Winter in Eugene

Riding home at night from my job at the bike shop the streets emit a slick glow. You see, I’m in Eugene, Oregon where winter is foggy, cold, rain persistent. It has rain almost every day for the last 2 weeks—and rain is in the 15-day extended forecast. I’ve gone from a dry lube for my chain to a superior heavier lubricant. Almost overnight it can rust—as do my knees. I’ve begun to stretch in the morning in order to lubricate my joints, to get moving.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, my friends this winter are dealing with

photo credit: Hilde Bialach

And

 

photo credit: Colleen Davick

They are battling snowstorm after snowstorm, 15 inches at a time and negative 15 degrees.

So I ride the wet street, shining beneath street lights, my tires making sizzling sounds on the pavement, car headlights reflected like a thousand fractured fireflies.