It’s the new year and I’m back from one final vacation trip–an overnight with S. at the beach. Oh, it was just a perfect mini vacation! But today it’s time to get back to work, so I woke up early, did some reading, packed my lunch, and headed to work, taking my Brompty to the train station. Yep, the car’s still sitting at the mechanic’s in Virginia, so its the multimodal commute for me. It takes about six minutes to race down the hill to the station, and then just 14 or so minutes on the train, and then another 15 minutes on the bike to campus. If I didn’t insist on being ridiculously early for the train, this would be a quick and easy way to get to work, and once I wrap my mind around it, I’m quite sure it’ll feel totally normal and easy peasy. It’s funny how only when there’s no choice do I make the tiny adjustments in my schedule necessary to leave the car at home; in this respect I suspect I’m just like everybody else who owns a car. Anyway, it was cold, I was happy for gloves and hats, the teaching was rusty, and then it was time to go home and put the hiccups of the first day back in the saddle to rest. I snapped this picture looking down the tracks, waiting for the train. They’re putting in a new platform with new stairs and new lights and new benches and new signage down the tracks, but for now it’s a single bench, plywood walkways, and a stool at the bottom of the train’s stairs for the climbing part. If I keep commuting like this I’ll get to see the daily march to a grand opening, and if you know me you know that this just might be the incentive I need to get me out of my car for good. The train came right on time and two stops later I was pedaling back up the hill to home, a wintertime multimodal commute in the bag. Welcome, 2013!