Winter cold returns

I took an earlier bus to downtown than usual this morning. I hadn't really planned on riding a bus for this leg of my commute to Tukwila; I'd hoped to bike it instead. But I checked the forecast before leaving the house, and the temperature was 35ºF. This led me to put on a fleece jacket, which I don't usually do until the temperature drops below 40º.

Boy, we've been having some nice weather in the Seattle area lately. This weekend was sunny with highs that must've been around 60º. I did some gardening and even led an early baseball practice in the unexpected sunshine, on a dry field which is almost unheard of at this time of year. So seeing that temperature this morning was an unpleasant reminder that even in a warm El Niño winter like this one, we still have a month to go before Spring.

I took the garbage out, where it felt even chillier than 35º, so I put on some sweatpants. Then in checking the bike before starting my ride, I noticed that my rear wheel was starting to rub up slightly against a brake pad, and since this can take 5-10 minutes to adjust, I figured I could live with it for the ride downtown. Starting off down the street, the bike was fine but it was darned cold, especially after all these sunny warm days.

I bailed out of the bike ride and caught that earlier bus downtown instead. Traffic was ugly on the freeway, but the bus sailed right through it in the right lane to the University District, and then on the express lanes to downtown where I caught my connecting bus to Tukwila without having to wait more than half a minute at my transfer station. Quite a nice alternative to driving in that nasty freeway traffic or down Aurora Ave where lane closures are in effect, albeit later in the morning. I'll give it another go tomorrow, though tomorrow's forecast calls for rain in the evening. Hopefully I'll beat it home.