...with some ice cream from a dairy farm. I had ginger with chocolate sprinkles (not pictured).
Inspired by this past Sunday, where the temperature reached a balmy 45°F, I resolved to brave the slush, salt and sand of the road and ride my bike to work. And even though it was a brisk 25°ish, I still had enough momentum to stick to the plan. And it wasn't too bad! So I wanted to keep it going for today. I assumed the weather would be about the same.
So, I woke up and checked the temperature: 14°F.
A tad colder than I had planned on.
Ok, we'll take a shower and see how much it warms up.
One shower later: 12°F
Hey, it's not supposed to get colder as the sun comes up!
I was torn. I had never ridden in something like 12°F, but certainly I've seen others doing it. How bad could it be?
Here's where the procrastination comes in: by putting off deciding until there is only one choice remaining, which in this case is the choice you kind of want but not as easy as taking the bus.
Before deciding, I think, I'll walk the dog. Hmm not too windy. Check windspeed. Check temperature again (12). Check temperature from weather station located on other side of town - 13.5° - a ha! Check weather station located near work - 12°. Hmmmmmm.
Make toast for breakfast. Eat breakfast. Check the various weather stations again - back up to 14° - not bad. No wind, so no wind chill. what was the wind chill yesterday? Look up yesterday's wind chill data. Hmm it was 25° but 14° with the windchill. So I should be fine. Probably.
Note the time and the fact that you will never make the bus now. Decision made! Wait an extra twenty minutes because I can get to work faster by bike than by bus. Check temp - 17°F no wind. Good to go!
(and it wasn't bad at all. so unless I wake up and it is 9° tomorrow I shouldn't have to go through this again!)
The temps are out of the teens and the snow is plowed, so I got back on the bike this morning. I had to avoid a few icy patches, but otherwise the only hazard was my leg muscles being out of shape because I haven't biked in well over a month.
Yesterday, it was a spring-like 41°F, and it was good to get out and about. We did some sledding at a nearby golf course and the well-packed snow + the warm temps made for some super-slick riding conditions.
Random info for the day: there are only four US WWI Vets still alive:
- Lloyd Brown, 106, lives in Bethesda, Md.
- Frank Buckles, 106, lives near Charles Town, W.Va.
- Russell Coffey, 108, lives in North Baltimore, Ohio.
- Charlotte Winters, 109, lives in Boonsboro, Md.
Show us a picture of where you used to
beBe.
Did I take that question too literally? :)
I had the sense that this flu season has been particularly rough, and it looks right I am not alone in this feeling.
I made an animated map from CDC info over the past six weeks. There seems to be a bug with Vox displaying the animated gif, so look at it directly if you want to see proper animation.
Right after I made that graphic, I found a much cooler animation that shows the spread by city (and shows Maine valiantly holding out against the advancing orange). That page brought to you by Roche, so take that into consideration.
In the NYC subway (1/9) this December:
When I first moved to San Francisco, went to Chinatown and saw a herd of little kids with buuny ears riding unicycles, I knew I had found a holiday I could get behind.
Snowy, 30% chance of black hole
A great day in Maine for laying low, drinking hot chocolate, and playing in the snow. Sure, we had to dig out a bit tonight, but totally worth it :)
