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What's the minimum qualifying distance for a cold-temperature ride?

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What's the minimum qualifying distance for a cold-temperature ride?

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Old 01-15-09, 12:39 PM
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Velo Vol 
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What's the minimum qualifying distance for a cold-temperature ride?

The weather being what it is, I have the opportunity (if I'm crazy enough) to set a personal record for coldest ride.

It got me to thinking: how long do I need to go for the ride to "count"? A half-mile out-and-back to the end of the street obviously doesn't cut it, but what does? My typical rides are 20-30 miles.
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Old 01-15-09, 12:48 PM
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10 miles, though hill reps could go for fewer.

Long enough that it counts, but short enough that you can go hard enough the whole way that you stay warm.
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Old 01-15-09, 12:53 PM
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Kudos for any riding you do in ridiculously cold weather.
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Old 01-15-09, 12:54 PM
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I say the ride should be longer (in miles) than the temperature in degrees F. (do NOT adjust for windchill).
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Old 01-15-09, 12:54 PM
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The time it takes for your water bottles to freeze.

I'm almost looking forward to my 11 deg. commute tommorrow. 20 is my lowest ride prior. What is the low for Knoxville going to be?
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Old 01-15-09, 12:55 PM
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there's that one guy who holds the record for riding every single day, without fail, for like 10+ years... trying to remember his name... anyway, his minimum is 1 hour.
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Old 01-15-09, 12:56 PM
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20 miles. That's official, and it is not subject to appeal.
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Old 01-15-09, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by datlas
I say the ride should be longer than the temperature in degrees F. (do NOT adjust for windchill).
That means once the temperature goes below zero, you no longer need to ride. And when it's a 110, you've got a long day ahead of you...
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Old 01-15-09, 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by StephenH
That means once the temperature goes below zero, you no longer need to ride. And when it's a 110, you've got a long day ahead of you...
This "rule of thumb" only applies to COLD weather, silly! And if you want to ride in sub-zero weather, more power to you....you don't get that cold in Texas, do you?

Or you can just accede to PCAD's rule, as above. I won't argue with him.
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Old 01-15-09, 01:02 PM
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Originally Posted by wanders
What is the low for Knoxville going to be?
Tomorrow's forecast 23F/5F. My existing riding record is 24F. I'm not sure how well my face and feet will hold up in colder temperatures.
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Old 01-15-09, 01:33 PM
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I think minimum is 3x the amount of time it takes to get ready..shorts, tights, socks, toe warmers, shoes, shoecovers, base layer, thermo layer, wind layer, glove liners, gloves, hand warmers, balacava, helmet........
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Old 01-15-09, 01:35 PM
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When you can't feel the hands AND feet- You have gone too far.
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Old 01-15-09, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by wanders
I'm almost looking forward to my 11 deg. commute tommorrow. 20 is my lowest ride prior.
I feel the same way. Friggen curious as to what it will feel like.
I skied in -4F (w/wchills that brought it to -40F) and it was ok "skiing", but riding the lift was BRUTAL.
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Old 01-15-09, 02:01 PM
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466 feet. That's how long the Garmin says my ride on the trainer was last night. I have no idea how it thinks I moved 466 feet riding in place.
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Old 01-15-09, 02:14 PM
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I like the "ride the distance in miles that the temperature is." Only counts with Fahrenheit, of course.

Some cold weather riders (Machka comes to mind) try to plan flatter rides for cold weather. That's because even in cold temps, you work up a sweat on hills. Then you pay for it on the downhills. Much better, IMO, is to stay on the flats and then modulate your exertion level so that you stay dry.

Bear in mind that if you flat at anything below 20 degrees, you're pretty well screwed, since it's unlikely your hands will work well enough to fix it.
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Old 01-15-09, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
466 feet. That's how long the Garmin says my ride on the trainer was last night. I have no idea how it thinks I moved 466 feet riding in place.
Back in my MTB days I used a Garmin Legend mounted on my handlebars. One night I took a quick 5-mile spin around one of my favorite trails and when I got home, the gps had me logged in at something like 400 for the trip, with an average speed that was off the charts. When I downloaded the track and put it on the map, it had me making a quick detour to Scranton, PA and back. Apparently the Garmin processor coughed up a bad coordinate, hence the detour. So they're certainly not infallible.
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Old 01-15-09, 02:44 PM
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I saw this and had to add - I'm commuting on my Xbike in -5C on a good day to -15C (plus wind chill) on what seems to be the norm. 38km round trip + what ever extra KM's I can put on at the end if there is light enough in the day... daily, with snow, and ice ...I could only wish for just the cold...then I could bust out my road bike.

You can fix a flat in temps like this but your right you are basically screwed if it is dark or blowing snow. I tend to stay on the falts as much as possiable but thats because of the ice.

Oh and I think Machka lives just to the north of me, kinda near the family farm.

Cheers, and good luck.
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Old 01-15-09, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
20 miles. That's official, and it is not subject to appeal.
agreed. question is how far would the pcad ride in minus 10 degree actual temps? later.
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Old 01-15-09, 04:18 PM
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
466 feet. That's how long the Garmin says my ride on the trainer was last night. I have no idea how it thinks I moved 466 feet riding in place.
Thats what you get for honking up the hills.
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Old 01-15-09, 04:20 PM
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far enough to sweat
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Old 01-15-09, 04:40 PM
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Originally Posted by datlas
This "rule of thumb" only applies to COLD weather, silly! And if you want to ride in sub-zero weather, more power to you....you don't get that cold in Texas, do you?
Yeah, we do. Maybe not every year, but once in a while.

A week or two ago I was going to ride to church on a Sunday- about 4 miles I think- and I got out to the shopping center parking lot at the end of my street. About halfway across the lot I decided I was crazy, turned around, and went home to get the car (not that it was insanely cold, but I hadn't taken the wind into account and was underdressed). I think it was about a mile or two altogether. THAT would not qualify.

I suppose if I ride tomorrow I'll set my recent record. It's supposed to be low 20s in the morning. Hey, I got a balaclava for Christmas, I might as well use it.
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Old 01-15-09, 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by wanders
The time it takes for your water bottles to freeze.

I'm almost looking forward to my 11 deg. commute tommorrow. 20 is my lowest ride prior. What is the low for Knoxville going to be?
wussy.
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Old 01-15-09, 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Treefox
10 miles, though hill reps could go for fewer.

Long enough that it counts, but short enough that you can go hard enough the whole way that you stay warm.
wussy.
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Old 01-15-09, 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
20 miles. That's official, and it is not subject to appeal.
wussy.
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Old 01-15-09, 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by stapfam
When you can't feel the hands AND feet- You have gone too far.
wussy.
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