Baby, it's cold outside.

God.  Damn.  It's cold outside.  I know that's not a very original thought, but it's the only thing running through my mind right now.

Because I don't plan ahead for anything, I had very few bike-friendly things to wear this morning.  When I saw the weather forecast, I panicked and threw on as many layers of clothing as possible...wound up with a wool sweater, a sweatshirt, a peacoat, a giant scarf that's the size of half a blanket, a pair of tights, jeans, and two pairs of socks.  And a pair of Merrell hikers.  And a hat squeezed under my helmet.  And some awesome-ass biking gloves that I purchased from Cycle Life.

Pea coats are TERRIBLE for biking.  Not only do they limit your motion range to practically nil, they're not very warm, so you have to layer underneath them, which allows you to move even less.  So as I made ready to ride the 12 miles down the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda to Georgetown then into downtown via Virginia Avenue and Constitution Avenue, I looked somewhat like the little brother from A Christmas Story.  With my computer lashed to my back in a messenger bag.  Nevertheless, I took frost-covered Vancouver and headed out.

There were a surprising number of cyclists on the trail, most of them wearing bright yellow things on awesome touring bikes.  I followed a guy on what I think was a Surly Long Haul Trucker with a Brooks saddle for a while.  The envy drool nearly froze around my mouth.

The trail is beautiful in the morning....there's really nothing like seeing the sunrise over the Potomac River, and if I hadn't forgotten my lobster-style over-mittens and my hands had been warmer, I would have stopped to take some pictures.   Next time.  Maybe I should consider getting these.

Despite the fact that my toes (in spite of 3 pairs of socks, 2 of which are made of wool!) and fingers were frozen by the time I got to mile marker 0, Georgetown is nearly always warmer than Bethesda.  I'm not sure if it's elevation, time lapse, or a combination of both, but I'm usually warmer by the time I get down the trail.  It's not just being exercised-out either...there was no frost on the ground downtown, even in shady patches.

I trundled up Virginia Avenue, which was uneventful, then down Constitution Avenue (on the sidewalk because construction is still terrible and I hate that road), past the National Christmas Tree display (it's so tiny), then stumbled into the garage where I work....only to find that the heat wasn't on.  Sob.