They Say That Things Just Cannot Grow, Beneath the Winter Snow.

It was even colder this morning, but I chilled-out, literally and figuratively and gave myself some slack. My expectations were that I wouldn't try and get up and run. I'd sleep-in an extra hour and if I could get my shit together, I'd bundle up and ride my bike to work, and if I couldn't I'd drive and it would all be fine.

Of course, leaving the gigantic, orange, lump all covered up with the eider down and snoring away in my bed, wasn't motivating me to go out and ride my bike to work, but I did it anyway. Yea, me!

 I am very lucky to have a nice, steel frame, commuter bike and wonderful boyfriend who puts my studded tires on it every Winter and switches them out for regular knobbies in the Spring. I am also lucky to be able to afford good, Winter clothes. When my girls were younger and I had no money, I had a 1960's 3-speed where only the hardest gear worked. It was nice and heavy, but I couldn't afford good tires on it and I didn't have warm enough clothes. I also couldn't afford to pay to park in a ramp anywhere near the hospital where I worked.

One Winter day I was riding to work in below zero weather. At some point, the hat I was wearing inched up over my ears. It was only about a half mile from where that happened until I reached the hospital, but the tips of my ears felt a little weird, and then one of my co-workers came up to me and asked, "What the hell is wrong with your ears? They're gray!" I went to the bathroom to check it out and yes indeedy, I had mild frostbite on the tips of both my ears.

Another morning I was riding to work on a below zero, every snowy day and I slid out and crashed my bike going down a hill. the handlebar of my bike jammed hard into my thigh and I could barely ride my bike back home to my lair to cry. That time I decided I would call in sick until the weather warmed up past zero.

Sooooo, now I can chose to ride my bike if I want and if I choose to do that, I have all kinds of warm coats, and boots and battery heated gloves and metal studded bike tires. I am one lucky girl.