Winter weather

We are half way through the January already and today is the first day we finally got some true winter weather. Just last Monday it felt more like spring when air temperature reached nearly 60F (~15C) and sky was clear and blue. But last night it snowed a few inches/cm and this morning I started the day with shoveling the snow in my driveway.
Then, after looking around for a while, I decided to skip cycling to work today. I realized that not only the tires on my bike are probably not the best choice for a heavy, wet snow, but also that road conditions may be not as good as I would like.

If I had a cleared bike path to my disposal, my decision would be different. But as I was driving in, I realized that I made the right choice. The roads were clear, well, mostly. But the shoulder where I usually ride my bike was covered with a few inches of wet, muddy snow. This means that had I taken my bike to work, I would have to ride it even closer to the centerline than usual blocking most of the traffic this way. But I guess I should be comfortable with it. Or shouldn't I?

Then, on my way back home I noticed how messy the streets became. The day was relatively warm and all the overnight snow has been slowly melting the whole day. On my return ride I would have been biking in mud.

I guess sometimes it is just easier to use other means of transportation.