How cold?

barry_kellett99

I didn't cycle yesterday as my housing area and the road out for about 1/4 mile was completely covered in Black ice, this morning it was a nice dry frost so I chanced it.

The forecast said it was going to be -4.

I've cycled -4 before and it wasnt cold enough for the fog to freeze on my brake levers making them very slippy and it definitely wasnt cold enough to cause the front of my windproof to develop its own unique growths of Ice!

It must have been even colder than predicted.

How cold do you go?

iain_j

Very mild round our way. Soaking up the warmth of the sun. Lovely

wgwarburton

Hi,
We had a cold spell in November. It was about -8C. I lost the skin from my ears a couple of days later as a result of what I assume was frostbite. I'm being a bit more careful about protecting exposed skin, now.

It was lovely this morning- clear, bright and dry.. snow on the munros, full moon, calm.

Cheers,
W.

RyanB

Managed to make it out the last two mornings but Barry, the distance that you're going, nevermind the brakes, I'm surprised you're not frozen by the time you get to work.

girv73

-2 this morning, according to the car thermometer

I did a quick recce up the street on foot and decided the bike would be a bad idea. The car felt slidey for about 4 miles until we got down on to the coastal road, so I say "good call" on not cycling today.

Garou

A few weeks ago i cycled in when it was -5C ; by the time i got to work the water in my bottle was freezing. Luckily it was quite bright so i was relativley warm cycling the long(ish) commute.

However, cycling back in the rain yesterday was worse - my gloves got soaked (unfortunately hadn't dried completely from the morning) and my fingers were frozen. They were so painful when warming up at home

emdeef

Australia, on the other hand, is very hot at the moment. On a lighter note to the desperate news coming out of Oz at the moment:

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12327

squired

Ditto what Garou said. I was also riding a few weeks back when it was minus 5. I did have one really bad ride in when it was cold, but was fine otherwise. However, the ride home last night in the heavy rain was terrible. My shoes filled with ice cold water over Clapham Common and by Streatham my gloves were drenched. It was one of the worst rides home I've ever had. About three quarters of the way home I could feel my body temperature was dropping due to the ice cold water covering me. The worst moments were when I was stuck standing at red lights, as I really felt the cold/wet combination.

lost_in_thought

emdeef wrote:

Australia, on the other hand, is very hot at the moment. On a lighter note to the desperate news coming out of Oz at the moment:

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12327

Aawwwwwwww cute!

barry_kellett99

RyanB wrote:

Managed to make it out the last two mornings but Barry, the distance that you're going, nevermind the brakes, I'm surprised you're not frozen by the time you get to work.

Are you an Mtbrider?!

girv73 wrote:

-2 this morning, according to the car thermometer

I did a quick recce up the street on foot and decided the bike would be a bad idea. The car felt slidey for about 4 miles until we got down on to the coastal road, so I say "good call" on not cycling today.

What time was that at? Lunch time??

mediamonkey

I work some pretty unsociable hours so my ride home from the station can be as late as 12.30am. Back in January the overnight low in Farnborough (where I ride from) was -11C one night. OK that was probably the temperature at about 6am when I was in bed but when I got home that night I checked my garden thermometer and it was reading -8C :shock:

Strangely enough it didn't feel all that unpleasant - I'd rather have a cold still frosty night than gale force winds and rain at +5C! I did have a woolly hat on under my helmet though

ris

in december it was -3 or -4 on my commute, which was fine apart from the 2mile downhill part of the route. by the end of the hill (usually i get to about 28-30mph) i'd lost the feeling in the middle, third and little fingers of both hands and they were locked to the brake levers - and my chin was numb.

it wasn't for another 25mins that i got the numb feeling out of my hands, luckily i have a little thinsulate hat thing i wear under my helmet which protects my ears otherwise they would have been agonsing.

bizarrely, even though hands and face were numb my arms were hugely sweaty - since the new year i've stopped wearing long sleeves under my shell layer.

pud77

It was -6 on the 6am commute home after a nightshift on Saturday morning which is the coldest my bike computer has recorded this winter. Bloody cold, especially on the face , but not particilarly icy on the road. Sometimes it can be a bit warmer but the road conditions can be treacherous.
As to how low I would go, the honest answer is as low as it goes because it's my only means of getting to work. Bring it on that's what I say, as long as you're dressed for it, it's all good fun

topcat33

I've done -17 on a commute, that was when my commute was an hour. Now there's ice on the path my commute is 1 1/2 hours I don't think I'd go that low as it's too long in the cold.

