Snow （雪）

I do not know if this is correct statistically or not, but it seems to me that this winter is much colder than usual. I am lucky that this winter has had no snow in my area so far. But other areas are hit by heavy snow. In particular, on the side of the Sea of Japan. It snows every year, but this year, it seems to be much more than usual. It is a bit painful to see the elderly shovelling snow on TV.
This year sometimes see Kyoto, my hometown, hit by snow, too. It is not as heavy as on the side of the Sea of Japan. But it must have surprised and a bit confused the residents in Kyoto. It has been a long time since I left Kyoto. So, I do not remember well, but it is very rare to see snowing in Kyoto so many times as this year. It must have been a long time since the whole of the town was covered by snow.
But looking back on my memory, I remembered the same scene. It came when I was a high school student. When I woke up in the morning, the whole of the town was covered by snow, and I was at a loss about how to go to school. At that time, I used to go there by bike. But that morning, I was not brave enough to go by bike on the snowy street. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to go by bike. I did not have enough time to reach there by other means such as train and bus before class time. So, I was determined to go by bike, and headed for the school. In the beginning, I pedalled it very slowly to get used to the snow condition. And as I got used to that, I managed to pedal rhythmically and do so faster. But, all of sudden, the bike slipped on the snow, and I fell off it. It came when I was at a junction with a gentle slope, and I slid to the centre of the junction with some cars waiting for a traffic light. But I was lucky to have no injury, and I managed to get to the school by bike.

　統計的に正しいかどうかはわかりませんが、今年の冬は例年よりずっと寒いような気がします。ボクが住んでいる地域は雪はありませんが、他の地域では大雪に見舞われています。特に日本海側です。毎年雪が降る地域ですが、今年は例年以上のようです。テレビで雪かきをしているお年寄りを見ると、ちょっと心が痛みます。
　今年は、ボクの故郷の京都も雪に見舞われています。日本海側ほどではありませんが、京都の住民を驚かせ、戸惑わせるほどです。ボクは、京都を離れて久しいので、よく覚えていません。でも、京都で今年ほど何度も雪が降るのは珍しいです。町中が雪に覆われたのも久しぶりだと思います。
　ただ、記憶をたどると、同じ光景がありました。高校生の時です。朝起きると、町中が一面雪で、どうやって学校に行こうかと途方に暮れました。当時は自転車で通っていたのですが、その日は、雪道を自転車で行く勇気はありませんでした。にも拘わらず、自転車で行くしかなかったのです。電車やバスで行くと、始業時間に間に合わなかったのです。そこで、自転車で行くと決めました。初めのうちは、雪道に慣れるため、ゆっくり自転車をこぎました。すると、慣れてきて、リズミカルにこげるようになり、スピードもあがりました。ところが突然、雪の上でスリップし、転んでしまいました。転んだのはなだらかな坂のある交差点でした。信号待ちの車が何台かいる交差点の真ん中まで、滑り落ちました。でも、運よく、怪我なく、なんとか自転車で学校までたどり着けました。