My First Snowy Commute of the Year

WEATHER THERE: mostly cloudy, -2C (-7C with windchill), 17 km/hr crosswinds
WEATHER BACK: Sunny, 0C (-3C with windchill), 8 km/hr crosswinds

Bike, my friend, it's been a while. It's awfully nice to see you again.

The view from my office window at my lovely new(ish) bike.

I've been planning to get back to biking for a couple weeks now, but I've had to wait until the streets were clear enough to make it safe for me to do so. All the snow we've had this month - and the city's inability to keep up with its removal, especially as you get farther away from the city centre - has made for a whole lot more driving than I've cared for this month. But over the weekend, temperatures mercifully rose. The snow began to melt and be pushed by traffic off to the sides of the roads.

I walked my daughter to the grocery store on Sunday to survey the conditions of the roads and sidewalks up close, trying to gauge whether it was safe to get back on the bike. The sidewalks were in utter chaos - some people haven't even bothered shoveling at all, and others shoveled just enough to create a treacherous narrow walking path through a valley of hip-height snowbanks. Not exactly stroller-friendly. Other sidewalks were well shoveled but with the melting and overnight freezing of the surrounding snow, these were often overcome with sheer ice patches. I also encountered some impressive, 2- and 3-foot high windrows blocking the sidewalks where snow plows had cleared a path through laneways then managed to dump half of the cleared snow onto the sidewalks that intersect them. I can't say these were easy to scale with a stroller. It occurred to me as I struggled to push my daughter's stroller down the sidewalk that I was eternally grateful for being able-bodied. I cannot imagine what a person in a wheelchair must have to deal with in a poorly maintained winter city like this.

So, my reconnaisance mission determined one thing: if I stuck to major roadways and didn't even think about getting up onto the sidewalks, I could absolutely bike to work this week.

LET'S DO THIS!!!

Stony Plain Road was quite clear - wet and mushy, but clear enough to ride on easily. Jasper Avenue was also very good - mushy and slippery off to the sides, but clear everywhere else. The bike lane along 100 Avenue was completely covered over by a big snowbank that narrowed the one-way street to barely more than one lane, so I took to the plowed-but-not-clear sidewalk there for safety's sake. Despite exerting the same or more effort, my top speed suddenly dropped from 24 km/hr on the clear roads to 13 km/hr on the dense snow packed sidewalk. Luckily, east of 116 Street the roads were clear and wide enough for me to ride safely again, so I took to the streets once again. The High Level Bridge had some ice patches, but nothing to cause any concern until I hit the hill on the south end of the bridge. That was completely covered in ice. I dropped an f-bomb under my breath, dropped down a gear, and dug in. My Ice Spiker tires chewed up the ice like crazy and I got up the hill, panting hard but none the worse for wear.

It's been a real joy being able to look out my window at work and see my trusty steed out there waiting for me. As much as a part of me dreaded getting back to riding again (I mean, let's not kid ourselves, it's a lot easier to sleep in and then drive to work, singing along to the radio with the heater on!), I am SO glad I did it. I feel accomplished. I DID something today, something good for myself and for the environment, and for my bank account too ($15 a day for parking is obscene!!). Since my Mystery Illness blind-sided me and left me unable to do much exercise three months ago, I've been looking forward to this day when I could finally get back into the healthy routine I started last year. I've really gotten out of shape over the past three months, between the illness and the holidays, but I'm determined that today is the first day back to being a Healthy Biker.

A nice healthy dinner upon my return home - a simple baked salmon filet with lemon and rosemary. I'm trying to be a better example for my daughter!

Yay, biking! Yay, life! Yay, everything!! Ahh, what a beautiful day . . .