Cabin Fever

Today, I got out and rode my bike on my normal commute for the first time in three days. This past weekend, we've had some of the worst weather I've seen in Toronto for years. What's been particularly challenging is that we were hit by two consecutive snowstorms, and the weather has only gotten colder. Cars are stuck with piles of snow on top, the roads are full of slush, and the bike lanes are, predictably, full of snowplow runoff. It's pretty dangerous to bike (unless you have a fat bike + snow tires).

Still, after three days of not riding, I was starting to feel a bit off. This is something I should know to expect by now, but I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet: my bike makes up a large part of my autonomy, and depriving me of that autonomy makes me sad. It's a pretty simple equation.

Today's ride was messy. My back derailleur is frozen or full of slush or something else that's stopping it from shifting properly, which leaves me with just the three front gears. And even that's a little dicey at times. My tires are thick enough to make the roads less treacherous, but still, I wouldn't want to trust them in a pinch. It's a lot of slow going. Sidewalks are still unshoveled, bike lanes are non-traversable, and boulevards are full of snow, making it rather silly to try getting your bike up to a bike lock.

I haven't got much else to report other than this slice of life of the current conditions. I hope it leaves soon. Knowing that we're in for a week of cold weather doesn't give me a lot of hope, but I'm thinking about summer, even though it feels far away.