We Are Having a Blizzard, And It's Not The "Dairy Queen" Kind...

Yesterday, it was 72 degrees F, here in Denver. Yet, on the news, last night, the weather man predicted a blizzard, with significant snowfall for today. And ... he was right.

Welcome to Springtime in Denver.

I got up and rode my bicycle to work, this morning, as I do on snowy days. The wind was in my face, at about 35 mph, but there were less than 2 inches of snow on the road, and the ride wasn't too bad. The 8.5 mile ride took me about 43 minutes, on the fat-front bike.

About an hour and fifteen minutes after I got there, our building experienced a weird, partial power failure. Some rooms had lights, some didn't. All of our communication stuff was out, none of our lab equipment would run, and it was pretty much impossible to get anything done. Word came down at about 9:00 that we were to all go home. I had a bit of work to do, which didn't involve any electrical equipment, so I stuck around a couple of hours before riding home.

In the meantime, the snow began piling up. As I left, riding on the streets was impossible, unless I stayed in a car's tire tracks. For the most part, it was just a matter of going slow (8 mph seemed to be about as fast as I could go and maintain control) and staying inside the ruts.

At least the wind was to my back.

In the Crestmoor Park neighborhood, I saw a VW Tiguan get high-centered on the snow which was between the wheel tracks on his side of the road. I rode on. It didn't look like I could pull him off of the snow with my bike...

Just south of Alameda Ave., I hit a stretch of road where the tire tracks had filled in, after the last car had driven through. I had to push the bike on that section, and then along the bike path behind George Washington High School.

On the bike path...

I ended up pushing the bike about a half-mile, in snow that varied in depth from just below my knees to just over them. At one point, I had to pick the front of the bike up and drag the rear along, because the snow was so far over the axle height that the wheel wouldn't roll.

At the point where I normally leave the road and cut through Garland Park, I had to continue on the street, since the bike path through the park was unplowed. As I rode along on Cherry Creek Drive, a Denver cop drove right by me, without giving me a second glance (which would have required him to stop texting as he drove along). The next car by was a very nice young lady from Texas.

She rolled the window down and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes ma'am," I called back. "Thanks!

As she pulled over, it occurred to me that she had actually asked if I wanted a ride, not if I was all right.

I thanked her, and assured her that I was fine with riding the 2.5 miles to my house, from there. 

I had to change my route, a bit, after I crossed Cherry Creek, because the neighborhood roads were untravelled, and unrideable because of that. I stayed on car-tracked roads and made it to my house a little over 2 hours after I left the office. 

As I arrived, a lady was getting out of her car and into another car, leaving hers in the road, where it was stuck. The car she got into got stuck, and another driver put her bumper against theirs and got them rolling. 

 The abandoned car, near my driveway. It is in the traffic lane, not against the curb...

My truck looks pretty aerodynamic, at this point.

My commute was a bit of an adventure, and a really nice mountain bike ride, actually. I'm hoping we have a snow day, at work, tomorrow. Otherwise, I am burning some annual leave. I can't imagine that the roads are going to be any better, in the morning, than they are now. And, I don't really have the energy to make that ride twice in 24 hours.

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