First Snow
Our first snow of the season began before noon today. Though the accumulation isn’t expected to stick around, such facts are of little help when you’ve somewhere to be. So, just like I did last season, I pumped up my Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240 tungsten carbide-studded snow tires and began my commute to the gym.
Snow has gotten colder since last year. Either that, or it was just unusually windy today. Anyhow, the tires were (as usual) just great and I found more things rusting to the point of falling apart on my winter bike. Just one more season of this, and then I’ll have a car. In terms of commuting, next winter will likely be quite different.
Last season, our landlord boarded a very nice man from Egypt named Ahmad. He came here for a year to teach Arabic at Pratt Elementary in our neighborhood. At the end of his tenure here, shortly before he left to return to Egypt, he sent us an email saying if we’re ever in Cairo, to let him know, and he could show us around. Both Mykala and I were pleasantly surprised by such hospitality — I wonder if the cold weather of the north drives us all inside and reduces our tendency to open our homes to those we don’t know well. Such thoughts inspired me to get a picture of the next big snow and email it to Ahmad. He wasn’t a huge fan of the freezing weather and constant snow (and he was here for a particularly brutal winter). In fact, his kids back in Egypt didn’t believe him about snow until he sent them a video. Perhaps he’ll be thankful to see the cold weather from afar while he enjoys the mild Cairo winter.