Monday, April 8, 2013

does size matter?

You bet it does -- at least when it comes to puddles. 
I rode across numerous puddles, frozen and wet, today on my way to and from work. 
Which do you think I would rather ride across...

this slender, efficient, gently flowing one, in a parking lot:


 ... or this lifeless but swollen one, on a shared sidewalk?
(i.e., a path specifically made for pedestrians and cyclists to use)

Call me crazy, but I did try to ride across the big one. The top was frozen, and I made it almost to the end before the ice cracked under my back wheel, my front wheel spun out and I almost toppled over. I just managed to keep my balance and stay dry...

It was ironic, really, as on the weekend I'd been telling Hubby, who so graciously maintains my bicycles for me, that the big knobby winter tires he chose are amazing -- 
Even though I've ridden across all shapes and sizes of ice patches this winter, 
I've had only a couple of close calls. 

Today I nearly wiped out not once, not twice, but three times!           

But I lived to tell the story, and as always, I'm glad I cycled to work.

When I arrived, some of my students told me the temp was -14 C with a wind chill of -17. They were quite impressed that I had ridden my bike on such a frigid day.

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