I don’t know about what is like where you live but here in Southern Ontario there’s snow. I did my first sub-zero day of bike commuting. I was shocked to see that even the midday highs went above zero and the snow wasn’t going away.
It was a quick trip from warm autumn weather with highs in the high teens to full on serious winter. I’m struggling to find the things I need. Where are my winter cycling gloves? Where’s my puffy winter coat? Etc etc.
And lots of my friends are struggling to adjust. “Too soon,” they’re saying.
Canadians struggle with our long winters. People are sharing stories of the children and pets excitement at the first snow but confessing that they view it with dread, a thing to be endured not enjoyed.
I shared this story on the Norwegian secret to enjoying a long winter. Here’s another How people stay happy in this Norwegian town where the sun doesn’t rise. I also shared some of our older posts: Making peace with winter and Riding on the cold and the snow.
I’m looking forward to snow tubing with my kids over the holidays. I’m thinking I might go skating outdoors too. I’m definitely excited about fat biking. On the whole, my “winter dread” meter is running pretty low.
I’ll see you out there playing in the snow! How are you coping? Are you ready for snow and cold?
I found embracing winter made a huge difference in my enjoyment – cross country skiing and snow-showing and just walking in the snow. Wearing warm enough stuff – long underwear and wool socks made a huge difference! And I fill my house with green things so there is lots of growing stuff indoors to offset the lack of color outside. I’m in SE Michigan where our winters can all too often these days be lots of ice and sleet and not enough good snow to play in. I’ll take the latter any time!
I enjoy the snow as long as the weather can let me go outside and do some walking; otherwise, I will just stay inside and read a book or listen to music.
I find snow so much easier to deal with than the sorry excuse for a winter we normally get around here: 5°C, grey, rain, bleh. Snow is cool, you can have fun in the snow! I wish we got more of it.
I’ve never been a winter fan, but have worked toward adopting the Scandinavian attitude of ‘there is no bad weather, just bad clothing’. Investing in base layers, sweaters, boots and really good mittens has made a big difference over the last few years.
That is a good attitude that the Scandinavians have since winter is a part of the seasonal cycle of nature