Clovers In The Atmosphere

I feel your pain -- though the winter in Winniped is definitely more harsh than the winter in Madison, I know what you're going through. When people here have asked me about winters on the east coast, I tell them that the biggest difference between the winters there and here isn't how cold it gets at its absolute worst, but rather, the length of the winter. Madison's -15 days don't bother me all that much; we always had a couple of them in New Haven (and in Buffalo), so have a few additional days like that every winter isn't too big of a deal in the big scheme of things.

On the other hand, in New Haven we were able to row on the water until late November, and we got back on the water in mid-late February. Here, the crews go off the water at the start of Novemeber and don't go back on until late march. There are 10 fewer weeks each year where you can row outdoors -- and the same is true for other outdoors sports like running and cycling. The winter here is literally twice as long as the winter in New Haven. That's the biggest difference, and it really sucks.