AND THEN THERE WAS SNOW!

Three to four inches of snow on a hillside... Winter arrives in the Seattle area once again.

As I mentioned before on this blog, snow is about as rare as hen's teeth here in the Seattle area. North of town they seem to get some snow nearly once or twice every year, but south of the city where I live it's pretty rare.

We had a big snow west of here, in the Burien area, on New Year's Day. But where I live we barely got an inch or so.

But surprise, surprise! Sunday night it began to snow here in my section of the Seattle metro, and it kept snowing. All night. As I write this on Monday morning there is about 3-4 inches of snow outside (8-10 cm).

Snow gracing my backyard, with the distant snow covered trees adding to the Winter feel.

Virgin snow on a suburban city street, soon to be marred by bicycle tires.

This morning (Monday) I went on a ride on my bike, which is very stable even in the snow. I rode down a nearby trail, the Cedar River Trail. At first, pedaling the bicycle wasn't that tough. It takes a couple of minutes to get used to riding in snow, but you get the feel of it -- take really easy turns, use a low gear, etc. It's actually quite pleasant, especially in the morning hours when there are no cars to worry about.

After about an hour I noticed it was really tough pedaling. It was because a couple km down the Trail the snow was a bit thicker, and it began to make this 'disc' on my wheels, a solid circle of snow that constantly rubbed against my brakes. Riding the bike was like doing a leg press.

I definitely got my workout this morning.

I stopped and knocked the excess snow off of my wheels and it was easier after that.

The Cedar River Trail with 3-4 inches of snow -- untouched by foot or bicycle tires around 4 in the morning.

I was the only one on the Trail -- none of the diehard regular bikers were out this morning -- usually I see a few as early as 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., commuting to work via bicycle. But not in the snow, apparently.

There's nothing like the feeling of riding a 10-speed with the front wheel acting like a disc brake that is always engaged.

It was a nice, quiet ride, and aside from it being like a leg press, it was quite enjoyable.

It's now Tuesday a.m. as I finish this post, and there still is some snow on the ground. It's nice to see a bit of Winter, even if it arrives in February.

The Purple Grape after a long snow run.

Snow on my outdoor lights and ornaments, which I've left up because I have a sick relative who missed out on Christmas.

Wednesday morning: I wrote this post in chunks.... Leaving it as is. The snow is still on the ground outside... It will soon be gone, and we'll be back to our typical grey, cold February weather. But for the time being, it is truly Winter outside. :-)

Here's hoping you all are having a great February.
C.C. 2-8-2017