Today I did something I rarely do. I drove my hybrid this morning to my place of work. Black ice and high winds were the culprit to not riding. But as usual I felt bad about driving and felt like I missed something not riding my bicycle.
Another reason for not riding was not wanting to swap back in the winter studded tire. I had swapped in the regular, three-season tire on three occasions already and I thought that was enough and I should leave it for a day while the ice melts.
Turns out I had a 10:00 AM appointment for about the same distance and decided to swap in the winter tire for safety reasons for a fourth time with another desperate call to Spring, especially on this first day of Spring!
I timed the swap. It took 14 minutes to place my bike in the stand, take off the front wheel, deflate air pressure in tube, pull off tire and tube from wheel, swap in the winter tire, inflate proper pressure (10 psi less) in tube so side spikes touch pavement, and finally attach front wheel back on bicycle.
Oddly enough I really enjoyed the ride on my bicycle to my appointment on the slippery black ice and in the cold gusting wind. Spikes are peace of mind on snow and ice. So I did take a car off the road anyway this morning for all the good to society that entails, i.e., fewer emissions, less pollution, less congestion and less wear and tear on our roads.
Gusting Winds