Waiting for Warm Weather

I don't know about you, but I have been going crazy with the cold weather and snow and rain. I know that living in the midwest means dealing with indecisive weather, but it is March now. Can the warm weather please start making its way here to stay?

Today got to be the mid-fifties, which compared to the snow that was blasting Missouri the last two weeks, this was like a hot summer's day (someone remind me I said that when it actually is summer in a few months...). I have been talking about buying a bike for a good year now, and I live near one of the trailheads for the Katy Trail so I don't know why I have been dragging my feet so much. Well, I finally did it! I cleared out my honda Fit and drove to Granada and asked the nice people there what would best suit my needs. I told them I am mostly interested in riding on trails (Katy Trail and paved trails such as the Grant's Trail) so they suggested a hybrid/comfort bike. I have always enjoyed riding Giant's bikes so I picked out a silver Giant Cypress. I did not have any choice in the color, so I decided to make it up with a fashionable teal lady helmet. I will post pictures later once I located the missing camera charger.

Everyone at the bike shop was super nice and helpful from the woman who helped me pick out the bike to the man who taught me how to remove the tire to best fit it inside my Fit. He would not let me leave until he was convinced I could do it. That's customer service. He also gave me info on a group of women called The Katy Trail Biker Chicks. I am not sure yet if I will join them or not, but they look like an awesome group of women for anyone in the area who is wanting to get back into biking (or into biking for the first time) and doesn't want to hit the trail solo. Currently my schedule is so wonky that I don't think I will have the time to check it out yet. 

I also met an ex-Army medic and retired police officer while at the bike shop. He had been shopping there for years and was interested in getting a new bike. He was very chatty and I ended up spending about 30 minutes more than I had planned there, but it was well worth it. He now is a tour guide at The Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force which has a World War II museum at the airport there. I never even knew this existed. How have I lived in this part of Missouri my whole life and never heard of this? Apparently you can get there via the Katy Trail, so as soon as this warm weather sticks and trail is not just a pile of mud from all the snow melting, I am hitting this place up. 

I have all sorts of dreams and plans for this year that all revolve around the weather being nice, so winter better end soon. The groundhog didn't see his shadow this year so where oh where is this early Spring?