Snail's pace

Despite dwindling temperatures and daylight hours, I'm trying to squeeze in as many cycling commutes as I can. Normally my threshold is about 4 or 5º C, but I've managed to go as low as 0 (with a windchill of minus 4º) this fall by wearing snowpants, doubling up on the mitts, and wearing a hat under my helmet. But these last few weeks have been incredibly mild for November, and I was able to put away the snowpants for a little longer... But this morning, with a windchill of minus 12, I thought it best to bus it.

It's always sad to tuck the bike in for hibernation and go back to public transit. There's nothing wrong with the bus; it's about the same amount of time, and the route is convenient, but it's expensive! It adds about $52 per month, while biking is refreshingly free. And that's only taking the bus one way, and walking the other. But I miss the pure freedom of biking. Of not having to leave the house at a precise time for fear of missing the bus, of the feeling of movement and the wind in my hair... ah, cycling... 

All cycling-wistfulness aside, I do enjoy walking home — though it takes me twice as long as biking, sigh. The slower pace allows me to take in details that I normally miss: neighbour's gardens, dogs playing in the park, the frost on the morning grass. Now that the clocks have changed and I find myself walking home in the dark, it's comforting to see the soft glow from the houses, and people tucked inside making dinner, reading, watching TV or whatever life snippets I notice as I walk by. 

Plus there's all the old familiar faces on the bus—all the strangers that don't talk to each other, despite having the same morning schedule in common. And oh, there are so many interesting characters on the bus. Though I will miss the familiar faces along my cycling route (like "The Twins"; I didn't realize there were two until I saw them together and realized that my days weren't blurring together, or "Old Toad Man" who looks like he's perpetually grimacing, except when you wave and smile at him and his gruff demeanor dissolves). I wonder what interesting (or uninteresting) character I am in someone else's morning commute?