I went to college at Washington St. Got down to -50, that's MINUS 50, one winter...classes WERE NOT cancelled.

You're kidding, right? :crash:

wind chill is not for whimps,there are parts of the that frostbite is very painful and awkward to treat! It takes a very special friend to treat frostbite in the pubic region . CUIDADO

I'm going to need to see your attendance records to verify this.

Put a sock on it.

It sucked. Do not let your kids go to WAZZU!

Good enough!

7-17º today for the better part of 3 hours, only covered 36 miles. It's slow going when it's this cold. I'd rather spend an hour outdoors and freeze a bit than spend two hours on a trainer, but that's me.

All this macho man stuff aside, riding in -20 conditions, with or without wind chill, is entering the danger zone. In such situations, lack of knowledge is what is dangerous. Anyone who says otherwise is simply dangerous to themselves and to others. You want to ride at -20 or below? That's OK. Really. But, you need to take special precautions. And, no one should be trying to convince others that is prudently safe for anyone to ride in those conditions without special preparations because nothing could be further from the truth.

As someone else alluded, riding a bike or even a motorcycle in such conditions is especially dangerous because one can get sucked into believing things are OK physically when they are actually sliding downhill rather quickly. Are you riding into the wind, downwind or crosswind? Is the temperature dropping unexpectedly? Are the winds increasing beyond the forecast? It is very hard to determine such changes mid-ride. The wind chill factor is also variable in such conditions and that is a significant factor to consider. When riding a bike on a -20 wind chill day you could easily encounter -35 wind chill conditions or worse and those are the conditions under which riding starts becoming very dangerous.

If an individual wants to ride in such conditions he or she needs to wear special protective clothing. He or she must also plan the route carefully and must ride with at least two other riders or a friend in a chase car. This is because if one goes down at a bad spot on some routes, chances are that he or she could suffer serious cold related injuries or even death before someone drives by, notices something amiss - like a bicycle wheel sticking up in the air - and decides to stop and investigate. Sudden onset dehydration and fatigue become much more possible as well when exercising in such extreme temperatures.

Hey, life is an adventure. But, engaging in dangerous behaviors like this without proper safeguards is neither adventurous nor machismo. It is just not smart.

One may get away with such behaviors 50 times but on the 51st try something just goes wrong. What is important to understand from a risk analysis perspective is that while it may not go south on the 51st or even the 100th attempt, it may be the 2nd or 3rd try. And, yes, one might get away with such activities for 5 years, but that doesn't lessen the risk exposure. The first question should be, "Worse case scenario, what could happen today?" Only then is one prepared to answer the final two questions, " Will I gain anything from this endeavor?" and "Is it really worth it?"

However, in order to properly assess the risk involved, one needs to have special cold weather training and very, very few individuals have ever been through a true cold weather survival course which includes exposure to many scenarios where others have succeeded and failed under such conditions. And, no, living in such conditions for years doesn't necessarily mean that one is forearmed to deal with many unexpected survival situations.

The first time I rode my motorcycle in the snow I realized that it was a very bad idea. Any time the temperature is around freezing is a bad time to be on two wheels.

Actually that was figured in, right now were at a balmy 18F.

100% agree. I love the trainer I have but I despise using it. Does that make sense?

Well I just got back from my ride. Conditions were not quite as cold as PCAD posted but pretty close, it was about 14 at start time and 19 by the end. There were 4 of us and we did a quick 35 miles. It was fine. You just have to dress for it.

I would rather do 5 hours in the cold than 1 hour on the trainer....but that's just me.

With proper studded tires it's fine.