Driving Weather

I must be transitioning in to a slightly jaded version of a cyclist. I know this because I find myself rolling my eyes when people talk to me about how bad it is to drive in the cold/snow/rain/wind/ice/etc.

It's not that I find them to be lesser citizens of this world...if they don't like driving in the snow, that is their business. Not everyone needs to ride all winter long. Maybe it is just a topic of chit-chat... I don't know. I don't expect everyone to catch a case of the crazies and start cycling to work in February.

But...with all that said. When someone like my mom calls me to tell me how bad the rain was between Michigan and Florida as they make their journey south...I'm slightly less sympathetic than I would have been in years past. Rather than thinking; "that sounds rough". I am thinking; "It's just rain. What's the big deal?"

I didn't say that to her, of course. I'm not interested in hurting her feelings, starting an argument, or just generally being a pain in the ass. But, nonetheless, I'm lacking a certain sense of sympathy. After doing a 30' slider down 32nd st on ice/snow, while fighting a head wind and trying to find my way through limited visibility due to snow...a car trip through a rain storm just doesn't seem like a big deal. So it rained? In a car that doesn't sound unpleasant. In fact, it doesn't sound like it would effect the trip one way or the other...you are so isolated in your car that it seems unlikely that some rain/snow will significantly effect the trip.

Anyway... as I said...maybe I'm just getting a bit jaded. Maybe I'm just feeling short tempered. But, after spending time on a bike in foul weather it is difficult to appreciate how someone might find being warm, dry, and comfortable in their car could be viewed as an obstacle.