a parking lot littered with speed bumps. One of those speed bumps knocked my rear blinky apart and I lost the face plate and 2 rechargeable batteries.

This morning’s commute attracted a lot of attention from co-workers as it is sleeting/raining/snowing. I figured I had better traction and a shorter stopping distance than any of them. I was surprised when I came across another set of bike tracks through the snow. Someone in town evidently bikes to work as well. I’m assuming they have less than a mile to work since they live next to the ˝ mile long industrial park… but they are riding!

I took my clipless off and tried toe clips and cross country ski boots in an attempt to keep my feet warmer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit my neoprene booties under the clips/straps so I gave up booties for an insulated boot that I can fit 2 pairs of socks in. It ended up being an even swap for warmth and I lost out because the soles of the boots are very slippery on the pedals. I’m going to zip-tie a pair of toesties over the pedal/cage and see if that will help with the warmth aspect.