Winter Part 2

Apart from the snow we got in mid January, which closed the universities and schools all across the state, the winter has been relatively mild. The January snow eventually melted, and within two weeks I was back to biking. Thus, for most of February I have biked at least two times per week. The roads and trail have been clear enough to allow me to keep the studded tires off for the vast majority of my rides. I am glad to have them, though, for those one or two mornings this month when I worried about early morning ice on the trails. For the most part, however, the temperatures have been above freezing, and I've even shed a layer for the commutes back to Moscow in the late afternoon when it gets up into the 40s. I have had no adventurous mishaps or particularly daring rides to report.

All that changed yesterday morning. We had snow over the weekend and the temperatures dropped into the low teens. We only had an inch or two of new snow that stuck, and it was powdery - an easy snow to bike through. Underneath the powder was treacherous icy pavement, so I was grateful for the studded tires.

I left the house just before 9am. I got a later start than usual to avoid the rush hour. It was about 20 degrees when I left the house. I haven't done much cold weather biking since moving to the Palouse, so I'm not really acclimated to the biting cold on my fingers in particular. I'm sure that the holes in the fingertips of my glove liners contributed to the rapid onset of pain and then numbness. The numb in my fingers was the most alarming. I clenched and relaxed my hands, banged them together, and eventually removed my outer glove to blow warmth onto my completely numb fingers. Not until I started really working hard on the trail did my fingers begin to sting, and I felt life returning to them.

The ride home in the evening was equally cold (about 20 degrees), but the powdery snow had all burned off in the afternoon sun. After a full day of work, my heart rate was up, and I was warm - no numbness to report.

I'm ready for spring, but typically (at least since we've lived here) we get a second round of wintry weather or Winter Part 2. Snow is in the forecast for tonight, and it may snow again this weekend. If so, then I'll hit the mountain trails for some cross-country skiing. If I'm lucky, we'll have snow in the higher altitudes, but it'll stay dry and/or warm down on the Palouse.