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. 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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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...

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." You also have to watch for the build up of snow and ice in your fenders.

[QUOTE=N7CZinMT]Shhooooottttttt!!!!!!!!!

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.

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.

OMG YOUR ALL MAD.

Hmmm.

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

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.

I think this is when hell freezes over.

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... )

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

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