Braving the Elements

Mustang Suit--a waterproof snowsuit

Yesterday, while out for a ride, I started thinking about the weather.  I know, how "Minnesotan" of me to think, talk, discuss, debate the weather.  Sorry, it's in my blood.  Anyway, the summer weather in SF is the opposite of the sunny, hot, dry climate associated with California.  It is windy, foggy, wet.  So the summer weather pattern is as follows (minus any technical weatherperson jargon/explanations)--the heat of the inland desert hits the weather & moisture from the Pacific and the Bay, creating fog that just sort of settles right over us.  Summer mornings are wet and foggy, the sun peaks out for a (usually) warm afternoon, followed by the fog rolling in again in the evenings.  The fall is generally the best weather in SF--warm and no fog.

Yesterday, as I was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, out for a ride with friends to the North Bay, I got to thinking (pretty easy to get lost in thoughts when you sit on a bike for a few hours!) about how we adjust to the weather.  Really, we don't have a choice if we want to live where we do and in order to do the outdoor activities we love.  When I lived in MN last winter, I biked from my brother's to work each day--7 miles each way.  It was great!  I got to catch up on my NPR news & podcasts (though, I still have mixed feelings about riding and listening--a little dangerous!); catch the sunrise over the River; ride through UMN campus--around Mariucci Arena and through the Minneapolis/St Paul campus-connect-way (only law enforcement, buses, bikes can ride); over 2 footbridges, past the museums of the Warehouse District, over a cobble street (I pretended I was in the Paris Roubaix!).  There were mornings it was 17-degrees when I left Greg's, but I wanted to bike, so I dressed warm.  And really, I usually warmed up within the first 15-20 minutes.  There were a few miserable rides when I never warmed up, or during the year's first big snowstorm when I almost got hit by a cab skidding through a stop sign.  Those were the days I thought the bus sounded pretty good.

Braving the cold!

In thinking about other activities that people enjoy--skiing, motorcycling, rock climbing, hiking, fishing--all of these can be dependent on the weather (as well as the enjoyment of them).  But most people, if they want to get out badly enough, will put on the extra pair of long-underwear, rain coat, sunscreen in order to enjoy themselves.

Last winter, when I was home for the holidays, my friend and I ran outside when it was 5-below zero!  We really wanted to get out!  We were so bundled up, only our eyes (which turned into icicles) were showing.  Or a few winters ago, while working in DC, I went out on the water with co-workers.  We had to break the ice at the landing to get the boats in, but we did it.  We wanted to get out on the water and be adventurous!

So, dress appropriately to get out to "brave" the elements.  But get out.  Move, breathe, be.