In Which CR Biker has a humble plea for Mother Nature

March 5--a fun day to be outside badly building a snowman with a granddaughter, but not so great as biking weather.

Well, surprise, surprise. It’s Wednesday and I have not commuted as God intends—on two wheels—yet this week. I might, on Thursday, fingers crossed.

I posted some snow photos on Facebook yesterday, and my oldest daughter, who lives in Norwich, England, commented on one photo: “So. Much. Snow.” According to her, just a bit northeast of London it’s already looking and feeling like spring.

Not so much in Iowa. Frankly, it’s not deep winter—we don’t have highs (or lows) in negative Fahrenheit temperatures, for example. When the sun shines (which it does every other day or so) our big, bright day star is high enough in the sky to have some impact—to make you feel warmer and to warm and to melt some of our snow, at least a little bit.

But it will be a number of days (weeks?) before the deep snowpack recedes. Amanda and family are visiting our continent for a few weeks beginning next week. Let’s hope those from England don’t have too much of a shock when they enter the land of ice and snow.

I still have not yet done anything to get a second bike in riding condition, although I hope spring break allows me some jaunts on two wheels with my son-in-law, maybe even with a grandchild on a bike seat.. Audrey pointed out that we do have my youngest son’s bike at home—which can quickly be oiled and up to use—but, on the other hand, we will also soon have my youngest son, whose spring break at ISU coincides with MMU’s spring break. I hope he wants his bike again for his own use.

Anyway, if the snow continues it won’t be much of an issue. But, I don’t think it will. I promise you, Amanda, it will be more like spring when you’re here than it is now. (Such an extravagant promise for me to make—don’t’ listen Mother Nature, it’s not hubris, I know I don’t control the weather, just trying to play the odds.) March in Iowa is like that—it’s every season of the year rolled into one, days of cold and snow, slightly warm days when the crocus blooms, and a few actual warm days that make you remember summer is coming.

Or, so I hope. We don’t want our visitors from England to dislike Iowa now, do we, powers that be?

We want them to welcome an opportunity down the road to move back to this continent. We want to go biking with them when they are here—to show them all of our pretty flowers that will be in bloom, and the majestic eagles we’ve found down by the river.

Right, Mother Nature? Right? Knocks on wood.

Grandchildren with their new snow shovels, which they have used enough already this March, thank you very much.