Culture
The Procrastinator's Guide to Winter Bicycle Commuting
This year, I've told myself, is going to be different. It can be different for you, too.
Officially, the first day of winter is Dec. 21. Unofficially, it's damn cold outside, the sky is dark by 5 p.m., and spending more than five minutes on my bicycle turns my nose into a snot fountain. Winter is coming, and I am not prepared.
Truthfully, I've never been prepared to bike in what passes for winter where I live, in Washington, D.C. By late October, I start riding to work with socks on my hands. By November, I'm layering a sweat shirt and a shapeless leather jacket from JCPenney. Biking at all between December and March has, in past years, meant sacrificing my dignity for warmth. And that's if I decide to bike through the cold. (The last two winters, I let my tires go flat. Such fail.)