Friday, January 25, 2008

Winter Commute

Today was one of those mornings where, if I'd had a car available, I probably could've convinced myself that "it wouldn't hurt, just this once," to drive to work. But since I don't have a car, I didn't have that difficult decision to make.

The "bad" roads have the citizenry in sheer-panic mode.

(Imagine how expensive it would be to own and maintain a car just for the 10 or 15 days each year when bicycling is somewhat difficult. It would cost me $15/mile driven! No thanks on that idea! If it gets really bad, I can always take the bus.)

Once I was underway - on my vintage '85 Peugeot Canyon Express mountain bike - it wasn't bad at all. I stayed out of the traffic lane, way over in the "powder" snow, and took my time. I detoured to side streets and the Greenbelt for safety reasons. (As I was leaving home, the lady on the ACHD TV road report said, "Expect one and one-half hours from Nampa to Boise" - that's about 15 miles.)

My commute normally takes about 13-15 minutes. Today it took about twice that - but probably 5 minutes was spent at a couple stops to snap some photos. Because it was cold and wintery - and beautiful!

Would I trade this for a car to drive? HECK NO!!!







4 comments:

Anonymous said...

'Twas a beautiful commute today, indeed. I wasn't quick enough to catch a pic of the weasel (ferret?) playing on the edge of the river ice when I stopped on the railroad trestle to take in the sights. He would skitter along the edge of the ice until a piece broke off, sending him into the water, then he'd loop around, dive down, and come back up for more fun. I nearly rode the bus today, as I've come over rather sick. I'm sure glad I didn't. I had nearly as much fun as that weasel was having!

db said...

Kudos to all those who biked in today. I couldn't do it, but I envy those who could. The ride along the river would've been especially rewarding...

Anonymous said...

I change my front slick to a MTB tire and was okay. I have been pulling a trailer daily with my Puppy inside(she is lucky to come to work everday) The trailer cause considerable drag and even pulled the backend around a little. My 2 mile commute seemed like 5 this morning..

Anonymous said...

How was the slush on the way home on Friday? I hated it.