Was today really my first time (riding in the snow, I mean)?

Here in lovely West Michigan, we had our first real snow fall of the year.  Sure, there had been some flakes in the air the last few days but that was all.  No biggie.

Today was a different story.

When we awoke, there was a nice layer of white covering the world.  Our street was not quite as covered as the lawn, but it definitely had a layer built up on it.  The kiddos, not surprisingly, were pretty excited about this.  Each of them pressed their faces up against a window and did their age-appropriatet version of "Woooh!"

Now here is the thing...last night I got everything ready to ride to work today (riding clothes, work clothes, bike, lights, etc.).  Did I know about the snow?  Yeah...sort of.  Was I really prepared for what was actually out there?

Uhhhh, no.

While watching the morning news and eating my daily double serving of oatmeal (mmm...oatmeal), the traffic dude was detailing the many slide off accidents that had been reported.  My first thought was:

Those are all on the highways.  I'll be OK.  I'm not even leaving until after 8:00.  There won't barely be any cars on the road.  I've never ridden in the snow before.  I have to do at least once, right?

 

Yeah, pretty easy to rationalize when you really, really, reaaaalllllllyyyyy want to ride to work.

 

I geared up and shoved off about 8:10, after Hannah had gotten on the bus.  For a point of reference, I live at the top of a hill.  No matter which way I go, it is downhill from my house.  In fact, it is downhill and curvy.

 

As another point of reference, my bike handling skills, despite my many hours of riding, are probably fair at best.  I am a coward, when it comes right down to it.  Hitting the pavement sounds a lot like it would hurt so I do not take a lot of chances.  I am a pansie descender.

 

With those two thoughts in mind, you can imagine my trepidation as Sam the Singlespeed began rolling down the hill.  The turn off that I usually take part way down the hill?  Skipped it.  I kept going straight.  When I got to Bristol, I looked up the hill and saw police flashers at an accident.

 

Confidence inspiring, let me tell you.

 

Luckily I needed to go the other direction.  As I came to the hill on Bristol that leads up to Richmond, I realized Hannah's bus was coming up behind me.  In my head, I heard the following:

 

Random Child: Hey, there's some crazy guy on a bike out there!

 

Hannah: That's my Dad.

 

Random Child: Is he nuts!?!?

 

Hannah: You have no idea.

 

Strangely, the rest of my commute was pretty uneventful, except for my rear tire slipping some as I got out of the saddle to climb a few hills.

Lo and behold, I did arrive to work safe and sound and in a reasonable amount of time.  As I pulled up to the doors, I realized that my bike was pretty filthy.  After bouncing it up and down several times, it seemed like most of the crud came off.

 

I keep my bike in my office when I ride to work, not because I cannot lock it outside but because I have an office to keep it in.  And it is my bike. 

 

My Precious.

 

Until I looked behind me, it really had not occurred to me how much dirty, road water I might be dripping behind my bike.  Turns out it was an awful lot.

 

Once I had changed into my work clothes, I went back down the hall dragging a towel with my foot to wipe up the drips.  Not the most odd thing I have ever done, but up there.

 

Oh, and there was some good size puddles forming on the carpet under my bike.  Grab another couple towels and toss them under.

 

By the way, towels are one of the upsides to working in a health care facility.  If you are a bike commuter, get into health care.  The towels are worth it.

 

I still need to ride home but now I can officially say that I have ridden in the snow and not died.  That is a pleasant thought.