Tales from the Top Tube #1: Fog City

When I left the apartment building at 1:00 AM to head home after a long and eventful night with great friends, over great food, and listening to great music, a dense fog blanketed the city and the temperature had dropped well below freezing. It was an unusual night for Salt Lake City. Fog isn’t a common occurrence, but it brought a great serenity to the roads and made me feel like I was the only one around. Visibility was about a block, or less than ¼ of a mile. I could see my light, like a solid beam, way out in front of me, and everything was wet. The ground had what looked like snow on it, but it wasn’t slippery. I couldn’t see anyone around, and counted four cars during the three miles back to my house. It was solitary, quiet, and wet.

When I was riding on 8^th East, I noticed more white on the road ahead. It started snowing lightly and I realized that for one short block, the ground was blanketed with an even layer of snow. Then it was gone. The snow turned back to fog and the anomaly of a weather system had passed. I rode the rest of the way home without seeing anyone, alone in the city, with all the streets to myself. At one point, my eyelashes froze together when I help my eyelids closed for too long. It was solitary, quiet, wet, and frozen.

Rides home like the one I had tonight remind me of how safe and how perfect the bicycle is. Gliding through the fog and snow, I remembered all of the other great rides I have had. It gave me time to think, and I always think best on my bike. To quote the late John F. Kennedy,

“Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”

(Note: Tales from the Top Tube will be a regular feature on SaltCycle.com, chronicling adventures and tales of the big city, from a bicyclist’s perspective.)

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