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View Full Version : Let's see ya' bike commute in THIS!


BumbleBeeDave
02-12-2008, 08:32 AM
Yeee-OW! I'm shrinkin' just THINKIN' about it! :eek::eek::eek:

Well, at least there's no wind . . .

BBD

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Record Cold for Northern Minn.: 40 Below
By JEFF BAENEN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
February 11, 2008 10:43 PM EST

MINNEAPOLIS - It lived up to its name: The temperature in International Falls fell to 40 below zero Monday, just a few days after the northern Minnesota town won a federal trademark making it officially the "Icebox of the Nation."

It was so cold that resident Nick McDougall couldn't get his car trunk to close after he got out his charger to kick-start his dead battery. By late morning, the temperature had risen all the way to 18 - below zero.

"This is about as cold as it gets, this is bad. There's no wind - it's just cold," said McDougall, 48, a worker at The Fisherman, a convenience store and gas station in the town on the Canadian border. "People just don't go out, unless you have to go to work."

Residents of the area use electric engine block heaters to keep their cars from freezing.

"You plug in your car, for sure, and you put the car in the garage if you can," McDougall said. His garage is full of other things, so he had to park outside - a "big mistake."

The previous record low for Feb. 11 in International Falls was 37 below, set in 1967, said meteorologist Mike Stewart at the weather service in Duluth.

The temperature also fell to 40 below in Embarrass, 80 miles southeast of International Falls. That's just one degree above the all-time record in Minneapolis, 250 miles to the south, that was set in January 1888, the weather service said.

It was also a cold day in Winter. The town in northwest Wisconsin chilled to a low of 25 below.

"You don't want to be out there too long," said Winter area resident Bill Warner, 37.

The chilly air also blew into the Northeast on Monday and many schools in New York state between Buffalo and Syracuse closed or opened late. Single-digit temperatures plus wind drove the wind chill factor to nearly 20 below across much of upstate New York.

New York state got more than 3 feet of lake-effect snow Monday along the east end of Lake Ontario as the cold wind picked up moisture from the lake. "The highway crews are having a difficult time keeping up with the amount of snow and blowing conditions," said Oswego Town Supervisor Victoria Mullen.

South of the coldest air mass, freezing rain hit southwest Missouri, making roads hazardous and closing schools. Ice was more than an inch thick in places, authorities said. Several thousand lost electricity in the Springfield area when lines iced over and ice-covered limbs crashed onto power lines.

"It's treacherous" Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Bracker said in Springfield.

As the precipitation moved eastward out of Missouri, the weather service posted winter storm and snow warnings for parts of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.

Hundreds of West Virginia homes and businesses had no electricity Monday, down from several thousand, after weekend wind gusts of up to 55 mph. At least nine counties closed schools because of power outages and the cold. The mountain city of Elkins had a low of 6 above.

Classes also were canceled Monday for a number of schools in Michigan, which remained in a deep freeze after a weekend of single-digit temperatures and gusty wind. One death was blamed on the weather there.

Too Tall
02-12-2008, 09:31 AM
Maaan, I used to tie shot in 40 below....wussies ;) That's no bull. Messing with someone's extension cord to their block heater was a serious offense. Car tyres froze to the ground and went "thump thump thump" for the first few mins. and vinyl seats froze solid!!! We could only work outside for 15 mins. max than unthaw for 45 in a truck AND we wore steel toe boots :rolleyes: Momma's don't let your babies grow up to be coal miners ;)

William
02-12-2008, 09:39 AM
Maaan, I used to tie shot in 40 below....wussies ;) That's no bull. Messing with someone's extension cord to their block heater was a serious offense. Car tyres froze to the ground and went "thump thump thump" for the first few mins. and vinyl seats froze solid!!! We could only work outside for 15 mins. max than unthaw for 45 in a truck AND we wore steel toe boots :rolleyes: Momma's don't let your babies grow up to be coal miners ;)

Hasn't been that cold here...no way momma!! But, when the temps dip into the teens and single digits, I plug in the old Landcruiser. Those block heaters are real nice on a frigid morning.




William

Climb01742
02-12-2008, 09:39 AM
in the book "going to extremes" is a story about the northern-most town in alaska. the town has a one car taxi company. they turn the car on in october. they turn if off in april. if it ever stopped running in the winter, it would freeze up and would never start until spring.

i lived in woodstock n.y. for a year. had an old fiat. many winter mornings, the oil was so cold and thick, that baby wasn't ever gonna start until temps warmed up first. once went two week between starting.

BURCH
02-12-2008, 10:43 AM
These temps remind me of that short story by Jack London, "To Build a Fire".
Great story about the punishment that the cold can bring and the stupidity of man.

dwightskin
02-12-2008, 11:21 AM
The Arrowhead Ultra:

http://www.arrowheadultra.com/results.htm

This year it was apparently -20F at the start but warmed WAY up to 20's during the race.

Last year, though it was -35F and warmed up to -10F.


Dwight

flydhest
02-12-2008, 11:22 AM
-40 degrees, now that's cold, but was it Celsius or Farhenheit?

Johny
02-12-2008, 11:30 AM
-40 degrees, now that's cold, but was it Celsius or Farhenheit?

Funny thing is that -40 F = -40 C

Blue Jays
02-12-2008, 12:15 PM
Neoprene booties over summer shoes just ain't going to cut it sometimes! :D

TimB
02-12-2008, 12:21 PM
It's a different type of folk that live up there, I tell ya.

Too Tall
02-12-2008, 12:21 PM
Funny thing is that -40 F = -40 C
Rim shot

CLIPPING OFFENSE, 5 yards.

IXXI
02-12-2008, 12:27 PM
Gawd I miss my FJ60-- same exact color. William your rig looks mighty clean; not meaning un-dirty. Bless you for keeping that beastie rolling.

cadence231
02-12-2008, 12:28 PM
I'm in Springfield, MO referenced in the piece. Luckily I still have power. Last year I was without power for 14 days...not fun.
Here's the view currently out back. I can hear breaking limbs around the neighborhood. http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m131/cadence220/IMG_1102.jpg

LesMiner
02-12-2008, 12:46 PM
I can remember way back in the last century when the temperature would not go above 10 below for a couple of weeks. Or one year where there was a heavy frost in September and the temperature never went above 32 degrees until the middle of April. I have seen big snow piles still melting off in June. I have had a half inch layer of frost on the inside northwest corner of my living room. Extreme wind chill can be brutal.

In spite of this cold spell I see this guy commuting on my way to work (I am in a warm car) before 6 AM. He is not going fast, typically his head is down just pushing the pedals.

Kevan
02-12-2008, 02:16 PM
would anyone live in a place that has that kind of potential?

I hope it's because houses go for $250 on average.

gdw
02-12-2008, 02:45 PM
I have an 87 which runs great but just failed the Colorado emissions test again and the local garage estimates it will cost another $2,000, mostly in labor, on top of the $400 already spent before it passes. Looks like I'll be replacing gaskets and rebuilding the carborator instead of working on bikes this spring.

WadePatton
02-12-2008, 03:17 PM
Can somebuddy send me a couple shovels of snow?! :rolleyes: