Yesterday I packed my poncho in my bag, because all the news reports were that it was going to rain, rain, rain all afternoon. Then, just after 2pm, I looked out the window and… SNOW! By three, there was a decent coating of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down like mad.
At 4 o’clock, there were several inches on the ground, traffic was lined up all the way up the hill at OHSU with much honking going on, people couldn’t get out of parking garages because of the traffic, and because they were sliding around, and still the snow was coming down.
I took my bike up to the Portland Aerial Tram to try to get an easy ride down to the waterfront, but the line for it was about 400 people long, so I decided to just ride down the hill. Took it easy on the sidewalks and made it past all the traffic and down the hill. Getting through downtown was a bit dicey in places, as cars had driven through the early snow, causing slush, which had since frozen in spots, but managed to cut through downtown directly to the waterfront without any major problems. From there it was easy.
I had contacted Clever Cycles earlier in the day to see if I could stop by and have them add some grease to my bottom bracket bearings (they were sounding a bit dry), and they said sure, so I stopped by at 9th and Hawthorne and Martina and Dylan were there, saying “we’ve been waiting for you! we’re closing up early, but we knew you were coming!” That shop seriously deserves a big plate of cookies, they’re always that nice.
By the time I made my way up to 14th near Stark, I was covered in a nice layer of snow myself, and it was still coming down. Thankfully I had lots of wool on, so other than my toes, I felt pretty warm.
Arrived home snowy, smiling, and happy that I lived in the city. It was a really pleasant commute home, for the most part, and only took about 10 minutes longer than usual (not counting the stop at Clever Cycles). Not bad for a first try, and Bertram handled the ride brilliantly :) Wide tires, heavy bike, and full chaincase make a great combo for all-weather riding. Happy winter all!
