Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Freaking Cold Commute!!

Today I was cold.  And slightly unhappy about it.  Ok, I'd even say pretty unhappy about it.

We (Copper and I) left our house around 9 this morning and headed down towards the shop to start our day.  I had a slightly better layering system figured out today and the only parts of me that were angrily cold were my toes and my face/ears.  So this is how it worked:  thermal cycling tights under my jeans, not thick enough socks, winter riding boots, a thermal base layer, a fleece, and then my yellow wind/water proof jacket.  I did have a stocking hat on again but it didn't really cover the bottom of my ears sufficiently which was terrible.  My fingers were fine with my lobster claw mitten/gloves which I love.

I usually hope to hit all the green lights on the way down but today realized that when I was stopped at a red light in traffic, I was grateful for the heat that the cars were producing.  Also, stopped at a light means not as much wind in your face which was great. I hoped for streets with sunshine and not towering buildings in the way and thought about how opposite my route choosing is from the dead heat of July when I'll take a slightly out of the norm route to find shade amongst the buildings downtown.  Ah winter riding.  I'm not scared, just slightly shaken.  I'll be back tomorrow. With thicker socks, a balaclava, and a some frozen snot.

-SJ

4 comments:

  1. Frozen snot is what all the cool commuters wear these days.

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  2. One advantage of growing a beard is that, like igloos, ice encrusted facial hair does a nice job of blocking the wind. I never get a full on beard like some guys, which is why I go for a balaclava when temps dip like they did this AM. Makes you look like a ninja, but also keeps you oh so toasty.

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  3. Well done...you're my hero. I was going to make today my first commute in but when I'm laying in bed and can hear the wind howling....yeah, I totally chickened out. It's going to happen though.

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