BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 33 min.
TIME BACK: 32 min.
WEATHER: overcast, -16C, 7km/hr wind there; clear, -15C, 6 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: fleece pants, turtleneck, fleece mid-layer top, safety vest, lobster gloves, balaclava
NOTES:
On the way home from work today, a passing cyclist heading south across the High Level Bridge gave me a nod. It made my day! I'm not sure if this is someone who might know me from this blog, or just a friendly fellow winter biker - but either way, I felt the fellow-biker love, and it was awesome!
So I decided to pay it forward. As I continued along my journey, heading west along Stony Plain Road into the west end of the city, I saw another winter biker on the other side of the road heading east. He looked over at me - perhaps surprised to see another biker that far west, given that (as I've mentioned before) running into other cyclists gets more rare the farther west I am. There weren't any cars immediately around me, so I felt brave enough to take a hand of my handlebars and give the passing cyclist a wave. He nodded in acknowledgment. Woo hoo! Winter cyclists UNITE!
I feel like there are an increasing number of cyclists out, certainly more than there were in December. Now that January has abandoned the balmy -2C weather we were getting at the beginning of the month and the temperatures have dipped below normal into the -15C range, I expected there might be a corresponding drop in bike-commuters. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case! It's nice to see my fellow bikers out and owning the roads. It's nice to be one of them. Best of all, it's nice to give each other recognition. To all the other winter bikers out there, if I ever run across you and give you the ol' nod, know that encompassed in that casual nod is all of this: I admire you for what you're doing, I thank you for lessening your impact on the environment that we share, and you're awesome because just by doing what you're doing you're inspiring me and others to trade the car keys for the bike. I salute you!!
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