snowy bike ride

I had my first snowy bike commute today.

Actually, when I road in it was pretty dry - most of the early morning snow had melted. On the way home I got a bit of snow, but that let up maybe 1/2 way through my ride.

I was bundled in:
two pairs of socks
tennis shoes
track pants
jeans over the track pants
a thermal long sleeve shirt
a t-shirt
a fleece pullover
a medium weight hoodie
medium weight gloves
wool bike cap (from Octopus Inc. - I *heart* this thing already).
bike helmet

On the way in I also had a fleece scarf to cover my face and ears. My glasses kept fogging up. So on the way home I pulled up the hoodie and did without the scarf.

I actually got a little toasty on both rides. I didn't completely hate it, and actually think it's probably easier to get around in crappy weather by bike. I still prefer summer, though.

reasons to bike

Riding a bicycle is the definition of freedom. Freedom from the oil companies. Freedom from monthly car payments. Freedom from expensive car maintenance. Freedom from monthly insurance payments. Freedom from obesity and all of its associated health risks. Freedom from bus schedules. Freedom to stop and admire the view any time you want. Freedom to choose your own route. Freedom to go at your own pace. Freedom to be yourself.

This was posted on a bike geek site among a list of reasons to ride a bike.

My other favorite reason posted is:

The wheeeeeeee" factor.

waiting...

I'm waiting on STB so we can head out to one of our favorite parks & enjoy an evening of grilling food and hanging out.

I thought I'd post a few updates...

On the biking thing.... I've put just under 80 miles on my bike in the span of about 1 month. My longest ride was probably about 5 or 6 miles - so that's lots & lots of little rides. It also means that I reduced the mileage on my car by ~80 miles. Yay!

Only very minor updates on the music stuff... Brazen Brass will be performing @ the Clintonville Farmer's Market on Saturday, June 21. Ain't Misbehavin' has a private party gig this Saturday.

On job stuff...ugh, I'm so ready for a new job. But am still being choosy over where I apply. I've added to my criteria that it must be within biking distance of my residence. So my options are even more limited. I have a list of jobs to look through, just need to find the time to do that & then apply.