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Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Rode home from downtown after a concert that ended at 10:30 (in a skirt! with layers). Holy shite it was cold, but it was fun and ultimately fine! Definitely NEED goggles, though; vision blurred at about mile 3 and then became obstructed by the lashcicles. When I arrived home, it was 2° with a "realfeel" of -11. 

The worst part of such a cold ride is that now I can't sleep - otherwise, totally doable and I even recommend it!

I can't believe people ride in weather this cold. I have not ridden since October.

Rode into work this morning.  All the ice and slush in the southbound Damen bike lane made it a little challenging.

Yes!  First time I have ridden since Saturday and I am happy.

Woo.

Hoo.

Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

Yes!  First time I have ridden since Saturday and I am happy.

Todd, there is endless amounts of information and inspiration for riding in cold weather on the Chainlink. Also check out http://bikewinter.org/howto. Riding in this weather is accessible to everyone, and a great way to chase off those winter blues. 

Todd Bremer said:

I can't believe people ride in weather this cold. I have not ridden since October.

I rode this morning. I'm not usually one to complain, but damn it's cold out there! Supposed to be 19°F this evening though, so looking forward to that.

BWAHAHA

<grin>

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

<snip> I'm not usually one to complain, . . . .

:-)

Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

BWAHAHA

<grin>

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

<snip> I'm not usually one to complain, . . . .

Not today; I almost never ride on Thursdays. But ....

Last night on the way home on the west side of Lake Shore Drive at Fullerton I went down the underpass and saw large ice pad at the bottom. Trikes do very well on ice, so I went ahead in a high gear only to discover that it was ice AND water, 6 inches of water.


I made it half way through.


I cannot get off the trike to pull the trike out, because my feet would get soaked and I would not survive that ride home. I was in too high a gear to pedal efficiently. I was stuck.


Gradually I moved a few inches at a time until I cane to a big 4 inch block of ice that my rear tire could not get over. Now I am really stuck. Use my phone to dial 911?


Then I realized that I could step on the block of ice, pull the trike's rear wheel up on top of the ice and pedal forward. Repeat. Repeat until I found an area where I could pedal long enough to get into my lowest gear. That is when my studded snow tire that I just put on two days ago took over and I was able - ever sooo slowly - to work my way out.


Whew. The recumbent gods were with me.

Yup - I rode but gave my kids a pass on riding to school today. It's just too cold for them when it's still nearly dark out when we leave. I did decide that 15 miles was probably good though instead of the 35 I was planning. Going to use metra to make up the difference.

The folks native to these lands survived this cold, so I should be able to, also. I look at it as a new challenge each day. For me there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. So, my challenge is to discover the right clothing for that ride. 'Tis fun and fulfilling to meet the challenge and win.

Chi Lowe (<12 parsecs) said:

It's crazy how when you just keep riding, and you figure out how to keep warm doing it, your worldview completely changes.  I used to have a 'cutoff' - weather conditions that I would simply not ride in.  Now I look forward to all weather.  I mean, I love sun and light breezes, but I look forward to rain, wind, and bitter cold too.  So liberating.

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