Winter?

I hope I'm not jinxing myself here, but...What the heck happened to winter in Bend? With the snow gone from town, the sun shining brightly and warm, and the light arriving just a bit earlier in the a.m. and staying just a bit later in the p.m., what's not to like for the central Oregon runner?

Yesterday afternoon I left Fleet Feet at 3 p.m. for a run. I had on shorts, a short sleeve shirt, arm warmers, and sunglasses. I immediately went back in the store to drop the arm warmers. Definitely not necessary. So there I was, running in shorts and short sleeves...on January 14th in Bend! How sweet is that!?

As I cruised through town, I noticed many other runners, walkers, and even some cyclists, all out enjoying the sweetness. After a few miles, I found myself at Pilot Butte. So up, up, up I went and I saw lots of people. A whole lot of people. I looked down at the parking lot from above and saw that is was almost full. Midday, mid-week, in January. How awesome is that!? People were walking, running, pushing baby strollers, walking the dog, and biking up the butte. It looked like a typical late-spring day. Very nice, indeed.

Keep enjoying this beautiful, warm weather. Mr. Winter will most definitely make a return trip to Bend soon enough.