Thursday, January 19, 2012

Eleven Below

Winter hit hard this week.  It hits even harder when you miss the school bus on a cold morning.  Yup, Theo was dawdling this morning.  We ran as fast as we could to his bus stop a half block away.  We were out before the scheduled bus stop.  We stood, waiting in silence.  No bus.  1 minute.  2 minutes. 3 minutes.  Ok, let's give it 5 more minutes. 1.2..3...4....5.  "I guess we're going to have to take the Roo, Dad," Theo said.  These multi-modal car-free kids know all the tricks.  I am surprised he didn't mention a taxi.

We got the Roo trike and biked the mile to school.  It was cold.  I opened the front of the Roo upon arrival.  Theo looked a little shell shocked from the cold.  "You OK, bud," I asked.  No response. "Did you stay warm enough?" I followed.  "Yup, Dad," he replied as he hopped out of the Roo.  He insisted that I come in with him to his class.  It is always fun to see the Kindergarten class starting their day.  We saw Theo's friend's father, Jim.  He asked incredulously, "You biked???"  Yup.  He looked at us, speechless.  (It turned out he thought that Theo rode his bike too!).

I headed home.  Curious about the temperature, I finally looked.  Eleven below.  Hello Minnesota winter.




Friday, January 13, 2012

Racing the light, on a dusting of snow, lonely falls

January 13th: I was able to take my long Mississippi River route home yet again.  This is definitely the latest into the winter I have been able to do this route.  What a crazy snow-lite, warm winter we are having in Minnesota.  But it has been a boon for bike commuters. 

I left my work bike locker at sunset, 4:55 pm,  and raced the dwindling light home.  It was 13 degrees F. and my hands got cold within 10 minutes.  My legs and bike felt really sluggish.  So sluggish that I checked to see if my brake pads were dragging.  Nope, must be me.  I braced myself for a long, arduous 13 mile ride.  But within a few more minutes I was in the groove.


This afternoon's dusting of snow was whisked away from the roads by the cars, but it was beautifully present on the bike trail.  For the first time ever I arrived at Minnehaha Falls with nobody around.  Quiet, beautiful.  I started in clouds in St. Paul.  They had parted by the time I got home in Minneapolis.  It was a wonderful dusk commute home.