recently we’ve been having some pretty cold weather in colorado.  it’s not even winter yet!  as some of you probably already know, and perhaps some people are just now finding out….i ride in very cold weather.   perhaps i shouldn’t, since i already have some permanent skin wounds from a couple years ago. most people that know me in real life, think i’m crazy for riding in below freezing temperatures.  i don’t mind, i kind of like the label “crazy”, better than “cold weather bike rider” or “gutter bunny.”  the reason i do it, is not for the label that goes along with such a feat, i do it because i don’t like being afraid of things, especially weather.  i guess it would be a different story if i didn’t want to do it in the first place.

yesterday i packed all my stuff and drove down to my park-n-ride spot.  even the car drive was cold.  i think the outside temperature was 4F or -16C, but my car heater takes a long time to warm up, so i wasn’t feeling any heat.  i brought plenty of clothes, but most of them were laying on the passenger’s seat next to me.  i parked the car, and gradually put on each layer of clothing as i prepared to go outside. it’s always interesting getting those final layers of clothing on when it’s cold.

i packed my iphone in my jersey pocket making sure the chord wasn’t tangled with zippers or what not.  ran the ear buds up and put them in my ears.  i didn’t turn them on yet, but just having them in my ears started taking the edge off the ambient traffic noise.  i put the balaclava over my head and more noises disappeared.  i began to feel more and more detached from the things around me.  finally the helmet went on and the straps tightened …and for that moment i was totally, but acutely introverted.  i guess you can compare the isolation feeling you get when you submerge yourself in a swimming pool.  i felt like an astronaut at that point.  i couldn’t feel very much through all my layers, thick socks, ski gloves, blocked hearing. i could see perfectly however, with my ski goggles.  as i got on the bike and started moving, i could feel little cold breezes that had found their way through the seams of my clothing.  it felt a little uncomfortable, but i let it go.

as i rode through the snow covered bike path i was the only one.  it felt so smooth and quiet riding along the path with some psychedelic music from the warhols playing through my earbuds.  since it was the bike path i had no cars to worry about, and since it was so cold i had no other bikes to worry about.  my studded tires were gripping the icy patches pretty well, and for the moment, the path was very straight.  the cool breezes were now starting to feel pretty good on my slightly overheated body.   in between songs i could hear myself breathing…and on occasion i could even hear myself talking.  i still felt pretty isolated from my surroundings.  which was kind of weird, because cycling usually brings me closer to the environment around me.  not sure if i enjoy it as much this way, but very interesting none the less.

the only thing that really bothered me were my toes.  i could feel them getting colder and colder with each turn of the pedals.  every now and then i would have to pedal standing up just to try and bring some much needed blood back down to my toes.  this seemed to do the job for now, but i was still less than half of the way to my destination.

as i got further along, i started to feel really good. i was overheating a bit and i hadden’t been drinking any water because my water bottle was frozen solid.  i was sweating like crazy, i could feel my balaclava drenched, and pieces of my face were now feeling really cold.  i started to worry about getting frost bite and damaging more of my already damaged skin.  still, i pressed on since i only had about 4 more miles to go.

i finally got to work drenched in sweat, freezing, and late for a meeting.  i quickly got into the shower and as i removed my shoes, and sock, i could feel the toes starting to burn.  quickly i reached down and squeezed the toes as hard as i could hoping to stop the blood from gushing through… or keep it from doing whatever it was that was causing so much pain.   i am no stranger to this feeling,  i’ve had times when i had to scream in public before just because he pain was so bad.  there was no screaming today, i think the squeezing did the trick.  the shower was much shorter than i wanted, because i was pressured by the fact that i was already late for my meeting.

i was starving most of the day.  riding in the cold causes my metabolism to switch into extra high gear, and there is no hope.  i tried to snack as much as i could and had in a big lunch.  by the time the quitting-hour was bestowed upon me, i was finally content .

the hardest part of any day that i ride to work, is the riding back part.  on cold snowy days the ride home is especially tough.  most of my clothes are still a little damp….including the gloves.  nothing worse than heading out into the cold with wet clothes.  fortunately the clothes that were closest to my body were the driest.

the ride back to my car was similar to the ride in, with the exception of light.  it was completely dark, and all i had was my little led head light to guide me.  talk about total sensory deprivation.  i couldn’t feel the weather, i couldn’t hear anything but my music, and now, i couldn’t even see very much.  kind of a helen keller ride… all i could do is feel the inertia and gravity pulling me along.  my memory tried to fill in the dark parts from my partial vision.

i didn’t plan on it, but it was very much an adrenalin rush. .. for 17.4 miles or 28km i rode through a barely lit, partially plowed, snow covered bike path.  not a person around, next to the river that runs through an ugly industrial part of denver.  there were occasions when i would hit an icy patch on a turn and the bike would slightly drift for a few cm, causing my heart to spike.  i never fell, never really came close, but the thought of falling really kept me gripped the entire time.

so that’s kind of what it’s like for me to ride in the bitter cold.  i have many days ahead to perfect my gear and every year it’s the same.  some days i feel it, and some days i don’t want anything to do with cold weather.

