Tuesday Attire. . .

 

Another variation of the usual "uniform" this morning.  Probably the last time this season that the wool snowflake socks will make an appearance though.  But hope springs eternal.  For a late snowfall that is.

Two of the Nordic ski centers we like in Northern Michigan report very good to excellent springtime conditions and anticipate remaining open for business as usual through the first weekend of April!  Sadly, the weekend is already spoken for, or I'd have the car loaded by midday Friday, so we could head the 2.5 hours north for one last hurrah on the trails until next winter.

In any case, this weekend might be a good time for the twice yearly swap of at least some of my cold weather attire for/with some spring-summer items at present residing in the cedar closet downstairs in Zum Stollenkeller.  Caution is necessary however since it can be chilly into May in our neck of the woods.

It's best to exchange just a few winter items for spring at first just in case it suddenly becomes cold again.  I always think of the 7-8" of snow we once received during the last weekend in April one year in Minneapolis in about 2002 or '03. 

A grad school friend and I had registered for and planned to ride in a large organized bike ride just north of the Iowa state line that Sunday.  A metric century (approximately 62 miles if memory serves).  Anyway, the telephone rang at about 6:10am.  I had just risen, was making coffee, chatting quietly to the cat, and picked up to hear him ask, "Have you looked outside?"

Needless to say, we rethought our plans quickly -- We had enjoyed a lovely, warm April to that point -- and decided on getting some breakfast at a local eatery several hours later instead.  I returned to bed that morning now so many years ago.

Lesson learned.  It's really best not to jump the gun when it comes to putting away cool or cold weather attire in the Upper Midwest of the U.S.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

 

P.S.

The ride organizers later sent the jersey I had purchased on registration (by old-fashioned mail), which I still have and wear occasionally each summer when on the bike.  A bit sheepishly, of course, since we did not actually do the ride when it was rescheduled a few weeks later.  But the story is fun to trot out now and again.  

I still kid my friend, now a Philosophy professor in the Pacific Northwest, whenever we speak.  Imagine backing out because of a little bit of snow on the ground.  It's Minnesota after all!