Splendid!

Despite temperatures hovering mostly in the 20s and 30s today, it was simply splendid.

This morning, there was a gentle breeze out of the north and the clearest sky I've seen in months. The air was crisp and chilly, barely 20 degrees as I stepped outside a few minutes past six. The eastern horizon was a deep, captivating violet color with this sliver of red visible just between the cracks of the bare branches of trees. Climbing the viaduct, I could see the sliver of red become more evident as the sun slowly tried to rise. Even though I left a little late, I took it easy on the way to the bus. I knew I'd make it on time. I had on a bunch of thin layers this morning, because I was uncertain what this evening would bring. I had coffee with Lorin while discussing the finer points of this and that before darting off to work.

Temperatures somehow managed to creep up barely into the 40s for my return trip. There was a lady on the A bus who Karen and I had talked to before. She just moved here recently (from Chicago, I think) and doesn't want a car. She's about sick of our bus system in Johnson County (I don't blame her, it's pretty bad compared to most metro areas) and is thinking of bike commuting once things warm up. I referred her to check out Trek's Go By Bike campaign and sign up.

If you haven't heard of this, it's pretty cool. 2 people each -- A man and a woman -- from Omaha, Saint Louis and Kansas City, will be chosen to participate. Winners of the contest will get a free Trek FX fitness hybrid (a flat-bar road bike, basically) with a bunch of commuting goodies. In exchange for that, they'll take pictures and blog about their adventure during National Bike Month (May). If they keep it up and meet all of the conditions, all the stuff is free for them to keep. This is meant for people who have thought of getting around on a bicycle for short trips but haven't gotten motivated or don't have a bike that's usable. Current utility cyclists like myself are exempt from this one, but it should be cool to watch six people get hooked on using bikes for basic transportation.

When I got home, I couldn't stay inside. There were things I needed to pick up. We were out of recordable DVDs (for backups), laundry detergent, and some other stuff. I made a bee-line to the grocery store, then rode back right past my apartment and down towards The Maul to swing by Best Buy. When I declined the plastic sack at Best Buy (I had my backpack with me), I somehow came up with "save the plastic trees." It sounded witty at the time, reading it here, it looks pretty weak now. The guy asked if I ride my bike all winter and I confirmed that I did "but only for really short trips, like a few miles or less" and then came the influx of questions about how I survive in the cold. People go snow skiing at near-zero temperatures for hours upon hours. Do you ask THEM how they do it? I just wish he hadn't reminded me of both the crappy weather and my crappy miles this winter. Winter was fun for the first few weeks. Now? Not so much.

Random Tunage:
Hooverphonic - Battersea
Black Dove - Capsule