JonR

You just need to find a way to make your hands, feet, eyes, and nose as wild as your spirit.

JonR

I voted "zero to ten above" on the basis of what I have done, and what I would do if I HAD to. But that doesn't mean I'm going to rush out and do it. I rode for about 40 minutes at a time in temperatures of around 2 degrees F. three or four times and it wasn't too bad. But give me a choice between that and fifty degrees and I'd take fifty.

Can't get out of my mind that TV special I saw once about Siberia: how the people went out and had a picnic when it reached 29 degrees F. (roughly -4 deg. C.) one day.

So much depends on what you're acclimated to.

LittleBigMan

One day, it was too cold for fingerless gloves, but I didn't think about it until I was on my way and the pain started in.

The really wild thing is that, although I had to "disassociate" myself from the hammer-smacking pain in my fingers, after about 15 minutes they actually warmed up all by themselves with no problem after that.

I'll remember that one.

The two things I worry about most in the cold are: 1) ears, fingers, forehead/face and toes; 2) changing a flat when my shirt and jacket are drenched.

Most of my gear (volume-wise) in my backpack is a dry change of clothes just for this purpose. Other than that, I'm a happy camper until I get to work.

:thumbup:

aturley

I think I remember hearing somewhere that you should really be worried when you stop noticing the cold (or the heat) and it doesn't feel that bad. I think that's when your body really starts getting damaged.

But it sounds like you made it out OK, so shine on.

andy

aturley

Cold here in Monterey is about 30 F. Wow, look what living in California has done to me.

andy

LittleBigMan

I remember a docu. about Eskimos (pretty cool--oh, a pun!) Outside it was subzero Fahrenheit. Inside the igloo, a toasty 40F
(about 4C.) A little Eskimoette toddler was toddling around au natural.

psycholist

yesterday's gallop was definitely a bit nipply...and although my personal record is somewhere around -25F with the wind chill, all 9 of today's degrees still had me sweating which was not good for the last 5 miles which were into the wind. Had ice buns when I got home and my balaclava was stuck to my cheeks, but WHOOOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Sometimes I think I do this just for the looks from passing motorists!



"....packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes/
contestants in a suicidal race..."

manderax

I once had imaginary hypothermia.

JonR

I see lots of people with imaginary COMPANIONS on the street--and not kids, either, grown-ups clutching brown paper bags with bottles inside, and ranting into the air!

LightBoy

What counts as cold to me will depend greatly on the situation, but I assume you meant in regards to riding, so that's the question I answered.

I put my notch down for 0-10 degrees, though that's really just a rough guesstimate. This is the first winter I've really been riding seriously, or had any great distance to commute, and it has been rather pathetic. The temperature is just starting to get down to where it should have been two months ago.
As others have said though, it's not the cold that bothers me so much as the wet and ice, which there has been little of this year.

In other walks of life, my cold tolerance drops quite a bit lower. I have managed to avoid a heavy winter coat all but twice this year so far. This morning I left the house at about 3, the temperature well under zero, wearing only a long-sleeved t-shirt and a hoodie (granted, I drove, but my car's heater doesn't usually kick in until long after I've reached my destination). I've also been camping in the north woods when the temperature (without windchill) has dropped to almost 40 below at night (that's 40 below for you metric people)!

My temperature tollerance varies from day to day. I think it's just a matter of how I feel at a particular moment, although dressing properly and staying dry tends to help too.