Friday, February 7, 2014

Snow Day!

The radio came on a little before 6:30, like it always does.  The voice announced that Boise schools, and numerous other districts, were shutting down for the day, due to the snow.

Oh, great!  If the kiddies can't go to school, the roads must be brutal... right?  I tried to get my act together, put on the harsh-weather gear, and even bagged up my leather saddle, anticipating I'd ride through blizzard-like conditions to the bus stop, put my bike on the front of the bus, and go to work the low-exertion way.

So I was surprised when I emerged into the great outdoors, and it wasn't snowing... the snow was maybe 3 inches deep... and "the powder was bitchin'!!"  (Pardon my French...)  At least on the side roads, I swished silently along - fantastic!  I got to the bus stop, and just kept on goin'.

Powder cycling!  I love it!  And just like power-hound skiers, it's particularly enjoyable when my tracks are the first tracks!

Good gracious!  What pathetic pansies we've become!  Closing school for three inches of snow?!!

"Oh, Bluto!  We can't go to school today!  We might get cold - or wet - or both!!"

'Most everybody is accommodating in their cars, on dicey days.  They probably think, "Look at the fruitcake on the bike!  He's going to kill himself!"  But fortunately, most of them want no part of the tragic incident, and give me space to operate.  (And I'm extremely grateful for the patience and cooperation they demonstrate.)

Except for one guy.

I'm riding along a slippery stretch of road (Americana going north over the bridge, for those familiar).  And Impatient Boy comes up behind me in his pickup truck (no surprise there)... and tailgates me for 5 seconds or so and then goes around, close enough that I could've put my hand open-palm on the side of his truck.  (Less than the mandated 3 feet, that's for sure!)

But it was sad... after he passed me, he was just tailgating the car I had been tailgating... and I was tailgating him.  I hope it improved his outlook, looking at the back end of a car instead of a cyclist, and it was worth risking my safety and/or life.

He probably did it to send me a message: "You're not welcome on my road any time... but especially when it's snowy and slippery!"  But something got lost in translation, and this is the message I received: "I'm just a simple-minded redneck in his big compensator pickup truck, and I don't look far enough up the road to make good decisions, so be patient with me."

It's spoze to snow more over the next few days.  I'd never complain - we need precipitation in the worst of ways.  And no matter what happens... springtime will be here soon enough.

(A side-note - the city does a fine job of maintaining our pathways!  They do their very best to tempt us cyclists off the road, so we won't be a burden to the VIP motorists who have no time or inclination to deal with us.)






6 comments:

David said...

it's an interesting observation that you get more space and patience from drivers on snowy days. Here in Florida I see the same behavior on rainy days.

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