commuting in spring

my world - 7:30 am on the first day of spring

The way my week began, I foolishly thought I might be through with winter commuting. 

Back to work after a week off, on Monday through Wednesday I rode Beatrice, with her slick tires and lighter frame. To be sure, there were still a few rather large puddles on the bike path, and in the morning those puddles had some ice on them, but overall, the ride was smooth and fast and spring-like. Even with the heavy accumulation of sand and gravel, it was delightful to ride on the road on 102 Avenue, instead of resorting to the sidewalk. 

Of course I knew there was snow in the forecast for Thursday, the first day of spring. Different forecasts said different things -- 40% or 60% chance of flurries; 1-2 cm; light snow -- stuff like that. I decided to be cautious. 

On Sunday evening when I went to clean and lube the chain on Miranda, my winter bike, I had discovered that the pedals wouldn't turn backwards. The rear wheel hub was shot. Our local bike shop is closed Mondays so we had to wait till Tuesday to take her in. Hubby kindly did that while I was at work, and when I got home that evening I phoned the bike shop to ask them to please, please have it ready for me to ride on Thursday in case in snowed. They promised they would and sure enough, when I stopped in on Wednesday after work, the bike was ready. 

Me: So, what causes that hub problem?
Bike Shop Guy: (chuckles respectfully) When you use a bike as much as you do, you can expect that. 

So, Miranda was fit and ready for Thursday's ride. It snowed all right -- maybe 5 cm, maybe a little more. There were not many bike tracks on my way to work, and I didn't see any other cyclists. I arrived damp, but happy. 

After work, because of the 50 km/hr wind, there was drifted snow, so deep in a couple of spots that I had to get off and walk. But it was a good ride. Because of the big puddles on the shared sidewalk, I rode on 95th Avenue and that was fairly fast and easy. It makes my ride about 2 km longer, but on a warmish spring day, that is a welcome thing.