Monday 19 January 2009

Thawing Out




Yeah, I know, I’m Canadian and I should accept the cold.


But I spent the last 4 weeks or so with my scooter in the garage!


This is not normal weather for the West Coast - or the Wet Coast - of Canada.


Finally, the snow is starting to go. FIrst we had huge amounts of rain and some terrible flooding in the Fraser Valley. Then there was some sun and even a bit of warmth. For the past few days now, we’ve had a blanket of fog over the whole Lower Mainland for most of the day.


However, I did have the opportunity to ride to work a couple of days last week. I was pretty please how easily my scooter started after 4 - 5 weeks of cold weather. I usually ride year round so I hadn’t taken any special precautions for the cold. I had to start it about 5 times before it caught but was fine after that.


The second day I rode was a bit of a dumb move. It was cold and as I came to the first stopped sign and put down my feet, my shoes skittered on the black ice on the road. I was determined to ride, though, and carefully made my way to school. On the way home from school, I was shrouded in a blanket of fog but at least the ice was gone.


On the weekend I planned to go for a ride but the fog worked against me during the times that I was able to get away.


Big, dirty lumps of snow are still on the side of streets and piled up on lawns. Usually, when snow falls here, it’s washed away by the rain in a day or two. This is unusual to have such a cold snap. And the fog caused my Friday night bike patrol shift to be cancelled. Rats!


Oh, and count me in as one of those Canadians who's excited that Obama got elected!