I am a wimp...but it's really cold.

My absence here can be explained by shame.

Shamed that I haven't faithfully rode my bike everyday since our 30-day challenge ended like I thought I would. Shamed that I'm such a wimp when it comes to cold. Shamed that I'm lazy and don't like to get out of bed to exercise.

Fortunately, winter seems to be leaving us finally. And I couldn't be happier. Few things are more motivating than knowing that it may actually reach 50 degrees outside when it's time to go home from work. I can get out of bed for that. What I can't get out of bed for is a wind chill of 15 degrees. That's downright painful.

I'm trying not to feel too bad about that after I read this article:

This winter ties for fifth-coldest in Tulsa

By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer Published: 3/1/2010 10:48 PM

This winter tied for the fifth-lowest temperatures for the season on record for
Tulsa, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.With an average temperature
of 34.9 degrees, Tulsa’s winter tied with the 2000-01 winter season’s
temperatures on city records that date back to 1905.

Although the vernal equinox occurs March 20, winter is already over, according to National Weather Service standards. The Weather Service defines the winter season as running from Dec. 1 through Feb. 28.Mark Plate, a meteorologist for the Weather Service, said cloudy skies caused by El Niño, and a lot of storms, caused the cooler weather.“It’s mainly been caused by a lot of Arctic air coming down from the north,” he said.

In addition to lower-than-normal temperatures, Tulsa also had 17.1 inches of snow during the three-month span. The normal snowfall for Tulsa winters is 9 inches. Tulsa also recorded 6.27 inches of rain, closer to the seasonal normal of 5.71 inches, Plate said.

What does this cold winter mean for the rest of 2010?

Other than March, which Plate said should still have below-normal temperatures,
it will be hard to predict based on the winter season alone.“When you get a
pattern, it will last two to three months, but things can change," he said. "At
this point, it’s hard to predict that far into the future.”

Spring is just around the corner. I can't wait.