I went out for "fun" in -27! Boy that was cold...I had to pee sitting down for the rest of that day!

The complaining tadpole

Couple of weeks ago I made my usual 5.30am commute & after about 3 miles my fingers hurt so much I nearly turned round & went home! :oops: When I got to work my mate told me that his car recorded -9 on the way in! :shock:

singlespeedexplosif

Have ridden at -15, but for commuting I think the -9 of a few weeks ago was the coldest. All good fun apart from reaching for your energy drink and finding it has turned to slush puppy. Walking into work with beard icicles rocks.

RyanB

barry_kellett99 wrote:

RyanB wrote:

Managed to make it out the last two mornings but Barry, the distance that you're going, nevermind the brakes, I'm surprised you're not frozen by the time you get to work

Are you an Mtbrider?! .

Yep. Looking forward the the Scotland trip in March with ColB and Big Dave.

roger_merriman

lost_in_thought wrote:

emdeef wrote:

Australia, on the other hand, is very hot at the moment. On a lighter note to the desperate news coming out of Oz at the moment:

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12327

Aawwwwwwww cute!

i think they are friends of one the blokes in the bike club i'm a member of.

lost_in_thought

Ooooh Roger, maybe you can help me with something...

I want to get a road bike to keep in Oz, not an expensive one, I'm only ever there for 2 or so weeks at a time... and in an ideal world I'd like to order it online and have it delivered to our place out there before I arrive on the 15th of March

Do you know of any online shops or shops that would deliver to Goulburn? The only shop there that sells road bikes is K-Mart, which might be OK as a last resort!

roger_merriman

lost_in_thought wrote:

Ooooh Roger, maybe you can help me with something...

I want to get a road bike to keep in Oz, not an expensive one, I'm only ever there for 2 or so weeks at a time... and in an ideal world I'd like to order it online and have it delivered to our place out there before I arrive on the 15th of March

Do you know of any online shops or shops that would deliver to Goulburn? The only shop there that sells road bikes is K-Mart, which might be OK as a last resort!

i don't (i'm uk london infact) but i know a man who might wel,l does sound a little tight, if you could afford it i'd pick up one here and take it across.

i asume k-mart is dire? as some brand names arent the same as i discovered.

barry_kellett99

RyanB wrote:

Yep. Looking forward the the Scotland trip in March with ColB and Big Dave.

I was on for that too until my car died and left me up a financial creek!

If you've never been before, you'll love it. If you have been before you'll not sleep for weeks before it in excitement

dennisn

Being old, I never go out until the temp. reaches my age(60).

Dennis Noward

always_tyred

dennisn wrote:

Being old, I never go out until the temp. reaches my age(60).

Dennis Noward

Many of the youngsters and European liberal metric types (or Canadians) may misunderstand this temperature.

There was a theory in Canada that the reason that so many Americans thought there was a wall of ice at the border was becuase the channels viewed both sides of the border gave US temps in F and the Canadian temps in C.

But that would be to insult an entire nation.

RyanB

barry_kellett99 wrote:

RyanB wrote:

Yep. Looking forward the the Scotland trip in March with ColB and Big Dave.

I was on for that too until my car died and left me up a financial creek!

If you've never been before, you'll love it. If you have been before you'll not sleep for weeks before it in excitement

Yeah I've been over to Kirroughtree/Ae couple of times last year. Was with the lads that last time you were on your way up to Glentress. Never been to Glentress/Inners so really looking forward to it.