This is nuts. It could very easily be 50 degrees here today. Instead it is cold. But beyond cold it is windy and really snowy. The windchill today is supposed to hover around -30 degrees. It snowed another 6 inches last night. On top of a lot already. It is supposed to stay cold for another week. Kansas isn’t really prepared for snow removal. At least at this saturation. It is going to be awhile before it’s clear to ride. It’s nearly time for me to think about driving North or South. It is too bad I have way too much stuff to do here to allow that at this moment.

The snow on the peak of our roof is nearly as high as the cupola.

There are many differences between a “normal” life and a cycling life. There are certain days that I’d just as well omit from my life. I used to travel a fair amount on buses. That was my main mode of transportation from Topeka to Colorado Springs when I was at the Olympic Training Center. I hate bus travel. And I spent a lot of time in laundromats then. Not many redeeming things have happened to me at a laundromat or on a bus. If I had the choice to die early or experience these certain days, I would choose the former. I don’t want to go into details, but today was one of those days. Just omit it from my life and expire early. I’m not sure how to avoid days like today. I think that they come upon me now from errors I made previously. Or lack of forethought. I’m not sure.

In cycling, I’ve never had one of those days. I can’t recall one day that is even close to being in that category. The very worst day I’ve had on a bike doesn’t come close. There is always a redeeming value. No matter how painful and unenjoyable it might seem at the time, I know that it always will eventually pay benefits.

That is one reason I ride my bike. To make days like this extinct. At least as close to extinct as possible. I feel so lucky that I have that.