The Chainlink

Any other Polar Bears out there? (Jump in the lake. On New Year's Morning.)

Anyone interested in starting the New Year with Brrrrr?

Jump in the lake. On New Year's Day. It like the Naked Swim, but colder.

It's good for you. And if it doesn't kill you, it's really good for your heart (according to my Finnish students). And it vanquishes hangovers. Seriously. Hangovers are really afraid of the cold.

When I was growing up in Cleveland it was at dawn in a hole cut through the ice in the harbor next to the 9th St. Pier.

In Chicago it's North Avenue Beach, and requires running across about a hundred feet of icy sand.

A quick googling shows groups at 8:45, 9:00, 9:30 and around noon.

I will be driving there for the nine o'clock dip, and will bring extra towels. If you bike to this, and live to tell about it, you are truly hard core.

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Permalink Reply by igz on December 30, 2009 at 9:09am
im actually tempted, and to put it out there, i think that shit is too cold even in summer
Permalink Reply by Chris B on December 30, 2009 at 10:52am
Everyone doing the Weather Be Damned 10 am ride could go to the 9 or 9:30 swim first! We'd be frozen solid for the ride!
Permalink Reply by Marty A. on December 30, 2009 at 1:47pm
I did it last year . . . and NO hangover! And it is supposed to be much more balmy than last year!
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 30, 2009 at 2:24pm
Mmmmm.....dying of hypothermia on New Year's day. I'd be definite to dry off completely and quickly.

Chris B said:
Everyone doing the Weather Be Damned 10 am ride could go to the 9 or 9:30 swim first! We'd be frozen solid for the ride!
Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on December 30, 2009 at 2:40pm
Be sure to bring two towels - one beach towel for drying / changing, and one smaller towel for standing.

When I've done it in Chicago I've worn cycling shorts for the dip, and thick sweatpants afterwards.

Overnight low is forecast to be in the teens, though it may be warmer by the lake. There will almost certainly be ice on the beach. I go barefoot, but if you have tender feet, some footwear may be in order.

And if I had an old beater bicycle with balloon tires, it would be really cool to ride it into the lake.
Permalink Reply by Chris B on December 30, 2009 at 11:46pm
nah I'm sure a limb or two would shatter after hitting a bump long before hypothermia sets in

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Mmmmm.....dying of hypothermia on New Year's day. I'd be definite to dry off completely and quickly.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on December 31, 2009 at 1:11pm
LOL I've been bested.

Chris B said:
nah I'm sure a limb or two would shatter after hitting a bump long before hypothermia sets in

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
Mmmmm.....dying of hypothermia on New Year's day. I'd be definite to dry off completely and quickly.
Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on December 31, 2009 at 7:50pm
That's why it turtles in, lest it solidify and snap off.
Permalink Reply by chixieonfixie on January 1, 2010 at 10:33am
So tell us how was the dip in the sub-freezing water during a -2 windchill this morning? Was it refreshing ?
Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on January 1, 2010 at 10:40am
There were about 100 of us at 8:45. Had to walk a ways down the shore to find a spot where the water wasn't slushy.

Right now I'm warming up with some curry fries at Goose Island, watching as much of the Northwestern game as I can before leaving for the noon plunge.
Permalink Reply by chixieonfixie on January 1, 2010 at 10:48am
cool...if you have pics we would love to see them. I didnt know they had curry fries at GI. good to know!

Bob Maher said:
There were about 100 of us at 8:45. Had to walk a ways down the shore to find a spot where the water wasn't slushy.

Right now I'm warming up with some curry fries at Goose Island, watching as much of the Northwestern game as I can before leaving for the noon plunge.
Permalink Reply by Bob Maher on January 1, 2010 at 1:00pm
I got there at 11:40 for the noon dip, and there were easily over 500 people. There were only a few places to enter the water, so people were going in in dribs and drabs instead of the usual bums' rush.

By the time I left at 12:15, there were about 1,000 people there, with more streaming in.

It had warmed up nicely (about 22F versus 12-14 in the morning), but I felt colder after the second dip. There was more slush floating on the water, and my towel was set up much further away. But other than some cold feet for a few minutes, I felt great. And no hangover. Though that may have had to do with the fact that I only had one drink and some champagne last night, and biked about 20 miles (brrr).

Would have been awesome to jump a BMX bike over a snow berg into the lake. Maybe next year.

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