Kansas Weather Never Means Quite So Much Until

you're commuting by bike.

This morning, wonderful weather. This morning (at 6am) it was fairly pleasant (as Januarys go); partly-cloudy, slight winds (5mph) with a nice 37 degrees (and 27 degrees wind-chill). A great morning for biking; a great morning for enjoying the trip (especially since it's Friday); and a great morning of no crazy drivers.

This evening, however, was quite another thing.

As I prepared to head out for home (very late as has been usual for this first full freedom week), I checked the weather (as usual) just to make sure that I wasn't under-or-over dressed. Chilly, with very light snow flurries starting, but nothing too bad. Well, other than that the note also mentioned that winds were out of the North at approximately 15 with gusts to 25! Nonetheless, a nice way to start the ride home.

About half-way home, however, (as it usually seems to happen), the winds picked up even more (to the point of blowing me periodically a foot to my side), and the snow started pelting harder-and-heavier-and-stronger. By the time I was a mile from home, I could see that the snows were starting to blow in their little-rivulets across the street when an oncoming vehicle approached.

A nice surprise was encountering another biking commuter as I passed through downtown Overland Park, who was going the other way. Always a welcome sight in the cold, snowy, evenings. I suspect that he is who I've passed before, only when I'm on my way into work at the morning (although I haven't seen him whom I think it is for a few months now -- primarily due to my going into work an hour earlier than I did in the summer and early-Autumn.

I'll not be surprised if we wake tomorrow with an inch of snow on the ground. And, no doubt, it will be a sunny, warm day on Monday!

Oh what a difference ten degrees makes! Wait. I said that already. Didn't I? No. I didn't. I just thought it -- yesterday (when I couldn't sign in to post this comment -- although it was a very different ten degrees).

Yesterday, I was going to write about how amazing it was that a mere ten degrees (from 21 to about 11 F) could make the difference in how long it was comfortable on my commute. I was going to say that with that seemingly slight difference that everything seemed to break down; the ability to breath through a balaclava; the ability to keep the cold from toes; the ability of gloves to protect hands from frost-bite; the ability of pain to overcome thoughts contrary...but then, the unexpected happened. I was unable to get on to post. But that's off point.

The point is that today was amazing! Incredible! Ok. It was much more reasonable. It was as if it were again a reasonable temperature -- such as 32 F. At 32 F (with 23 F wind-chill) that's pretty good! So; I broke out the favorites; fleece lingers, with Trek Gel half-gloves. A perfect combination. Or, at least, it is during warm times...or cool times. And it was again today! And today is all that matters. Ever. :)