Monday, November 30, 2009

Where's the Snow??

It's the last day of November. We've had our studded snow tires on our bikes for a month and a half now. I know I'll probably jinxed it by saying this, but thus far, we haven't had any snow. I've seen a small patch of ice on the road on two chilly mornings. Other than that, it has been a mild autumn. We've had some rain, and some cold days, but really not much of either. Tim is still wearing shorts most days. Probably the coldest I've been while biking was that morning in October that I rode through the rain with shorts and sandals.

The NOAA weather forecast is calling for a 30% chance of rain or snow showers this evening and tonight. After that the next mention of snow in the forecast is Thursday night and Friday, also with a 30% chance of snow or rain. The last day of finals--the end of the semester--is only 18 days away. There is a chance--a chance that probably just got smaller with me mentioning it out loud--that we might finish our official experiment in living car-free without ever riding through snow. (Knowing the fickleness of weather, though, we might get two major blizzards in the next two weeks.)

Not that I'm complaining though. I tried commuting by bike a couple times last winter. It is significantly harder to ride on snowy roads, even with the snow tires. If the snow is more than a couple inches deep, walking is almost an easier option. Snow also increases the hazards from cars. Winter commuting can be done, of course. There are others who live car-free year-round in snowy climates. Years ago before I got my driver's license, I used to commute to work by bike near Buffalo, New York. I remember one morning, in the 5:30 AM dark, riding gingerly down the road through about 4 or 5 inches of snow and then hearing a snow plow come up behind me. I was terrified, but survived without incident.

Tim and I talk some about where we want to be in the future. I've come to the conclusion that living car-free year round probably makes a lot more sense in a warmer climate. If we were to stay in Vermont, I think I'd want to drive the car through the winter months. In our discussions, I can get very opinionated on the subject. As I write about it here though, I wonder if at least part of that is my fear of the very really possibility of facing snowy riding soon. Things tend to get larger than life the longer I dwell on them. Once we actually do ride in snow it probably won't be as bad as I'm making it out to be.

Not that I'm complaining about the mild weather, though. I'll take a ride in the rain over a ride in the snow most days.

No comments: