Let's get to work

      It seems winter has finally arrived in Michigan after the faux fall temps have teased us the past few weeks.  That's the way it goes around here, early snow storm followed by a meltdown, but now the real thing is coming and the temps promise to be in the 20's for the next week, or whenever.  It brings up the issue of dressing for the weather.  The normal mode of dress for this climate is an insulated jacket with a waterproof finish, basically a ski parka.  That's what everybody grabs to go out the door.  

     Using my bike for daily transportation, I'm no different.  I do wear a wool base layer on my legs (longjohns!) but other than that I dress normally.  That seems to be a controversy among cyclists thinking of practical cycling.  In any weather people seem to think they are obligated to wear special clothes to ride a bike.  I asked the bike, it didn't care.  It doesn't seem to matter to anybody I meet either. People seem to think you have to "layer up" to be active in the cold when actually the opposite is true.  The real challenge is to keep from over dressing.

     When I get to my occasional job as a pretend teacher (substitute) I'm dressed like anybody else.  On the cold days one of the kids will always ask; "Weren't you freezing?"  I say; "No, I worked up a bit of a sweat on the way, did you?"  "No" they say.  "I guess I was warmer."  That's the way things work, walking out to the house in bad weather I curse myself a bit, but after a couple of blocks on the bike I'm pulling off the hood, unzipping the parka and trying to cool off.