Incongruous

I'm biking in January—in northern Illinois!—without gloves or ear coverings, and I'm even a little too warm wearing two shirts.  And yet, it's still too dark to ride without lights.  There are still piles of snow that haven't melted at the corners of every intersection—usually blocking the edge of the sidewalk, meaning I must dismount and hoist my bike over.  Pedaling home at 6:30 this evening felt more like riding around at 9:00 on a late spring night.  Except for those snow piles, of course.

So strange to have gone from bitter cold and seven inches of snow so quickly to this unseasonably mild weather.  But I'll take it.  Saving gas, getting exercise, right?  Besides general laziness, the cold is what keeps us off our bikes and in the car.  It's why we put on our winter weight.  So, I'll take it while I have it.  I'm sure we'll snap back into the typical Chicago winter soon.

In the meantime, I'll try to post a little more frequently.  And post something a little more interesting than one 25-minute bike commute.  It's just that... well, I'm sure you've noticed how our posts taper off in late summer as harvest time hits (as if we were big crop farmers), something that has gotten worse every year in the three years we've been blogging.  So, I'm going to make an effort.  After all, I need to catch your attention with regular posts before I can even hope for you to notice my annual reminder to participate in Earth Hour (March 31).