Say it ain't snow

[Wasp]

We had unusually great weather most of January. Day after day of beautiful sunshine. We managed to cycle almost everyday in January. The normal weather pattern in Vancouver is rain, rain and more rain this time of year so this wonderful stretch of sunshine was really enjoyed until February arrived bringing cold temperatures. A 66 yr old record was broken the other day it got down to -8.4c
http://Globalnews.ca
Now the forecast is snow early Monday. Usually when it snows here driving is a nightmare as most people tend to ignore the need for snow tires until it actually snows and then.....well it's a bit late at that point. On the bright side, Monday is a holiday (family day) so traffic should be lighter than normal.
My bike told me today she's really really really ready for spring.

[ny biker]

My bike is also ready for spring, as is the rest of me.

Mid-February tends to bring snow to the northeast and mid-Atlantic US, sometimes in the form of huge storms. We just marked the fourth anniversary of Snowmageddon -- two big storms that hit within days of each other. But this weekend we've got Snobiggie -- flurries yesterday and today, from two different storm systems, but no accumulation to speak of. We may get worse later this week, but they're saying the predictive models are jumping all over the place so they don't yet know what we'll get, if anything.

I'm not happy about the extended below-average temps that we're having, but I prefer it to major snow. I'm hoping that the warm-up (to normal mid-40s temps) that they're forecasting next weekend will come to pass so I can get out for a bike ride.

I don't have snow tires for my car. The general winter weather here doesn't warrant them and I have no place to store any extra tires that are not on the car (except for the spare, of course). I did recently replace my regular all-weather tires. The old ones, which were the make/model that came with the car, handled very badly in wet weather. So I did some research online, which is time-consuming for a Prius because many people recommend tires that handle poorly and wear out quickly but get great gas mileage, so you really need to read the details to find out why people like them. Eventually I settled on a set of Continentals that handle much better but are still low rolling resistance. Then I found out that they are not carried by many tire stores around here, and the place near me that does carry them overcharges for them. I ended up getting them at a tire store in southern Maryland. A few years ago I would never have considered going to that area for tires or anything else, because it seems totally out of the way from where I live. But I now ride my bike there so much that I know that it's actually not that far away and I'm familiar enough with the roads to make it easy to find my way around. Cycling FTW!!

Since I don't have snow tires, I tend to just stay home for a day or so when we get winter precip that makes the roads slippery. Luckily I'm able to work from home if necessary. There's so much traffic in this area on a normal day that even a small amount of snow can completely stop traffic for miles around. Many people have learned the hard way to just stay home.

[Wasp]

Update...we got a few snowflakes around 0100 then the rain started and apparently will continue for the entire week.......oh joy!!!
My bike is sooooo upset. What do you say? Hang in there spring is coming? You know you hate being out in the rain? Your parts may rust? You could use more time on the trainer?