Friday, February 4, 2011

Bike Ride?

That's in Farenheit
It was ten below when I let the dogs out on Thursday morning, and folks all over New Mexico were losing heat when natural gas demand exceeded supply, crashing the system. The other day at work, when we saw the storm approach, I had sent the link to Jack London's To Build A Fire out to my group. My seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Quinlan, had read that to us in class one badass Buffalo winter day. Even the class clowns were riveted and silent.

I didn't know that Ma Nature would take us up on that story so literally, as low temperature records were broken across the state. To about 25,000 souls in New Mexico yesterday, (40,000 if you read the Journal) a fire in the fireplace was as good as it got.

I did see one guy ride into work yesterday morning, when the temperature was about ten below and the wind chill in the minus twenties. Me? I chickened out and took the Subaru.

With the temperatures hovering around thirty today, it seems positively balmy. Ok, time to get back on the bike.

BTW, John Fleck of the Journal has a good story (Jet Stream Detour Left the Freezer Door Open) on the science behind the analysis of this storm.

1 comment:

Steve A said...

I remember that story very well. I am very glad I didn't read your post before I left for work this morning or it would have been in my mind the whole way in. I'm also glad I didn't recollect "Scott of the Antarctic" before I returned home...