Eight o’clock in the morning. I’ve done my work at home, I need to get to my office. I look at my thermometer. Twenty-two, and that’s on the balcony, where things tend to feel warmer than down on the ground.
That’s a thirty degree drop from yesterday. Brrrr.
I should retire the bike for the winter. And yet... Ah, the challenge.
The cap, the pea coat – not enough. The wind is brutal when it hits you in the face. I reach for my scarf and pull it over my mouth and cheeks. So now my chest feels cold.
Brrrr.
I look at the lake. What is that? Steam? Surely it’s not freezing over. No, I’m freezing over.
But, I'm on the bike, I'm on my way to work – there’s no turning back. And I don’t want to turn back. Indeed, inexplicably, I take the longer route. It’s lovely now, in the early, deeply cold morning.
Then there’s the work part. Classes, many classes, students in the office, work emails, more students, and then, suddenly, the sun has nearly disappeared. It’s time to go home.
And what a surprise – the puddles on the lake shore path that were frozen in the morning, remain frozen now.
The sun fades, the band is out there playing On Wisconsin and I pedal with all my energy, just to keep warm.
Brrr.
