It seems like about half of my commutes have been in temps below zero for the last 6 weeks. This morning was -12.

But… Looking forward for the next 10 days it starts to get much milder, even getting above freezing for a couple of days.

That takes us past mid February and I'm out of town the first week of March.

Could it be that I'm done with subzero rides?

I shouldn't get my hopes up.

As chilly as some of these morning rides have been, the coldest I've been in quite awhile was yesterday morning. I went on a skiing weekend up North to the closest thing that will pass for mountains in this state.

I was on a chairlift that stopped just as it cleared the top of peak, - less than 100 yards from where I could get off. The wind was roaring over the top and I caught myself feeling my goggles to make sure they were actually there. The wind was blowing right through the vents.

I saw the operator scurry out of the shack and head some place unknown. It took him a good 15 minutes to get back. My friends (who were waiting at the top for me) claimed he took off because he had to use the John.

On the plus side for the first hour or so in the morning we had virtually the whole slope to ourselves.

Our week of snow came and went .. today it's back to rain ..

Yes it looks like we're finally supposed to get up around normal temps by the end of this week, upper 50's and near 60. Mornings might still be a bit chilly for awhile, though.

I'm in Memphis too. Hope tomorrow is my last cold commute for a while. This is my first year bike commuting, so I haven't ridden through a winter before. I picked a heck of a year to start!

My girlfriend bought a heavy duty snowblower last week, and I was hoping that would all it takes to hasten the end of winter. We've already used it twice since then.

Well.... I finished repairing my second snowblower so now I have two working units and I am going on vacation on Wed so....that should be the end of winter in MN

Snowblower? With your name, you should be using a shovel only.

Thats my summer job

-12 sounds pretty brutal. What are you wearing on a cold day like that?

I am certainly hoping so too, we've had some pretty brutal cold snaps this winter, obviously not at bad or as prolonged as Minnesota gets but it's still not much fun when the temperature goes below zero.

I rode in -15 last week (coldest conditions I've ever ridden in), from top to bottom I had on: wool cap, balaclava, ski goggles, athletic t-shirt, sweater, heavy cycling jacket, two pairs of gloves, tights, wool pants, thick wool socks, winter cycling shoes, shoe covers.

It should warm-up in Kansas City too. I need the ice melted, so I can resume commuting.

All the reports are that this should be the end of the really brutal stuff. There was an article in the strib yesterday that implied we'll be about a day or so shy of being in the top 10 worst winters. I've lived here since 1980 and I don't think I've ever looked forward to spring so much.

The problem is that the warmer weather brings all the snow! I'll take ten below over deep snow any day!

Yeah but we're getting to the time of year when the snow doesn't survive on the roads too long. I'm ready for the layers of compacted snow and ice to disappear.

February is typically my favorite winter month with days a little longer and temps a little milder. Good skiing.

Monday the 17th it will finally get back in to the 30's here in Michigan. Unfortunately that means all the dirt roads I commute on will be a muddy, slimy mess.

I heard in passing some folks talking about a chance of rain in the near future.

I remember thinking a few days ago that at least I hadn't had to worry about rain in awhile.

I hate rain. Not as much as I hate -12F, though. (-12F and rain would really suck!)

Sigh… It looks like I have 4 or 5 below zero commutes lined up in the next week. On the bright side, there's apparently no need to track down my rain gear for awhile.

Not subzero but still some sub-freezing temps in the mornings this week. DANGIT!

-4F this morning. Prediction of -12 on Thursday.

I finally broke down and broke out my good cold gear. I was too lazy to look for it before last weekend.