Fall in the DENSO wetlands

Maybe as I’m getting older, I romanticize the past too much. It seems there was always summer-like weather through September, then a transitional period of milder weather until Halloween, after which I could expect the first snow by Thanksgiving. The snow would last until maybe late March, then April would bring increasingly warmer weather. Certainly by June, it was shorts and t-shirts all the time.

What happened? On my last bike ride into work, it was a measly 36°F (2.2°C). Seemed like it should have been at least 50°F, my pants/shorts threshold (at least for riding). I guess I dressed appropriately, since I only severely chilled my toes. I believe I am prepared for colder mornings, and I have “vowed” to ride at least one day a week until there is accumulated snow. Some more commited cyclists will ride even with snow on he ground, but for me, I have a long commute (almost 20 miles) which takes me 1.5 hours on a good day. Snow would really slow me down. And I don’t always have a shoulder to ride, and what shoulders there are may not get plowed. Certainly, the new pathways being constructed right now will not be plowed. I might go faster on cross-country skis. Hmm…

Metro Detroit, as I have noted before, is not a cycling haven. There are cyclists and bicycles riders (I do differentiate between the two), but they are not prevalent enough for drivers to be comfortable with them. While I have had a few troglodites yell something from their passing car, I haven’t had a Slurpee® thrown at me since 1991. I have been featured in my company’s newsletter (their first electronic version) in an article devoted to “green” practices. Apparently I have “pledged” to ride to work three days a week. I did mention that is something I am going to work up to, it can only happen with the help of my children, who will have to get ready for school in a timely fashion on two of those days. Not a good chance, right now. If my wife gets laid off from her job, I am free to commute whenever. The proverbial double-edged sword. Home-life stress gets traded for financial stress.

For now, I will continue my Friday pursuit, until the snows, and then work out indoors until the ice has melted (usually by May).