Comments on: I Love the Cold

By: Unknown

Unknown — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 16:28:37 +0000

I tried doing 50 in the 19 degree cold on Saturday, as promised. Nope, I didn’t make it. Totally pussed out when I lost feeling in my feet and the snot froze on/in my nose – rewarding me with cut up and raw nostrils. For the record, it was actually 16 degrees, and there was a 15 MPH crosswind for most of the ride – for the 15 or so miles I lasted. I went further than 15 but the LCD wasn’t working so good on my cheeeep cyclocomputer. Yes, that’s around 5 degrees, maybe into low negative single digits, when you take into account the ambient wind chill, and my cruising speed. The mega asthma attack, probably cold-induced, didn’t help either. On the plus side, if you can stand being out in weather like that, it’s a super grueling workout, like pedaling uphill on an MTB with too-tall gearning in mud. I can normally cruise at around 17 or so on the fixie very comfortably, but could barely keep up 14-15 MPH even though I was on nice smooth dry pavement, and had trouble spinning down the hills. The extra layer of pants probably didn’t help, but mainly it just felt very hard and inefficient to pedal. Yes, I know, I’m a ten percenter. A non-hacker. I couldn’t make it in John Wayne’s Marine Corps, Mister. It was up to maybe 20 degrees at the time I quit, and I saw other bikers rolling out for their rides at 9:30 AM. I wanted to cry. Worse, it hit 34 by late afternoon, fine riding weather normally, I commute in that weather. But I was too demoralized at that point and caught up in the "household suck" – weekend chores – to get back out. I spent yesterday fighting off the chest cold that the ride seems to have induced… Okay, I think it’s time for some Poly booties and maybe some lined Underarmor thermies. It’s also time for a bleg over where I blog on Cold Fury. Tonight – it’s not up yet so don’t bother stopping by until after 8:00 or 9:00 PM. I’m going to post an entry soliciting cold weather riding gear recommendations to go onto my Christmas wish list. Oh yeah, that, and on the way home tonight I’m buying a fluid trainer and another spinergy tape. Unless I get a serious riding gear magic bullet in response to the bleg, I’m going to draw the line at 20 degrees.

By: tayfuryagci

tayfuryagci — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:34:54 +0000

I understood the joke (with some help from fellow commenters) waay after I furiously commented. :) tayfur(my tshirt doesn’t seem to stink too:)

By: craig

craig — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:17:16 +0000

tayfurwhat I meant is that all of our used bike jerseys will be stinkified, as was explained in fatty’s post on 11/28.Really in jest because mine don’t stink at all. (oh yeah I forgot, we can’t smell our own stink)

By: pete

pete — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 15:26:48 +0000

Good stuff. Glad to hear you got it together: everyone is allowed a momentary loss of nerve. Mine has lasted from the first major skid of the year on November 10th. Downhilling in the snow sounds like a real good time as well.HOWEVER. What’s not to like about hot tubs?The prospect of soaking in a hot tub with a couple of cool beers after a hard day on the slopes is the one thing that can persuade me to spend twice as much on a winter holiday in the US instead of the Alps. Well, that and the better facilities, wider runs, much greater ‘board-friendliness, bigger steaks, the chance to go snowmobiling on your day off and hilarious advice to "make yourself big" if you encounter a mountain lion.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 09:51:49 +0000

"Amateur Literary Trick" ? I resemble that remark.And riding a bicycle in the SNOW?"The thing is, though, wiping out on a bike is a lot of fun when it’s penalty-free. The snow was so forgiving and banked so high we could practice our snow mountain biking skills without fear. We’d ride for a few seconds, fishtail around a corner (or, more accurately, failing to make it around a corner), and wipe out, often with a little flourish to make it look good." WTF?Two words…. SEEK COUNSELING. (snickering here)Loved this one.s.

By: tayfuryagci

tayfuryagci — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 10:28:20 +0000

I wonder when it’s going to snow here. I missed it since last year. It’s nearly 20 degrees celcius outside and (of course) no sight of snow. :(

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 09:13:41 +0000

The juxtaposition between yesterday’s post and today’s is hilarious. But snow riding is a blast – sometimes literally. Falling isn’t always painless, though. Inhailing large quanities of snow can give you an awful headache.

By: BIg Mike In Oz

BIg Mike In Oz — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 04:59:15 +0000

All this talk of riding in the cold has inspired me. I got on the bike this morning for a brisk 45 minute spin around the suburb. When I got home at 7am the thermometer said 21, but the weather report on the radio says it should get up to 28 in the afternoon. brrrrrrrr.P.S. If you are reading this in America, sorry to hear about your sad little fahrenheit problem. My temperature is celcius. Ha ha ha.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 03:42:05 +0000

P.S. Today’s blog was sheer joy to read… thanks for the ride!

By: Unknown

Unknown — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 03:41:11 +0000

Huge congrats on your win, Tayfur! And Fatty… your big fat heart hasn’t lost any weight… what a superb idea! I heart you for that, too!Hugs,MuMo