The polar vortex arrived in NYC yesterday as predicted. There was a chance of snow, so the city salted the streets, and that turned out to be unnecessary. I hope we have warm rain soon. I decided not to ride because snow and night are a bad combination. I had a dress rehearsal in the evening. I took the subway. A fellow singer/friend asked me if I'd ride back to Manhattan after rehearsal, so I said sure. We grabbed a couple of Citi Bike bikes. I thought our sense of adventure was admirable. But it turned out to be a very bad idea. I'm not acclimated to the cold yet, so I got cold AND I lost my warm hat at college yesterday.
Even worse, my friend had some medical condition in the middle of the cold, windy ride. She felt faint and couldn't continue. We stopped at a 7/11 so she could warm up. I docked my bike and went back to meet her. I docked her bike and walked with her to her home to make sure she made it safe. It was really weird how the faintness just came on. Our theory is that the sudden cold shocked her body. It shocked mine, too, and I think I won't ride today, either.