Snow!

Ok, so this is how much it snowed today.

Everybody, it snowed. I give up. Calling it quits for the winter.

Hahaha. Just kidding.

Life continued as planned just slower.

Actually I had planned to write from home all day, which is what I did. But Parker went to work, the grocery store, and a Christmas party all on two wheels. No spills involved.

I took out a broom and made sure to clean off my car even though I'm not using it, because I'm still paying too much money for it to sit in my driveway and rust shut.

Snow can be dangerous to any means of transportation. It does make things slippery under feet and all kinds of tires. I do not mean to make light of the real pain and injury that happens when folks take a fall or get hurt because of conditions. For some of us, just getting out the door when it snows is not worth the risk. We all need to make our own decisions.

For me, snow means just like in a car I use caution, carefully figure out how the snow effects my braking, give myself extra space between me and everything else, and go as fast as I care to hit something.

Different kinds of tires are certainly available for biking in the snow. They make fat tires and tires with studs. My city keeps things pretty clean with snow ploughs and salt, so I haven't found that to be terribly necessary. If, for example, we lived in Madison, WI, where I hear they use a lot less salt and the snow on the roads tends to get packed down instead of melted clean, I might invest in studded snow tires. In my context though the already wide-ish tires on my Trek cruiser and the Yuba seem to work just fine. Or that is they work just fine until one of you decides you want to race the other one just to see what you can do, takes a corner too fast, and wipes out on Crystal Ave (That's what you get, ya show off. But I still love you).

The difference between the decisions I make in my car compared to the decisions I make on my bicycle are that I am not inside a multi-ton tank. While I agree that if I am hit in my tank as opposed to on my bicycle by another person in a tank (presuming all the same speeds and what not) I will walk away much more easily. What happens though if I'm the one who hits a pedestrian or a bike? Adequately caring for ourselves is appropriate but where do we draw the line between our needs, safety, and well-being and someone else's? Moreover, have I really made myself safer by deciding that in unfavorable conditions, I'm going to take on the added responsibility of driving a vehicle that can do as much damage as a car can?

Now, will there come an especially intimidating, cold, or windy day or a few days this month when I decide I'd rather walk, take the bus, call a car, or stay home and work from there? Yes, I bet there will be. But I'm wondering if that warrants paying this much money for my own car to have around for those days. Let's see how the rest of the month goes.

Stay safe out there, however many wheels you're on.