This morning was slow going. I was up late last night… first at friends playing pool, drinking wine and eating fancy cheeses, and then at home finishing a book I’ve been reading. I was so close to the end, and I just couldn’t put it down.

That meant that the snooze was hit a couple times this morning before I could drag myself out of bed. I got up, fed the dogs and put them outside. I took my shower while they did their business, seriously asking myself if I wanted to ride. I mean, c’mon… there’s all the clothes I have to put on, I have to drag the bike off the wall and weave it through narrow hallways and out a narrow path by the car out of the garage. It’s a hassle! I got out of the shower feeling slightly more awake, and I checked the temperature. A cool 19°F. “No way,” I thought to myself, “would I be able to feel good about myself if I didn’t ride today. 19 is cake. Buck up, lil’ camper and get out there. Look on the bright side… it might rain today!”

So I did. It wasn’t bad at all… in fact, it was nice. There were a couple isolated spots where sleet was lightly coming down, but it was a pleasant ride in with nothing out of the ordinary.

It’s funny. If anyone would have told me 6 months ago that I’d be riding around in 10°F weather, I would have laughed at them. It would have been a hearty good natured laugh, but it would have been a laugh. “I’m not in college anymore, yo. I have a car for when it gets that bad out.” Now, I look at 19°F and think it’s pretty warm for this time of year. I look forward to it being in the 30′s again, much less the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s!

Speaking of temperature, I’ve become (go figure) interested in temperature and precipitation lately, specifically, historical averages and how that might help me prepare for the coming months. Today, for instance, the average temperature for January 25th between the years 1939 and 2005 is 30.07°F, according to data at the United States Historical Climatology Network Today is a touch colder than the norm, but it’s not too far off compared to other days in the past. To wit: in 1963 it was -7°F, and in 1950 it was 72°F. Tomorrow the average drops to 29°F, but there’s a forecast of 50°F!!

Precipitation for today between 1939 and 2005 is 0.03 inches. Looking outside, we might beat that.

Looking at the entire month of January, historically speaking we’ve averaged 31°F. Moving on the February, however, and the average jumps to 34.6°F, and March coming in at a toasty 43.8°F, and April a blistering 55.8°F!

And that, folks, is the whole reason I started looking into historical weather data. I wanted to know if my “sense” that February is the coldest month of the year was correct. I’ve considered February to be the Bitch of Winter for just about all my life, never really questioning my completely unscientific personal observations. Looks like I was wrong! I’ve been dreading February since I started cycling to work, wondering if I’d be able to hold onto my resolve and stick to it. Given the data, I feel a lot better now because there are warmer days coming!

Happy Cycling!