Shhooooottttttt!!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone has been enjoying winter!

We have been moving this past week. Mother nature gave us temperatures of -28F/-33C with the added bonus of a foot of fresh powder!

I did take time to give the powder its proper due attention on the MTB one afternoon. :D It was hard going. The snow depth made it hard to get going at all. Also, the typical lubrication one uses on a bike does not perform well at such cold temperatures. :( The core was warm, everything else got cold very fast. The wind chills were -40 to -60F before rolling on the bike.

I was going to take some shots with the digital camera for everyone, but it froze up as soon as I took it out of my inside coat pocket.

The CHINOOK WINDS are forcasted to return this afternoon. We should be in over 32F/0C for several days starting tomorrow.

You amaze me. Hell, just walking to the hill outside our apartment to check driving conditions this morning, my face felt as if it would crack and fall off! Hat's off to you! :eek:

You amaze me. Hell, just walking to the hill outside our apartment to check driving conditions this morning, my face felt as if it would crack and fall off! Hat's off to you! :eek:

I have one word for you.....


LAYERS!

So does it ever get really cold there of just a bit nippy like you described? ;)

Not only is lube a problem but shifters and brakes freeze up also. I did a winter ride in North carolina once where we had to stop periodically and breath into the shifter housings to thaw them and shift. Forget the brakes, they were chunks of ice around the tire. I eventually chose an easy gear to stay in and endured the ride.

Not only is lube a problem but shifters and brakes freeze up also. I did a winter ride in North carolina once where we had to stop periodically and breath into the shifter housings to thaw them and shift. Forget the brakes, they were chunks of ice around the tire. I eventually chose an easy gear to stay in and endured the ride.

Why wouldn't a red neck like you figure out that that's what heels are for? You can kick the deralier in towards the bike with your foot, and pull it out with the gear lever.

Actualy, I never have this problem, even when it's real cold and snowy, unless the deraliers are full of gunk.

It was not the deraileur, it was the shifters that were iced and would not move. But we did in fact kick stuff to break off ice chunks until we got sick of doing it.

heh...it's been below -40 Celcius over here in Alberta (with the wind chill). For the first time ever my eyeballs were actually freezing...the only part the balaclava doesnt cover.

It was not the deraileur, it was the shifters that were iced and would not move. But we did in fact kick stuff to break off ice chunks until we got sick of doing it.

deraileurs, shifters, gears? single speeds are the only way to go in the snow :D :D !

Glad you have had a chance to enjoy winter. I got out in it today, man what a great ride, all the way with a westerly wind a -23 windchill, my beard stuck to the balakava. The chemical toe warmers worked great, and the extra layers on the legs was a blessing. Now it's warmed up for the ride home, the westerly wind will push me home, and at 10F it's only going to be -3 on the ride home. I was hoping for some real cold so I could get a shot of me at a bank thermometer, pointing or something.

As to the freeze up of bike parts, I ride fixed so it's a blast, there's no deraillures to freeze up, no brake cables to hassle with, you just go.

I LOVE THIS STUFF!!

Goodness, I am such a sissy! It is 32F, and I was sitting here thinking how COLD I am when I read this thread. I cannot even IMAGINE....

You guys are true winter warriors!

Vicki

You know what was really cool? I got off the bike at a convenience store, and went in when I came out I started noticing this wetness in my sleeves and down my back. What had happened was all the vapor from my sweat collected in the windshirt and froze, more built up and more, so I had this ice shield in my jacket, that helped keep me warm. Really wierd. I've heard of the vapor freezing on the outside, but not the inside of the jacket. I know my breath ices up my hat/hair as I ride, but this was like a first to see that.

You know what was really cool? I got off the bike at a convenience store, and went in when I came out I started noticing this wetness in my sleeves and down my back. What had happened was all the vapor from my sweat collected in the windshirt and froze, more built up and more, so I had this ice shield in my jacket, that helped keep me warm. Really wierd. I've heard of the vapor freezing on the outside, but not the inside of the jacket. I know my breath ices up my hat/hair as I ride, but this was like a first to see that.

The same sort of thing happened to me on my ride in the real cold stuff the other day. Of course, being a newbie to winter riding, I did not know it was anything unusual. When I finally got back to the house, the ice was breaking off the inside of my wind shell when I took it off. It is amazing to experiment in the extreme cold. :) However, now having said that.... My experiments are now over and the warm air of the CHINOOK is back. Over freezing today! Oh, and a winter storm warning for 8 more inches of snow... :D

Mmm, teens. Today it will be in the teens. I got home and checked the temp it was 6F. What a ride! A full moon, a clear path, a fixed gear under me, I suppose temps in the 30s would have been nice.

Mmm, teens. Today it will be in the teens. I got home and checked the temp it was 6F. What a ride! A full moon, a clear path, a fixed gear under me, I suppose temps in the 30s would have been nice.

Yea it is nice to have above freezing temperatures, however, the SLOP makes for a more interesting ride. I guess there are always trade-offs. Nice cold temps keep the snow pack hard and easily traversed. With the temperature above freezing you never know when your tire is going to cut through causing a "sudden stop." :mad: You also have to watch for the build up of snow and ice in your fenders.

Shhooooottttttt!!!!!!!!!

[QUOTE]I hope everyone has been enjoying winter!

The wind chills were -40 to -60F before rolling on the bike.
Well its here now and thanks for passing it along.I have been waiting for this.
The ride in tomorrow should have wind chills of 35 to 45F below zero.(Not counting my speed)
What a blast. I can't wait. :D

I've had trouble with brakes and derailleur freezing up. If the rear derailleur is sticking and will not shift down into the smaller cogs you can hook it with on foot and pull on it while pedaling with the other leg. I've even had the chain freeze up from leaving the bike outside in bad weather.

