To all you deep cold weather guys

[cykelk]

A toasty 25℉ today

 

[Rickster]

Went out a couple days ago, was -25c(-13f) starting out slight breeze. Ride up the mt was terrific, skiff of fresh pow on a solid base. Climbed 450 metres (1500ft) mostly in the tree line but ended up on a ridge with blowing snow. With wind chill and riding the temp went down to-30c(-22f). On the decent trying to stay warm wasn't optimal since I hardly had to pedal at all my heart rate was too low to aid the outer circulation. My feet and hands got extremely cold to the point of having to get off the bike and run around to warm up... Two hrs later I was back at home warming up. Even though I was well outfitted, I underestimated the lack of generated body heat on the decent and dam near froze ! It Was an awesome ride in picture perfect weather

 

[steve_sordy]

@Rickster Blood Yell!
I'm surprised that your suspension didn't freeze up as the oil viscosity increased. Or do you have special winter grade oil?

 

[Rickster]

@Rickster Blood Yell!
I'm surprised that your suspension didn't freeze up as the oil viscosity increased. Or do you have special winter grade oil?

Nope everything froze up pretty good so I locked up the back shock, who needs it right ? The back brake which needed a bleed( hadn't done it yet) failed on my way down so I was forced to use the front only. It was a very challenging ride but still a riot !

 

[RickBullotta]

@Rickster Blood Yell!
I'm surprised that your suspension didn't freeze up as the oil viscosity increased. Or do you have special winter grade oil?

Oh, the suspension most definitely stiffens up in the front and sometimes softens up in the back (air shock). Same with tire pressures over the duration of a cold ride in deep-ish snow.

 

[Arminius]

@Rickster
Minus 25C!? What did you wear?

 

[RickBullotta]

@Rickster
Minus 25C!? What did you wear?

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He wore a thong, gloves, and boots. Duh.

 

[Rickster]

@Rickster
Minus 25C!? What did you wear?

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That's exactly what I felt like for sure ! I like to layer up so I can peel off on the way up if needed. I wore ; wool socks, twp pair, heated pads in boots, wool underlayer, padded riding shorts, wind proof pants over that insulated snow pants, wool base layer shirt, wool shirt, down jacket, wind proof jacket, another down jacket, another down jacket and a down vest. Balaclava, ear muffs,neck warmer , Full face helmet, two pairs heated gloves... seems about right !Pedaling is a bit hard. Haha.

 

[Rickster]

He wore a thong, gloves, and boots. Duh.

Rick have you been peeking again ? haha

 

[Rickster]

So I went out again yesterday and found my same foolish self rippin it up on the way down. The only way to stay upright was to bobsled the hiking troughs looking way ahead and going way too fast. Really it's like riding in sand, if you go too slow you will sink and bog down, momentum is everything... so is freezing your nuts off !
2.5 hours later @-28 plus wind chill my dropper froze solid. By keeping a cadence of at least 70 to 80 going up and down saved my arse and actually made the ride a lot of fun ! It was kind of like sledding with the motor turned off. At least it wasn't a white out and I was able to gain 2,000 ft in altitude, what a rush !!! Only thing I couldn't understand was where was everyone else ?

 

[Arminius]

I have been a couple of times for work and winter sports in such temperatures. Not knowing how remote the area is where you are riding but are you sure to be safe in case of an accident or if your body gives up in the cold?
In the Alps there just was a teen going for a walk in the morning, slipped and injured herself. When they found her hours later nearby the house she was frozen to death.

 

[Stihldog]

Unless you’re riding studded tires, the snow with hidden ice can be challenging .

New powder today and the temperature wasn’t too bad.

 

[Stihldog]

Also, I’m re-posting this picture again from last year’s snowmageddan…

No…wait, I took this a few minutes ago. ffs
Could be a decent CushCore?

 

[Rickster]

Unless you’re riding studded tires, the snow with hidden ice can be challenging .

New powder today and the temperature wasn’t too bad.

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Hey looks familiar and fun ! Studs are an absolute must ! We just got another 25cm (10") of fresh pow !!! I can hardly wait to get out and play

 

[Growmac]

You did not need to pay for Strava in that case, as "beacon" is in the free version that I use. Free version is good enough for my needs
As to iphone 14 having gps - all mobiles have it and always had it. You do not need data or be within reach of mobile masts/have mobile reception to be tracable by whoever you want. You can in fact save your battery and put your phone in airplane mode and whoever you want can still follow you )say using sharing location on WhatsApp), your strava and trailforks will still record your route. I use it this way all the time, can ride without distractions and can listen to my podcasts for way longer, do not need to take my phone charger even on long rides.

Lots of misunderstandings here.
All phones have GPS,. Most can still track you while in Airplane mode, GPS doesn't need cellular signal other than to facilitate a fast initial lock.
That tracking does not help you be traced by anyone, your location history is stored locally on the phone and is entirely unavailable to anyone else until you reconnect to a data service. They can't connect to you, they can't see where you are, you are untraceable, they cannot use your Airplane mode phone to find you.
One thing is unique (I believe) to the iPhone 14 and beyond: they now have a Satellite SOS feature. If you need assistance and are out of mobile coverage, they can send a distress signal with your location and problem description via satellite, enabling rescuers to come get you. Currently this service comes free with the phone, and it's a good alternative to the inReach devices for someone that doesn't need 2-way messaging out in the sticks. Emergency only, but a great reason for sticking with iPhone for me.

 

[RustyIron]

So what do you do to protect yourself?

