In The Bleak Mid-Winter

Winter is REALLY here. Eight inches of snow on the ground; temperature in the teens. I have been on break this week, so I haven't officially been commuting, but I have been biking here and there. So far, so good.

I have to say, there's something lovable about the slush mobile. It's a big old honking tank of a bike with big black fenders, fat knobby tires, moustache bars, old-fashioned generator light, brakes that only sort of work, bent crank. But it gets me through the snow in fine form; it's even fun to ride.

To make it a clean sweep, I put the plastic-topped Avocet women's touring saddle on the slush mobile. (All my bikes now have Avocet Touring II women's saddles). It's perfect! No need for the extra saddle pad when riding in work clothes any more. It is wide where it needs to be, cushy where it needs to be.

I bought a new helmet (above). I wanted a helmet without the bizarre aero baffles and fins on the back. I don't care about vents on my commuting helmet, and I want the back of the helmet to be round. The only time I fell last winter (on ice), my head whapped down on the back. Luckily, my silly aero helmet padded the fall, but I can imagine the swoops and fins causing the helmet to be knocked askew, and my head to be knocked silly.

This lovely helmet is shaped like a helmet should be shaped: like a helmet. It's comfy, my goggles go around the outside, and it was only $16 from Nashbar.