patentcad

Oh yes. Me and my Road Nazi pal Davey hit the road today, flicking buggers (which do become deadly projectiles in this weather) for 3.5 leisurely rural hours, 55 miles (included a couple of pee stops and a deli stop). The Gatorade I procured at the Westtown, NY Deli became a Gatorade Slushy by the time I got home, but a quick zap in the microwave and I was able to down it.

I dumped Davey pretty bad on the Mt. Doom ascent. Some days I just have to ride my own rhythm, today was one of those days, I was turning that little 39 x 25 gear over pretty fast. But that after five minutes of waiting I got in the car to see if he needed a rescue; he was coming up the last grade as I pulled out of the driveway. Said he got the whirlies on the lower slopes and pulled over to gather his blood sugar levels. That hill does suck, particularly when you're not used to it, especially when it's 24º (that was the temp when we got back here @ 2:30 or so).

Amazingly, it was a great ride. This route I do is 20 miles into a headwind (really 13-14, the first 6-7 are mostly downhill) and the last 30 miles are a tailwind on most winter days. Don't ask me how that math works, usually in cycling it works against you, but not this route. Once that wind was at our backs with the bright sunshine, the cold temps were not a factor.

schnabler1

C'mon Pcad, wouldn't you get a better workout indoors, with nicely thawed muscles?

c_bake

Curious...what do use to keep your feet warm? At those temps, my feet are completely froze, I cant go for more than an hour.

Doohickie

I couldn't do 55 miles in 3.5 hours under ideal conditions. Well done. That would be more like 4 hours for me.

BillyD

frozen

hammy56

70*, 3hrs 10 min. 65 mi.

mollusk

"The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,
And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter."

Nice way to HTFU. How much of the "harden" was due to freezing solid?

Pablo.

4 hours in the woods today. We went to Cunningham Park in Queens and there was a ton of ice. But a lot of fun. Just to prove Pcads theorem that all MTB'ers are potheads, when one of the guys in our group took a spill, he found a little bag of weed on the ground. True story.

Anyway, nice job actually getting on the road.

patentcad

Not really.

Actually, we were pretty warmed up after the first hour. The cold didn't bother me after that. I was really pretty warm after the first ten minutes.

patentcad

Two pairs of socks. That works down to 11ºF so far, and I think it would be good down to 0ºF.

bostongarden

Well done! I was thinking of you today as I went out in Boston's 10-12F morning, which warmed to about 20F -- excluding wind chill which brought it down to about 0-10F or so I think -- while doing intervals on a 31 mile road ride on my mountain bike (prepping for a race next weekend).

CBake was curious about techniques for staying warm: in addition to my neoprene booties and several layers, my low-tech secret is lining my feet with Target bags (other store plastic bags will work too, I'm sure, smile) and lining my fingers with small plastic bags before I put on my gloves. In addition, for temps below 25, I wear ski goggles. It might look odd, but, I don't care because it keeps me feeling fine. Also, I wear 180s over my ears -- 180s are amazing. I would prefer to wear glove liners or use windshell gloves (over my regular gloves) but, I haven't found any that would work well. My low tech (and, yes, cheap) approach worked just fine.

garysol1 

seriously......I feel so much more wussy now.

TheKillerPenguin

at 17* I can't feel my inner thighs even with 2 pairs of tights on. Well done sir!

Barese Rider

Pcad,

Thats nice country you ride in. My wife's from Middletown and we got married in Goshen.[a lifetime ago] I used to enjoy riding around Orange and Sullivan counties[by car!] Dont get up there too much anymore.

zatopek

77 miles, 24 degrees F, 4.25 hours. Last 10 miles, significant elevation gain, into the wind, I cried for my mommy.

Daytrip

I thought about you yesterday, pcad, as I was nordic skiing in single digit temps. I froze my face and hands in that viscious wind at various points in my 10-mile outing, but once I got the blood flowing, everything got toasty warm and it was a great ski. But I was happy to be going 3 mph on boards instead of 20 on wheels under those conditions. Nice job--even though you've got at least a 10 degree advantage.

Terex

40 mi, 2500 ft climbing and temps in 20's under sunny skies here in NJ today. Yesterday, 55 mi, 3200 ft. climbing, winds 20 mph sustained, temp low-30's, and several miles of muddy, unpaved roads. Friday, 25 mi., 1500 ft. climbing, temps in mid-50's.

VoodooRada

I think we have a new standard. HTFU? No...CTFU.
'Cad The F Up...

Cue

Would you like to try out the Iditarod Invitational? You'll never complain about 17° ever again.

RoboCheme

Well done, Pcad

The No. 1 guy on Bikejournal.com already had 1737 miles this year and he's from Piermont, NY. Do you need to HTFU to catch him?

aham23

i heart PCAD.

later.

garysol1 

Does not mean that the guy is actually riding in NY though. He may be in Miami for the winter for all we know....

ericm979

54 miles, 5000' of climbing. Temps were 45-55 but for the last 20 minutes it rained and hailed.

akansaskid

50 miles Sat; 20F beginning, 27F high. 52 miles Sun; 20F beginning, 22F high. Difference was Sat was sunny and Sun was heavy overcast. If you’ve ridden in the cold on sunny and cloudy days, you’ll know Sun was *brutal* compared to Sat. No Mt. Dooms, but unfettered, raw plains wind. Want to get to 1000 miles in January, and snow/ice is forecast for Mon/Tues. This pushed me to 935 miles for the month so far and 50F is forecast by next Sat, so I think I’ll make it. By the way, my booties look like Pcad’s. My feet got very cold by the end. Might be time for chemicals.

RoadToNowhere

2 hours on the spin bike working up a good sweat was just fine with me today. You can have your 17* suffer fest.

I'm not worthy.

Beth

Edit: I'm getting mighty sick of this weather. Gawd, what a pain. I'm ready to be done with layering and just get out there. (grumblegrumblegrrrrrrrr)