Thursday, December 4, 2008

Dark Times

December in northern Idaho is a dark month.  By the middle of the month, sunrise is about 7:30, and sunset is before 4:00.  This makes for some cold, dark commutes.  I really don't mind riding in the dark, in fact, I kind of like it.  I especially like night rides in mid-summer.  Mountain biking Canfield Mountain in August is a blast, especially if there is a moon.  I do worry a bit about mountain lions and such, but that just goes with the territory. 

It has not snowed yet in the valley, and not much in the mountains.  On the one hand, I am psyched that I am still commuting into December, my rule of thumb being that I will continue to ride until they start plowing the roads.  On the other hand, I am ready for ski season, as are all of my ski buddies.  This morning, I listened to a message on my voice mail from Rebecca, bemoaning the fact that we aren't skiing yet.  The irony is, I was listening to the message as I sat in the Denver airport waiting on my flight that was delayed due to a snow storm raging outside.

I was in Denver, because my company had sent me to Tampa for a one day software training.  It was sunny and relatively warm there.  I spent all my breaks out standing in the sun, which, unlike north Idaho, is still warm in Florida this time of year.  I even went for a short run at the end of the day.  It was seventy degrees, but I had trouble enjoying it, knowing that tomorrow morning I will be crawling on my bike and it will be in the upper teens.  I don't mind the cold, but I don't need to be reminded of what warmth feels like, when I know it is going to be another 5 months before we feel it again around here.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Upper teens is too cold. You should move to Portland where your friends Mike and Karen live. It's a balmy 50 degrees in Portland today.