Baby, It’s (F’in) Cold Outside!

I’m going to be honest - it was difficult to get out of bed Monday knowing that I was going to walk through a foot of snow in single digit temperatures with piercing winds to catch a bus across Nine Mile to arrive at my final destination, jury selection. For those with cars, including me, the convenience of my car often prohibits me from biking and using public transportation. And if it wasn't for the blog and the fact that I could write about the experience of taking the bus in the cold, I probably would have started my car and waited for it to warm up. But alas, I walked to the bus stop, which means you’re stuck with another blog post. :)

I was also reminded that while it was my decision to take the bus; for some, there is no choice. People without cars wake up every day and get ready for a variety of weather conditions on their way to bus stops across metro Detroit. Compared to them, I will always be a wimp. BIG cheers to those of you that don’t blink an eye to the weather conditions and deal with our sometimes unreliable transportation system and lack of adequate bus shelters.

Some more cheers and even some jeers to this transit experience:

Cheers to awesome gear that keeps you warm. Specifically, cheers to long underwear, smartwool socks, scarves, hats, warm coats, boots, and gloves/mittens. That’s right - they’re gloves AND mittens!!! It’s the best $20 I ever spent at the Army/Navy store. They’re huge and when I wear them, it looks like I have flappers; however they are two layers of warm goodness. My hands are never cold in these gloves/mittens and I’ve worn them in -27 degree weather while outside for a few consecutive hours. (Why was I outside for a few hours? Snowshoe race on frozen-over Lake Superior. #boom #wisconsintough)

Cheers to businesses and people who shovel their sidewalks right away in the morning. YOU ARE AWESOME!!! Special shout out to the City of Ferndale, who not only made sure the sidewalks were clear, they also plowed the pickup area at the bus stop, which meant I didn't have to tackle walking through a giant pile of snow to get on the bus. JEERS to those that do not shovel sidewalks especially those of you located on busy roads, such as Nine Mile and Woodward. And who’s responsible for the sidewalks on the overpass? Those were brutal.

Cheers to SMART. Surprisingly, both the buses I took were on time. Each bus was roughly ten minutes late. That wasn't bad given the weather. Thank you SMART bus drivers! At the same time, JEERS to SMART. I could not find the bus stop on Nine Mile heading west, close to John R. (Hence why I had to walk in three-feet deep piles of snow on the overpass to the first bus stop, where I saw the sign. Yes, I saw the sign and it opened-up my eyes. #imissaceofbase) Why aren't bus stops properly labeled? Grrr…

Lastly, on this adventure, I regret to inform you that I did not dare take my bike. There was just no way I was getting on the road with cars that were slippin’ and slidin’ and there was definitely no way that I was going to bike successfully on sidewalks. So it was a “one woman, two feet” adventure.