Well, at Least I’m Not in Sweden

Winter is messing with us again. The wind chill was in the single digits when I fetched the morning newspaper. (Younger readers: it’s a pile of paper in a bag. There are words on it. It tells you what happened yesterday. It has comics and puzzles too.)

Last night’s wait-and-see weather reports about a big snow storm later in the week have turned ominous. There is a high likelihood of a major snowstorm, followed by no toilet paper or milk, and death from boredom.

So I left the warmth of my home on this federal holiday (see note below) and headed out into the cold. I used some hand warmers in my boots and hopped on The Mule and hoped for the best.

I rode around my neck of the woods for 12 1/2 miles. I was totally comfortable. Wadda ya know about that! Here is what I wore:

• Goretex hiking boots
• Hand warmers in the boots under my feet
• Smartwool socks
• Old bike tights
• Mountain bike shorts
• Rain pants (to reflect the wind)
• Cheapo base layer from Target
• WABA t-shirt
• Holey wool sweater
• Marmot Precip rain jacket (wind again) with hood up
• Thick neck gaiter
• Wool winter cap
• Mittens
• Helmet

Of course, with all this on, I could barely move but I wasn’t in a hurry. I discovered I’ve been doing the hand warmer thing all wrong. You put them under your feet not on top of your feet. (They go between your socks and your shoes, never against your skin.) For more tips on hand warmers check this out.

I can handle the cold. I can handle the slow pace from wearing all this stuff. What drives me up the wall is the ten minutes it takes to put this stuff on, and the ten minutes to take it off.

Today was the first day I wore my trusty old holey sweater. Until now I was using my blue backup sweater. (I have two back up holey sweaters. I am holeyer than thou.) My old holey sweater is the perfect weight for winter around here.

I rode around the Fort Hunt neighborhood. I was surprised to see the Potomac River had no ice on it. It could be that the choppy waves kept the ice from forming. Or maybe it has a higher salt content down near Mount Vernon.

Underdressed kids were out on scooters and bikes. They didn’t seem the least bit cold. Kids are like that.

If it stays cold, we will all get used to it. That’s what I told my daughter who is spending the semester near Stockholm in Sweden.

I think Buddhists call this lying in the present moment.

Hurry spring.