Going Bikeless Crazy

Wet maples abound in our yard.

At times I've struggled with keeping my head above the weather, so-to speak. I try to calm myself when it's humid, but it doesn't work. It's below zero and I dream of warm sandy beaches. Right. I admit I have zero tolerance for extremes, and as my husband puts it, "a low threshold." I'm okay with that. I've learned to turn on the air conditioner in summer or sleep in our cool basement. In winter, I can tolerate 64F indoor temperatures for a while, then I take a hot shower—my concession for lower heating bill.

Left: Puddles in our driveway. Right: Looking through my bike wind chimes to the wet street.

Ever since Wednesday, rain washed out bridges, closed roads and schools, dipping temperatures into the 40s F. Wetness is seeping into our basement and around the windows on our sleeping porch. And we're not talking about showers, but heavy non-stop drenching rain (6" so far). Despite a sewing project, which is thankfully almost finished, baking brownies, watching movies, reading a novel and bicycle magazine, the sedentary life fills me with anxiety. And this time, it's not only me but our entire household. We've all exhausted our patience, including our two boys who find it difficult to keep hands off each other without an Internet babysitter. So we divide projects and errands, keep our distance, send one child at a time to a neighbor or friend's house. It works, for the most part. However...

I am going bikeless crazy.
It's been four days without much exercise. I cannot willingly ride a bike in cold rain. Walking is an unpleasant affair with wind inverting the umbrella and drenching horizontal rain. Impossible to keep feet dry. I have, however, attended my first yoga session in years, one that holds promise to stretch this creaky body and calm a cranky mind. And, so it goes. I drive the car one mile to yoga class. Strange.

Looks like we'll get a reprieve on Monday.

What do you do when a stretch of bad weather hits your area?