Season Change
Tomorrow is the vernal equinox and the first day of spring, and today is the first day of winter. Over the last 24hrs St. Gallen has had a dumping of snow greater than the entire winter combined. The snowdrift on the balcony is about 30cm and I can barely see the town through the snowfall. This was supposed to happen in December! A few more days of this and I may pull the snowshoes out of storage.
New things are happening at the apartment. The sofas arrived over the weekend and I couldn't be happier. The one sofa is dark blue, sits in the office, and also doubles as a bed for guests. The other sofa is sand coloured, L-shaped, and is part of the main seating area in the living room. It's strange writing that: I've never had my own living room before.
Tomorrow morning I fly to Newark to visit a friend. I look forward to getting away for a while and on Friday we're seeing the Broadway production of Chicago. I'm also shopping for the Trek 520 touring bike, which I wrote about earlier. It's been difficult finding a dealer who is willing to order the bike and risk that I may not buy it. I can't, of course, commit until I've given it a test ride. Hopefully that'll work out and there'll are no issues importing it into Switzerland.
A few people have asked me what's so special about this bike. Last year I established that I enjoy touring, but also that there are better choices to tour than with a mountain bike. I shopped around, read forums, and only had praise to read about the Trek 520. It looks like a racing bike but is built with stronger materials (albeit heavier) to handle the weight from the gear. The geometry is such that you sit more upright for comfort and to view the scenery, and the price is also very good in comparison with other touring bikes. So why not? If it all works out I'll likely upgrade the rear derailleur and change the gearing ratio of the crank. I have my fingers crossed.
I don't ski often or very well but know enough to avoid black runs and how not to hurt myself. But this year I wanted to learn how to snowboard! I thought it looked difficult and learned very quickly that it is. I hired a teacher and highly recommend any beginner to do the same. He patiently spent the day with me working on the basics of stopping and turning. I fell often and have the bruises to prove it. I also had two or three spectacular falls that included somersaults and banging my head on the hard snow. Thankfully I was wearing a helmet! I received a beating and was shamefully happy that Saturday was a write-off due to rain.