Well, I held off for a day that was mostly above freezing and that day came yesterday. It was above freezing for a good while but only up to 38. I had already decided to do a short run to a local camp ground just to do an overnighter trip and see how my gear and everything worked out. It seemed pretty doomed from the start.

I left at around 3 in the afternoon and took a meandering sort of path to the campground and rode about 20 miles in all. Once I left my apartment and got on the bike, everything seemed nice and I was enjoying riding (as I often do) and the load on the back was great. Didn't bounce or shift around or anything like that. Even up hills or "sprinting" it did pretty well. What did not do well, however, was me in the cold. I think maybe 4 or 5 miles into it, I realized my fingers were cold and not getting warm. Usually when I wear these gloves, they do fine as long as I'm riding hard enough to warm up. But for some reason, I would ride harder and my fingers just got colder. I even used the same basic clothes on a chilly below 40 misty ride on Thanksgiving and did fine then. I have no idea what my problem was yesterday.

So I got to the campsite just as the sun was setting and things just got worse and worse. You're prohibited from collecting firewood in the park, but that didn't stop me. They don't have any sort of on site store to buy wood, and the nearest place was like 4 or 5 miles away. So that would be a 10 mile ride in the dark to get wood. I looked around and found a dead tree that had some limbs broken off of it from other foragers. I broke off as much as I could and brought it back to camp. By now I've taken my shoe covers off and it's muddy and damn cold everywhere. It's about this time that I can't feel my toes anymore.

So I get back and attempt to build a fire. It was set up fine, with smaller twigs tightly placed in the middle and larger limbs on top and nice, dry grass on the inside as kindling. I used one of my candle firestarters that have always worked perfectly in the past. Nothing. The candle would burn for a good 3 or 4 minutes and the grass would catch, but do nothing. The smaller sticks and twigs would burn, but then flame out and just sort of glow before ashing out. I even doused the whole thing in alcohol from my stove kit and let that burn and still nothing. No fire for me. By now I can't really feel my fingers or toes and it's well dark.

So I set up my stove and boil my water. That takes longer than usual with the cold weather. I finally get my freeze dried food on it's way and drag everything into the tent to bunker down. It's only like 7 o'clock at this point. I change into my dry clothes. I can't tell that my clothes I had ridden in are wet, but as soon as I change, I notice a difference. I pull out the hot hands warmers to let them get warm for my toes. As soon as I change, I crawl into my sleeping bag because it's the only warm place there.

But since I was really freezing, it just seemed hard to get everything back up to temperature. I put the hand/foot warmers in my socks to get my toes back online. I sit up half in the bag and eat my meal. It's the only hot thing in front of me and it's wonderful. I pull out a clif bar for a little "desert" type feeling and nearly chip my teeth. it's frozen solid.

At this point, only 7:30 at night, I realize the only thing I can do is lie there in my sleeping bag. It's nice and warm and I can feel my hands. But I can't sit up and read a book. I can't play on my iphone. I can lie there and listen to music. And unfortunately, even if my sleep schedule was normal, I'm not one of these people that can hit the pillow and go out like a light. So I knew that I was basically surrendering myself to possibly 4 or 5 hours of sleeping bag ipod listening. I wasn't going to go to sleep until maybe midnight or later.

It was at this point that I remembered I was from Texas and hated cold.

So around 9:30, 2 hours later, I called it in. Called the wife and told her to drag me out of there. I was warm enough, but I was just plain miserable. The ride was good, the gear was good, and setting up camp and pitching a tent is always fun for me, even if I'm so cold I can't properly blow up a sleeping pad because my lips are numb and won't stay wrapped around the valve (I had to hold my lips on there with my cold fingers). But overall, I was just miserable lying in a sleeping bag for hours on end. Not sleeping, mind you. I've slept in similar weather, but that was after a couple of hours around a camp fire with people and I was good and tired. But just the prospect of lying there, not sleeping for 4 or 5 hours, and waking up to more freezing weather, no fire, only oatmeal to warm me and then another 15 or so mile ride back in the freezing weather, I just wasn't feeling it.

So I wimped out again, but learned a valuable lesson: don't take trips in the freezing cold. I'm really excited about doing another trip, but I think I'll wait for spring.