Coldest So Far

Buds, Yessa, and I biked to the hardware store this afternoon for pet-safe de-icer, and stain for Buddie’s main stairwell improvement project.

It’s 26°, feels like 23°, and was slightly sleeting.

As has been the case the whole time we’ve lived here, deciding what to wear has been a process. More lessons were learned and shared on this frigid ride.

When Buds rode yesterday he discovered that riding with his mask on was really helpful, so I did that. Buddie’s parents brought us some hand warmers, so I tucked one of those in my pocket. We’ve learned riding in boots keeps toes toasty, and stocking hats under helmets help. We only had two stocking hats at the ready, so as the parent with the most hair, I went without.

The ride to the store was easy peasy. Cold but not too cold.

Yessa and I waited with the bikes while Buds went in.

We found everything we needed and headed home.

The ride home was a different experience. The non-existent wind was now straight into our faces.

Buds had told me he thought ski goggles would be useful to add to our bike riding arsenal. I didn’t tell him but I thought, “That’s dumb.”

Then I got sleet in my eyes riding into the wind on the ride home and had to wait for the heat from my eyeballs to melt it.

Pro-tip: sleet feels like pieces of sand and your eyeballs are not the hottest parts of your body.

Who’s the dumb one now, Buds? 😆

The whole ride home I kept thinking:

And yet, it was a delight. I’m so glad we did it.

I apparently like living where the air hurts my face.