First taste of winter

I had just been discussing with some other locals that we hadn’t had snow on the hills yet this year. That's a bit late! But then it came with the vengeance.

One morning I was having my breakfast, and it started to snow. Very scenic! But not necessarily good for logistics. Luckily, I didn't have any teaching early on. So after breakfast I just went up to my home office and worked there for a while. In the meantime, the snow outside could melt again.

By the time I went to work, the roads and paths were clear again. No problem! But the hills were beautiful with their new white coat.

Snowy hills in the distance

The next morning I again sat down for breakfast. It was getting light. Until it wasn't. It got dark again! A big cloud rolled in, and to my surprise I heard thunder soon after. And then it started hailing like there was no tomorrow. And then it snowed. The road looked tricky. I stayed in my home office until about 11. Then I chanced it. 

View from my home office 

The bicycle path was still full of hail, so when I briefly came off it in the nearby village I decided to stay off. I could avoid using it by just staying on the road. And then everything was totally fine!

The bicycle path wasn’t very inviting 

Susan had had difficulty getting to work as a car had slid out of control and got in the way of her commute. The roads in her neck of the woods are so narrow it only takes one misplaced car to put everything into deadlock. But she had got there. And Martin had managed without issues.

I did come into the office, though, to an email that the meeting I had that day was going to be held online, as the person chairing it had not dared attempt their commute. This raised some eyebrows; surely, if Susan and Martin could do it, so could they. But alright; then we do it online.

On the way home all was well again. And the next morning I had to get to Bangor, so I used a different route. And that turned out to still be icy on the less travelled parts! But I negotiated them without anything going wrong. And on the way back, all was well again.

More ice on the road than I like

All that was uncomfortably combined with the heating in my office not working. So I made sure to do all these commutes with longjohns under my trousers, and my big hiking boots with sizable socks! Otherwise my office would be too uncomfortable. But in this kind of weather, it is actually quite nice be quite warmly dressed on the bike. At no point did it feel excessive and sweaty.

On the Friday afternoon, someone appeared to repair my heating. With success! So the longjohns can stay home next week. 

By the end of the week all the logistics had gone well, and the view of the mountains was still gorgeous. And I hadn't fallen ill. So first week of winter can be officially declared a success!