Psycho Weather

[TimD]

For those of you who are suffering from weather boredom, here's a sampling of what late fall / early winter riding in New England has been like in the past couple of weeks.

6-Dec 24 F, foggy and windy with snow squalls. My buddy was wearing knickers and no glasses. No shame in a 15 mi ride.
8-Dec 38 F, my log says "insanely windy", gusts to 45 MPH per NWS
14-Dec 25 F, winds to 28 MPH per NWS
17-Dec 22 F, gusts to 37, log says "crazy windy"
20-Dec 10 F, didn't ride. It snowed about 5" of powder late in the day.
22-Dec 45 F, most roads clear with some slush / packed snow. One significant wobble riding 28mm slicks on a 45 minute ride.
Today 55 F, gusty winds, rain in the morning, rain forecast for the
afternoon, 11 AM and it is now or never... I was overdressed and could have been in shorts.

Needless to say I have become a serious student of the Doppler radar and have several zillion possible combinations of gear. I also try not to notice the thick coating of salted mud on my Legend. Such is life as a recreational cyclist outside of Boston. :)


TimD

[Bittersweet]

Yep. Almost too cold to nordic ski on Tuesday at 5F and now 55F here in western Mass. Snow is vanishing quickly. To keep fresh I like to stop riding the bike in winter and nordic ski instead but so far it has been abysmal. We used to have real winter in New England but now not so much.

Next week appears to be similar with an evening of 6F and then 57F on Thursday. Maybe it is the cycling gods saying there is no "off season".

[Climb01742]

tim, just got home from an afternoon ride. 61 degrees, rain, road grit in my teeth. on tuesday morning i ran when it was -1. my body is VERY confused. :rolleyes:

[Kevin]

my body is VERY confused. :rolleyes:

I know there is a line, but I am not going to use it.

Enjoy the Holiday.

Kevin

[dirtdigger88]

It was like 5 degrees here this morning and they are talking like it will be that way thru Sunday- then a high in the mid 40's :banana: I am off ALL next week- LOTS-O-MILES :banana:

jason

[Louis]

Jason,

I can't believe you won't be riding today and during the weekend.

What a wimp...

(This coming from someone who has to get super motivated to ride if it's below 40 deg.)

Louis

[ericmurphy]

Here's the temperature readings for my after-work (i.e., circa 5:45 PM) rides in June, 2004:

6/01/04 54 deg.
6/02/04 54
6/08/04 53
6/11/04 52
6/14/04 59
6/15/04 59
6/16/04 52

etc.

Here's the temperature readings for my after-work (i.e., circa 5:45 PM) rides in December, 2004:

12/02/04 53 deg.
12/06/04 48
12/07/04 50
12/09/04 53
12/13/04 54
12/15/04 53
12/16/04 54

The lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

[ericmurphy]

About a month before I moved to San Francisco, I did a ride from my previous home in Eastern Massachusetts. It was overcast, windy, and 22 deg. F. I'd never attempted a ride this cold before (I'd always run in the winter). I had on a pair of riding shorts, and then over that a pair of thermal fleece-lined windfront tights, a thermal fleece-lined windfront long-sleeve shirt, and a windbreaker/shell. I was wearing a wool ear-warmer under my helmet, full-finger gloves, and booties. I felt like the Michelin man.

I set out from my house, and half a mile into the ride I couldn't feel my fingertips. Hmm...I wonder if this is a good idea, I was thinking to myself.

But after about a mile, I could feel my fingertips (and the top of my nose) again, and managed to get in about a 25-mile ride. I got home around 2:30 or so, and it already looked like the sun was going down. But I was pretty toasty when I got indoors, and then had to strip pretty quickly to avoid heat prostration in all those clothes in a 70-degree indoor environment.

Now, I feel like it's cold if I have to ride in weather colder than 50 degrees. On the other hand, I don't switch to knickers until it gets below 50, and I don't wear tights until it gets to about 45.

It doesn't get colder than 45 here.

[Ken Robb]

a chilly 62 in LaJolla today-down to 58 by 4 pm. I wore long sleeves and thin tights--candy-***.

[dirtdigger88]

Jason,

I can't believe you won't be riding today and during the weekend.

What a wimp...

(This coming from someone who has to get super motivated to ride if it's below 40 deg.)

Louis

You know louis- I actually would go for a bit just to say I did but I am leaving town early in the am. I wont be back til sunday afternoon :crap: You off next week anytime? Wanna ride?

jason

[Louis]

Jason,

I'd love to, I am off the whole week, but unfortunately I'm in no shape to ride with you. I've barely ridden a handful of times since my knee problems a while back and I wouldn't even try to ride any reasonable distance at any reasonable speed.

Maybe some time in early spring...

Louis

[dirtdigger88]

Louis-

:beer: deal!

jason

[dave thompson]

a chilly 62 in LaJolla today-down to 58 by 4 pm. I wore long sleeves and thin tights--candy-***.
Hey Ken: 80* on the beach at Cabo today! Lessee, maybe a little snorkeling for Christmas, then again maybe just sitting poolside enjoying it. All these tough decisions I have to make

[Ken Robb]

Dave, I know it's tough. I have to make those decisions almost every day. Have fun and whack a pinata for me.

[Climb01742]

well, it almost broke freezing today here...dave, i'm sooooooooo jealous...enjoy! :beer:

[dnovo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yaa woosies you! It's a balmy +4 here now (6:18pm local time in SE Wisconsin), quite a rise from -4 this morning. Supposed to be in the 40s (+ thank God) by mid-week. When the going gets tough, the lunatics like me go riding, but only layered up like hell, and not for that long since the googles freeze over (and no googles, no eyeballs -- or no eyeballs that aren't frozen beyond repair.) Only a five mph wind, and that from the West or I'd not have lasted as long as I did (-20 windchill, if I figured it right.)

So, Merry, Merry and Happy Happy all, and you guys on the West Coast and Down South, you DO know how lucky you are. Dave N.

[Ken Robb]

Look guys I was born and raised in Chicagoland and spent 4 freezing winters at Northwestern U. I can remember walking to class looking at Lake Michigan looking like a scene from "Nanook of the North": frozen as far as the eye can see, while the hairs in my nostrils froze stiff with every inhalation. Heck my first ski trip was to Indianhead in DA U.P. where the weekend high was -23F.
When we got to the the lifts there were employees staring at our faces. I asked them if they thought we were really good-looking and they assured me they were just checking for frostbite. Somehow I loved it anyway.

[the walrus]

T'was the day before Christmas...

[dnovo]

Sadist! Dave N.