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last night's snowfall did not all melt away like i originally thought. the temperature this morning was still around freezing point, so everything stayed just the way it was. the roads were clear for the most part, courtesy of snowplows and salt trucks late last night. the sidewalks were a mess of frozen slush though.

i packed up my things, got dressed, and brought out the bicycle from the basement. the predominant sound on the streets were the noises of icy chunks of snow hitting the pavement. good thing i had my helmet because a few hit me on the head while i slowly pedaled my way to mass ave. i first made a stop to the UPS store to drop off those motorola cellphone batteries i'm returning. from there i took a short cut through avon hill.

bike lanes on the few stretches of road that had them were occasionally still snow covered. i almost lost my balance when i went over a small mound of snow that turned out to be a slick dome of ice. i have a hybrid bike so the wheels are a bit wider than road bikes, but not wide enough like mountain bikes. once we start getting into full-blown winter mode and there are banks of snow lining the streets, i'm not sure if i'll be able to ride my bicycle anymore. the last time i wiped out on a bike was back in 2002.

when i finally got back to belmont, i found my mother cleaning the house on her only day off. hailey was outside in the backyard chasing after falling snow clumps from tree branches. i took a survey of the garden and was shocked to see that the crocuses have already sprouted. i read that's actually normal, but it may also be due to the fact that we've had some pretty warm weather for the past few weeks. at least those days are over now and my bulbs can go back to be dormant.

my mother and sister left for the burlington bed bath and beyond soon afterwards, armed with a stack of discount coupons. i stayed at home to watch the patriots vs. dolphins game. new england lost again, but i wasn't as distraught as i was last weekend in their lost against the saints. i've sort of accepted the fact that they're fallible, so now in their 2nd consecutive loss since 2006, it doesn't shock me as much. but now it's starting to get serious though because the patriots have yet to win a single game on the road this season (london not counting).

my mother bought an electric griddle and we had some korean barbecue when my father came back home in the evening. they offered me a ride back to cambridge because it was so cold outside but i insisted on taking the bicycle home. if it wasn't for the fact that it's dark, riding home at nights is actually safer because there aren't as many cars on the road. i made sure to avoid any snow patches in case of hidden ice slicks. rattling over a pothole, my rear blinker fell off and i had to go back and pick it up from the street. this actually happened twice; the blackburn mars 3.0 seems to have a design flaw. in fact, the two mars 3.0 that i owe were actually found on the streets precisely because they seem to fall off easily.

i checked the temperature when i finally got home: 27°F. the meteorologist said today was the coldest weather we've experienced since march 23rd. i can't repeat this enough though: biking on a cold day feels pretty good because all that pedaling warms me right up. my hands do get a little numb though so i may need some better gloves. i'm under no pretenses that all my recent bicycling will result in some kind of weight loss, but all this exercising does make me feel better about my usual sedentary lifestyle. i haven't noticed any improved physique and tonight might not be the best night to weigh myself since i ate to the point of bursting during dinner.