I'm solidly a Fahrenheit sort of rider. I don't think we've had any nights into the 30's yet, but rest assured, you still want to be wearing clothes if you're going outside for any length of time. Recently I got a pair of long riding pants. Believe it or not, I really like them. I might get another pair. But really, long socks and knee pads with my shorts are usually enough.

 

[Semmelrocc]

Another serious (really) question comes to mind reading your stories above: how do you keep your balls from freezing in, say -15° C?? I chose to ride to work last week (because I could and we'd had so much miserable weather in the last quarter before recently); -7°C in the morning and despite wearing 5 layers (pants, long bike tights, trousers and a layer of wind stopper trousers on top), it was still uncomfortably chilly between my legs. I was happy my riding distance was just 15 km. I wouldn't have wanted to go much further.

 

[Rickster]

Another serious (really) question comes to mind reading your stories above: how do you keep your balls from freezing in, say -15° C?? I chose to ride to work last week (because I could and we'd had so much miserable weather in the last quarter before recently); -7°C in the morning and despite wearing 5 layers (pants, long bike tights, trousers and a layer of wind stopper trousers on top), it was still uncomfortably chilly between my legs. I was happy my riding distance was just 15 km. I wouldn't have wanted to go much further.

The first thing I put on are the croch lined padded riding shorts. The additional padding around that area along with all the additional layers on top seem to do the trick. Also the biggest difference in body heat is keeping that cadence way up. It might seem foolish or look funny pedalling like a mad man even on the flats but you can easily break into a sweat.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Semmelrocc Do you have one of those fancy saddles with an air channel in them. They are supposed to relieve pressure on the perineal nerve (they are called the "love saddle"). That channel is great in the Summer! Less so in the wet and the cold.

 

[Semmelrocc]

No air conditioned saddle here. Will have a look at some proper warm underwear, I guess...

 

[cykelk]

No air conditioned saddle here. Will have a look at some proper warm underwear, I guess...

Surprised you were cold with all those layers. I use Under Armour Coldgear leggings and either softshell XC ski pants over them (mine are some Craft pant), or if it’s actively raining / wet a waterproof MTB pant. I don’t ever wear padded shorts, have always hated them.

 

[Prairie Dog]

We endured some extremely dangerous wind chill values this month but none worse than on this day. I guess that it was a form of payback for the unseasonably mild conditions that we received back in December. It doesn’t matter whether it’s centigrade/Fahrenheit, it’s all the same when the mercury plunges this low.

When the polar vortex finally released its death grip on us a few days later, it started to snow and continued to over several days which resulted in stellar riding conditions.

 

[Arminius]

We endured some extremely dangerous wind chill values this month but none worse than on this day. I guess that it was a form of payback for the unseasonably mild conditions that we received back in December. It doesn’t matter whether it’s centigrade/Fahrenheit, it’s all the same when the mercury plunges this low.

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When the polar vortex finally released its death grip on us a few days later, it started to snow and continued to over several days which resulted in stellar riding conditions.

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Wow! As you mentioned the mercury. Just curious I checked and found that it gets solid from minus 39 celsius.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Wow! As you mentioned the mercury. Just curious I checked and found that it gets solid from minus 39 celsius.

We actually broke the old record of -38C set back in 2005. At the time I posted the temp above, it actually dropped down a few hours later to -44.3 which eventually ended up being the record! I’m so relieved that is all behind us now and look forward to the warmer week that’s ahead of us. We still have another two months of winter remaining so we’re not out of the proverbial woods yet.

 

[Stihldog]

We actually broke the old record of -38C set back in 2005. At the time I posted the temp above, it actually dropped down a few hours later to -44.3 which eventually ended up being the record! I’m so relieved that is all behind us now and look forward to the warmer week that’s ahead of us. We still have another two months of winter remaining so we’re not out of the proverbial woods yet.

The coldest I ever felt was-40c (also -40F) in Speedy Creek. If you didn’t plug in your car …you weren’t going anywhere that day.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The coldest I ever felt was-40c (also -40F) in Speedy Creek. If you didn’t plug in your car …you weren’t going anywhere that day.

Seems like the entire country was in the deep freeze at some point in time. We’re expected to reach a high of +8C by next week and that would be considered down right balmy for January.

 

[Stihldog]

Seems like the entire country was in the deep freeze at some point in time. We’re expected to reach a high of +8C by next week and that would be considered down right balmy for January.

When I lived in Cow-Town (1yr) , the Chinook’s were a good time to take the bikinis out of storage

 

[Prairie Dog]

When I lived in Cow-Town (1yr) , the Chinook’s were a good time to take the bikinis out of storage

Calgary and Edmonton always seem to be a few degrees warmer but you’re spot on about the Chinooks being nature’s gift to those who live further south. We also receive our share of the warming winds but because we are located in a river valley cold air tends to pool on most days so Red Deer generally remains colder or so I’ve been told. I’m sure by next week we’ll see our share of crazies donning flip flops. In fact, tonight I saw a fellow walk into a grocery store wearing shorts and it was -2C. Go figure.

 

[steve_sordy]

.................. I’m sure by next week we’ll see our share of crazies donning flip flops. In fact, tonight I saw a fellow walk into a grocery store wearing shorts and it was -2C. Go figure.

We have people like that in the UK. They are 17-year-old girls on the lash out to a nightclub in Newcastle in the winter. The only jacket they wear is called a beer jacket! It is stunning to see how little they can wear in the coldest of weather. All so they don't have to check their coat at the door!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Studs on Ice.