Holy Crap, It's Friday Already? Well So Much For That...

Well there I was being all cynical about the snow:

Feeling nostalgic for the days when people didn't freak out and issue a zillion advisories because it might snow a little bit at some point in the day.

— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) November 15, 2018

Meanwhile we got walloped pretty good; it was supposed to snow for a bit then turn to rain, but we ended up getting something like six inches in Central Park and then the entire metropolitan area plunged into chaos:

Oops!! the winter weather has started. The GWB is a total lockdown. Expect Heavy traffic. pic.twitter.com/uYP0N067ka

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) November 15, 2018

Also, despite frequent tweets all day long from the city about how they were prepared for the storm, once the actual snowfall began I didn't see a single plow until well into the night.  I also witnessed some truly spectacular displays of wheel-spinning.  Now I hate to be one of those "Back in my day" types....

[INSERT GRANDPA SIMPSON GIF HERE]

...but back in my day they actually taught people how to drive in snow.  Now the prevailing wisdom appears to be, "If you lose traction then FLOOR IT," and by nightfall the entire city seemed to reek of burnt rubber.  It was a display of wanton and pointless tire destruction rivaled only by that guy Seabiscuit or whatever his name is:

And speaking of destroying your tires I'd be remiss if I didn't gratuitously post my most favoritest snow-inanity video of all time:


It's just so deeply satisfying.  Also, WHY DIDN'T HE JUST BACK OUT OF THE SPACE?  It's fascinating to me that there are people who would rather fight gravity to the death than take advantage of it.

Anyway, this guy and millions like him are out on our public roadways every single day, which tells you everything you need to know about why it's utter carnage out there.

Moving on, if you've come around here looking for me these past few days and wondered where I've been, I'd like to say I've been busy riding.  Unfortunately I can't say that, because I haven't been riding much at all this week.  First it was Veteran's Day (observed) on Monday, which meant the kids were off school and I had to put on my parenting waders and venture waist-deep into the muck of child-rearing.  Then stuff, and things, and other stuff, and by Wednesday I was like, "I'd better get onto the trails before this lousy weather hits!" and that's what I did:

Even then it was a hurried affair, and I didn't even bother to wear bikey-specific clothing--though I did sport some designer pants from Mission Workshop:

I received these awhile back for the purposes of evaluation, and since ostensibly I'm a bike blogger I'll go ahead and evaluate them now while there are still one or two of you paying attention.  Here are my main thoughts:

• They have proven quite durable, though I admit I don't wear them all that often;
• The reason I don't wear them all that often is the miracle fabric they're made from feels fairly unnatural and doesn't breathe well.  It also doesn't absorb moisture, which is good for dealing with wheelspray but not good at all if you, well, relieve yourself in a hurry and happen to shake inadequately (hey, it happens to the best of us);
• That said, I do go right for them when it's cold and I want to do a ride but I also want to do stuff after the ride without getting changed first, because the stretchiness is good for riding but they're normal pants with pockets and stuff;
• Still, the fact that they don't breathe well means you run the risk of tempting the tinea cruris if you're not careful, so you'd better change eventually.  

So yeah, handy to have, but I wouldn't exactly run right out and buy five pairs if you know what I mean--though I did wear them to Consumer Reports:

(Photo by Ted Bongiovanni; arrow by me; tinea cruris by Mission Workshop.)

Ultimately, as far as jeans and cycling, I've gotten the best bang for your buck from cheap stuff at Uniqlo, though sooner or later the pockets get holes in them from my keys.  Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, their Heattech undershirts make great and economical base layers.  (You're welcome.)

But yes, the upshot of all of this is I've only gotten one (1) ride in so far, and that's not going to change today as the first snows of the season have also been accompanied by the first kid-puking of the season, so it's back to the parenting waders for me.  (Or at least the Mission Workshop pants, they're probably pretty decent at puke-deflection.)

This isn't to say I've been sedentary, however; in fact I've run not once but twice so far this week, which is unprecedented.  I assure you this is not because of my New Year's resolution, though I also assure you I will furnish you with a complete accounting at year's end.  No, the reason I'm running is because it doesn't take very long and I also live across the street from an awesome park.  Plus, I sort of even like running, though getting past the initial pounding is quite difficult both physically and mentally.  Starting a bike ride is like easing into a warm bubblebath, whereas starting a run is like leaping naked into the ocean in the dead of winter--though maybe I'm just running the wrong pressure in my Reebok Pumps:

I really should convert to tubeless.