Some freezing rain blew in today at the end of my ride. It was in the low 30's during the ride so I only did a short one since I am pulling the child. She seems fine with it however and the cart zips up completely insulating her from the wind. Throw in a blanket and a bunch of stuffed animal friends and she is comfy cozy.

:eek: OMG YOUR ALL MAD. ;)

Hmmm.

Well, I do work for the Mental Health Center...:)

:eek: OMG YOUR ALL MAD. ;)
:) Thats funny, I see mad people driving around wearing 600 weight down filled jackets, Looking like the Pillsbury doe-boy. With the windows rolled up and the heater on high. ;) I think thats CRAZY. :)

Mother nature gave us temperatures of -28F/-33C with the added bonus of a foot of fresh powder!

The wind chills were -40 to -60F before rolling on the bike.


;)

I think this is when hell freezes over.

:D

;)

I think this is when hell freezes over.

:D


Not quite. Those were wind chill temperatures. We have actually seen air temperatures that low. Also, wind chills in excess of 100F below zero. (actually the EXACT temerature that HELL freezes over... ) :D

heh...it's been below -40 Celcius over here in Alberta (with the wind chill). For the first time ever my eyeballs were actually freezing...the only part the balaclava doesnt cover.

Happened to me today. It was so cold today that two strange things happened that Ive never experience. The rim surface froze over which didn't allow me to stop and you know how you might get fog on your glasses from the hot air that rises when you breath? and it usually goes away in a second or two? It froze over and left a thin layer of ice....but definetly cool.

WHAT COLD?!?!?!?!?!Its hot here....and i got sunburnt today :(

WHAT COLD?!?!?!?!?!Its hot here....and i got sunburnt today :(

I feel for you Zub! Up here this time of year we get FREEZER BURN! :roflmao:

I found this on the www and I thought it got cold here!! -129F degrees WOW! :eek:

http://starryskies.com/articles/dln/2-96/cold.html




It’s really a matter of perspective. Folks from Key West Florida wince and grab blankets if the temperature goes below 50 degrees F. What we wouldn’t do for a low of 50 degrees F right now! And then there’s the folks from Sweden. They simply don’t understand what our basic problem is. They point out that we almost never go below 0 degrees F; they put up with that on a regular basis in the winter. So it’s really a matter of what you’re used to. Or is it? Is there some place on Earth where everyone would agree is colder than cold?

First we might want to look at what actually affects the temperatures we have on Earth. Obviously the Sun is the source of our heat, but the Earth itself has factors which cause the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth to vary. Our distance from the sun varies, but this does not account for the temperature variation. During our summers in the northern hemisphere, we are farthest from the sun, but are tilted toward it. The Earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees, which results in the northern and southern hemispheres being tilted toward the sun at times, and away from the sun at other times.

Continentality, the aspect that allows more extreme temperature variations near the center of a continent far away from a water mass, is another important consideration.

Volcanic eruptions can cause weather disturbances also. When there are severe eruptions, such as the volcano Tambora in the Dutch West Indies in April 1815, a huge thick cloud of ash obscured the sun in Europe and America, and was no doubt related to crop failures in what was called the "year without a summer" which was followed by the severe winter of 1816.

Knowing what factors influence temperature might give us a clue in our search for the coldest spot on Earth. The United States alone has recorded some impressive and bone chilling colds. In January 1971, Prospect Creek Camp in Alaska, recorded a temp of -79.8 F. In January of 1954, Rogers Pass in Montana recorded a low of -69.7 F. These were fleeting extremes however; average temperatures for the winter are much less extreme. The lowest average winter temp for the US is -15.6 F on Alaska’s Barter Island.

There are quite a few places, such as Russia, Switzerland, and Norway, which can top those average winter temps. Can you think of some colder places?

How about the North pole? We certainly have no problem envisioning lots of snow, year round, cold wind blowing. Well, actually, there is no real land at the north pole. There is only a constant cover of ice over a deep, cold sea. But nobody lives there except some big guy in a red suit and Frosty.

On the continent of Asia in Eastern Siberia, lies the town of Oimyakon, located on the Indigirka River. Populated by 4,000 people, it is the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth. Here, some of the world's coldest temperatures are recorded every year; they average about -60 F, sometimes falling to -90 degrees F.

Well now, you say, that has to be horribly cold. NO place could be worse than that, right? Wrong! The spot that is worse is the south pole. At the South Pole, there is a land mass, the continent of Antarctica, so large that it accounts for nearly ten percent of the world’s entire land mass. It is a barren ice and snow covered land, where average temperatures are 35 degrees F colder than those of the North Pole. Antarctica holds the record for the world’s lowest recorded temperature, a whopping -129 degrees F, at Vostok Antarctica, on July 21, 1983. The average annual temperature there is a chilling -57.5 degrees F. And what was the highest temperature ever recorded on Antarctica? How about a balmy 5.5 degrees F.

These temperatures in Antarctica are so horrid, that incredible tales have been told of expeditions to this frozen land. The British explorer Apsley Cherry- Garrard made several journeys to Antarctica and reported conditions so severe that clothing would freeze in place within 15 seconds of exiting his sleeping bag in the morning. The clothing would hold that frozen position all day. He also reported the nerves freezing in his teeth and his teeth splitting to pieces! Another explorer to the Antarctic, Paul Siple, reported having moisture from his eyelashes freeze his eyelids shut! One has to wonder why anyone would want to go there! Such conditions make our winter climate look downright balmy.




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yeah with wind chill it was -44c yesterday.. but sunny :)
nothing froze but my eybrows felt funny ..lol
only 17miles in the morning.

I went for a short 8 mile ride yesterday, it was -3F outside. Dam cold for me. But -23, VERY cold. brave guys.