In Which Flurries Fall On A Dark, Cold Ride

From Wikicommons, uploaded by Boxstaa. Bike with car lights.

I have redundant lights on Francis for a reason. I figure when one battery fails, it means that the world can see me. Well, the universe didn’t go according to plans Wednesday.

Yesterday morning, for whatever reason, I could not find the yellow vest I wear when biking. Well, it’s wasn’t all that dark, and with lights, I figured I would be OK. I didn’t worry much about the afternoon ride—I was planning to leave campus before 4 anyway, and it would still be light out.

As often happens, I was late. A student was ill and I had to distribute the newspaper, an hour-long task. So by the time I left campus, it was 5.

And both front lights looked sickly pale when I flipped them on. Before I was even 1/3 of the way home, they were pretty much dark of the moon blank.

The only good news is that my main headlight uses AAA batteries—a rare treasure among bike lights which tend to use hard-to-find expensive little batteries that seem to cost more than the lights do. Part of the throw-away culture, I’m afraid.

Anyway, my wife was a big help in getting the batteries changed. She had also bought some new little lights, because sets of them were on sale for $1 each (again, much cheaper than buying just the battery would be). My yellow vest had been missing Wednesday, too, but Thursday morning I managed to locate it in a “glove drawer.”

It was cold today, too—but not quite as cold. And I was riding with lights on, which was also a big step up. My lights are on and I’m ready to ride. Hopefully the weekend snow will be cleared for next week’s commutes.

Wet snow stings when it hits

The weather forecast this morning called for possible flurries this afternoon, but mostly the snow was to hit north of us.

So, of course, I rode. It was warmer today than yesterday, so even with a bit of wind, I had no problem.

This afternoon, I was to go to the President's House east of Mount Mercy University for a little faculty gathering and chat--a sort of open conversational gathering that our president hosts now and then.

Imagine my pleasure when it was lightly raining as I left MMU. Yeah, just what a biker wants.

The meeting was fine, I think. But when it was over, it was snowing, big, fat, wet flakes. It was pretty darn heavy for a flurry.

As I rode west and then north to go home, the melted snow on the pavement was sprayed into the air by my back wheel, and then onto my backside. Wet, heavy flakes of snow were pelting down.

I like snow. I don't mind living in the Midwest, and snow is a fact of winter life. But I don't try to bike through it, and this was no friendly, cute flurry. A flurry is usually gentle, light snowflakes floating down.

This was not that. It was big heavy globs of half-melted ice and water. It wasn't floating down in a gentle flurry. It was pelting down as if the heavens were angry at crazy winter bikers. The "snow" stung when it hit my face, especially my lips.

Oh well. I don't mind snow, it's just a fact of Midwest living. But, I don't usually ride my bike in it. While colder, it's also supposed to by drier tomorrow. Think I should lube my chain before starting out, though.