tandempower

Are you the only person you see out walking in your area or do some other people brave the cold as well?

wipekitty

I saw one other person yesterday evening and one other person this evening. There are definitely fewer people out walking and riding when the weather gets cold, but there's not a ton of walking even when it's nice out.

rumrunn6

that's awesome! sounds like a great test run

tandempower

It's strange to me that people will get all suited up to go skiing, which involves sitting idle on a cold chairlift in the wind and then soaring down hill, making intense wind that way; but so few will just suit up and take a cold weather hike where they can come back to their cozy home at the end of the walk.

Machka 

The difference is ... fun.

tandempower

You make your local area fun when you hike and bike through it. It can be hard when your mind is programmed to divide the world into fun vs. boring places. People take trips because they find it fun to walk around someplace unfamiliar, but if they moved there, they would find it fun to visit the place they lived before. The grass always seems greener far away. It's a challenge to discover how green the grass is right where you are.

Roody

Walking and riding in the winter is fun, IMO.

Roody

Years ago, I rode every day in the winter, but never saw anybody else on a bike. One day I finally came across bicycle tire prints in some fresh snow. I was so excited that I followed the prints for a couple miles, hoping to encounter whoever else was clever enough to discover the joys of winter riding. Unfortunately, I never caught up with them and never saw any other tire tracks.

But these days, I frequently see cyclists in the snow. I still love to see them, but it isn't quite the thrill it was back then.

Machka 

Don't tell me ... tell the people who enjoy downhill skiing.

Personally, I've never been downhill skiing but there are a number of people who are quite enthusiastic about it, and seem to prefer it to other activities. They seem to have fun "soaring down hill".

rumrunn6

oh we gotta see that! sounds fun

cooker

-22C/-7F this am. A few people out with dogs. Coldest morning yet but it didn't actually feel too bad. I got out my Scandinavian type toque with the strings to tie under chin - maybe that is why! We will go for a longer walk after some more coffee.

Rollfast

Heat Miser won.

rumrunn6

it's New England, so went for a ride in a blizzard last week, checked the roof cam this week, maybe raking it tonight before the rain, made a fire (inside) last night

cooker

6C/43F today - wore my rain coat instead of a parka, left my gloves in my pockets. Lots of puddles and slush.

We'll be back to cold weather by Saturday.


EDIT: On the way home I realized I didn't bring a rain hat. I even had one at the office - damn.

tandempower

I had to go out before dawn recently to catch a bus and it didn't feel too bad despite being 26F. I know that's nowhere near as cold as -7F, but I was still surprised because I have felt colder at above-freezing temps. I have the idea that the air dries out a lot once 32F/0C is reached, and so the remaining air doesn't suck the heat out of you as much as if it was more humid and slightly warmer.

Hiking w/ a pack for about 3 miles really warmed me up; so much so I sat outside waiting on the bus when I got to the station instead of going inside where the air felt soupy warm, of course, due to everyone else arriving by car and tired (just out of bed, probably).

After sitting and resting a while outside, I started to get cold but I was really toasty from hiking in my layers. I had only a light nylon shell wind-breaker on, but I had a hoodie sweatshirt underneath and the two hoods added up to be quite warm along with my stocking cap. I had two t-shirts layered underneath the sweatshirt too, and nylon exercise pants with a soft lining over shorts. The thinsulate fingerless gloves + mittens worked great, as usual.

cooker

Friday I did some work from home for the first hour or two. When I left for the office at 11am, it was drizzly and 10F/40C, and I overconfidently wore a rain coat and Tilley (summery) hat and no gloves. Before I got to the bus stop, I remembered that is was supposed to rapidly get cold by evening, but I didn't have time to run back for warmer stuff.

One of the advantages of being a bike and bus commuter, is you learn to compensate for this sort of day-to-day inattention by having some backup resources at work.

So when I was ready to start for home and the temperature had dropped to -12C/10F, I found a spare toque and a flannel shirt for an extra layer stashed in my office. I had no mitts, but I had a gym bag so I used the gym socks as makeshift gloves to wear at the bustop.

I was still cold but not as bad as I might have been!

Now I have to remember to take some of that stuff back to the office.

PdalPowr

Good on you for having backup.
I would guess a tilley is warm enough except for the ears.
I have the Canadian mailman's version of the tilley.
Of course nothing much beats a toque.

wipekitty

I'm so proud of myself for knowing what a toque is, thanks to a Canadian supervisor at work who kept talking about how much he liked his toque and refused to tell us Americans what it was.

PdalPowr

That is o.k. there are lots of anal retentive people like that in the world.
I hear they get that way from wearing toques that are too tight.

Obeast

cycling has limits as some weather in the winter (icy hilly roads and strong winds) just make riding intolerable. I donīt think living car free is 100% practical.

wipekitty

We finally got a proper snowfall - something like 5-6 inches - making for some good outdoor winter experiences today! First, some shoveling. Then, a walk to a coffee shop (1.5 miles RT) to get some work done (I'm working mostly remotely for the rest of the week.)

Finally, a ride to actual work to pick up some stuff to work on tomorrow. I took the long way on the MUPs (8.8 miles RT) to minimize time on the roads, as folks are still remembering how to drive in the snow. Surprisingly, the MUPs are in better shape than the streets! With the weather we've had so far this winter, temps today, in the 5-10F range, felt pretty comfortable

cooker

You hardcore winter riders put me to shame. I remember one time being at an unsheltered bus stop in a rail underpass that functioned as a wind tunnel, on a bitter cold day, and thinking "Why I am always waiting for the bus in such awful weather? Why is it never sunny and nice?" And then I remembered - "Oh yeah, it's because if the weather was a bit better I'd be cycling!"

350htrr

Just seen a guy riding a unicycle coming from a Tim Horton's drinking a coffee while riding... -5*C Ice and snow everywhere...

prj71

It is if the temperature is tolerable.

Sad thread here...no pics of fat bikes.

cooker

Let's see yours then. Do you commute on it?