i'd heard last night that we'd get anywhere from 4-7" of snow starting in the early morning hours. i was personally hoping for just a dusting but when i woke up this morning, there was some measurable accumulation. fortunately it was the powdery kind of snow, and with the strong winds, it almost cleared itself. i went out to do some shoveling and that's when i saw steve returning home with 2 friends. steve completely ignored me, and it was in fact one of his friends who said hi while i stood and watched them go inside their house.

as soon as i dug out i left on my bike. plows had already gone through most of the roads (a first pass, since everything would get buried again over time), reburying the bike lanes that were recently uncovered from a week of thawing. i had no choice but to ride in the middle of the street, but luckily there wasn't too much car traffic. i stopped at the cafe to help my father do some shoveling. people had already been walking on the sidewalks and trampled the snow to a compact layer i wasn't able to easily remove.

after i finished shoveling, i continued on my way to belmont. i seemed to be riding into the wind which normally isn't that big a deal (just slower going), but there seemed to be bits of ice mixed in with the snow so it felt like a thousand pinpricks hitting my face. everything was okay until i got to belmont. despite the thousands of dollars paid in property taxes, belmont has the worst snow removal. the streets there were essentially unplowed, and i rode through what felt like clumpy sand. i was almost at my parents' place when i lost control of my bike and fell over. it was more of a controlled fall, but it was enough to bend my newly-installed brake lever. fortunately i was able to bend it back (note to self: go with a different brand next time; or better yet, stop dropping bikes).

while i changed out of my sweat-soaked clothes and took a quick shower, my mother was making belgian waffles (i could smell it throughout the house). we ate it with the ikea lingonberry jam she bought yesterday (i still prefer the strawberry compote i usually get).

the snow finally stopped in the early afternoon but you wouldn't know it from looking outside with winds in the 50-60mph blowing through the landscape. the snowdrifts were so bad my sister went outside to shovel the sidewalks again.

i was ready to bike back home after dinner but the winds were so strong that my parents insisted i get a ride home instead. temperature was already in the 20's, but combined with the winds, the wind chill was in the teens if not lower.