7 comments on: cold days

  1. Amy
    Reply

    your description makes me think of how alienating cold is. how much it pulls us apart from each other and our natural connections and also sometimes from the world. you self-imposed isolation is like an insulating bubble that sets you ‘apart’ even farther, but on purpose you create even steeper barriers and create a solitary cocoon. maybe that’s the crazy part that ppl don’t get, if they even thnk about it so much.to me, it kinda sounds canadian.

  2. Steve
    Reply

    Nice post – I too love cycling in the cold and when employed will do my best to cycle to work year round. I love the solitary of exercising in the cold be it biking or running, its like your own private winter wonder land to risk being a bit cliche. I also find that while some senses are muted due to layers, others come alive. I can literally feel the ground when cycling in the cold and my vision is extra sharp. I’ve long held that there is really little weather than can be categorized as bad weather – just bad gear to deal with the weather.

  3. Bruce
    Reply

    So, I haven’t had the ex-cyclist blog marathon yet, but man…this entry is a very compelling one to get on that band wagon fo sho! Your descriptions made me feel like I was there…I could feel the isolation.

    I am, obviously, about as talkative (and perhaps often obnoxious) as they come. I have an on-going attachment to people and feed off of them. I love to meet new people. I love to feel their different energies and see what makes them tick. I. Love. People. I am the poster child for the so-called “people person.”

    That being said, I have tried to learn to enjoy solitude…to take time to listen to myself and my body. I have to train myself to enjoy such…it isn’t natural for me to be introverted, but I seek that so as to reflect on things. My workouts are those times where I try to train my mind along with my body. I train myself to block it all out. Deal with my shit. Make decisions. Take in the world around me…but from a different perspective…where only my opinions and issues count.

    I don’t have the weather you have. It doesn’t require so many layers to get out into the elements year-round here. So, I cannot completely block it all out. I am afraid of running where I know there are no people…not because I will miss the people but just because I’m chicken that I might get hurt, need something/someone, etc. Yet, I can crank the iPod and escape to listen to all that sometimes I stuff down and ignore while living a fast-paced life.

    I am jealous of you. What a remarkable journey you have each morning and afternoon that you ride to and from work. Take good care of yourself and don’t damage your body too much by exposing it to the elements…we only get one…be sure to take good care of it. Also, when you’re out there…soak up some of the solitude and fresh air for me. I get about an hour of that a day (a little more on the weekends) when I workout, but I laugh…because do I run and/or swim fast to strive to be fast…or to return to my peeps?!? LOL! I’m not even sure I know that…but I always admire those who embrace and crave solitude. Keep after it friend! Love the post!

  4. Bruce
    Reply

    your description makes me think of how alienating cold is. how much it pulls us apart from each other and our natural connections and also sometimes from the world. you self-imposed isolation is like an insulating bubble that sets you ‘apart’ even farther, but on purpose you create even steeper barriers and create a solitary cocoon. maybe that’s the crazy part that ppl don’t get, if they even thnk about it so much.to me, it kinda sounds canadian.

  5. Shannon
    Reply

    So, I haven’t had the ex-cyclist blog marathon yet, but man…this entry is a very compelling one to get on that band wagon fo sho! Your descriptions made me feel like I was there…I could feel the isolation.

    I am, obviously, about as talkative (and perhaps often obnoxious) as they come. I have an on-going attachment to people and feed off of them. I love to meet new people. I love to feel their different energies and see what makes them tick. I. Love. People. I am the poster child for the so-called “people person.”

    That being said, I have tried to learn to enjoy solitude…to take time to listen to myself and my body. I have to train myself to enjoy such…it isn’t natural for me to be introverted, but I seek that so as to reflect on things. My workouts are those times where I try to train my mind along with my body. I train myself to block it all out. Deal with my shit. Make decisions. Take in the world around me…but from a different perspective…where only my opinions and issues count.

    I don’t have the weather you have. It doesn’t require so many layers to get out into the elements year-round here. So, I cannot completely block it all out. I am afraid of running where I know there are no people…not because I will miss the people but just because I’m chicken that I might get hurt, need something/someone, etc. Yet, I can crank the iPod and escape to listen to all that sometimes I stuff down and ignore while living a fast-paced life.

    I am jealous of you. What a remarkable journey you have each morning and afternoon that you ride to and from work. Take good care of yourself and don’t damage your body too much by exposing it to the elements…we only get one…be sure to take good care of it. Also, when you’re out there…soak up some of the solitude and fresh air for me. I get about an hour of that a day (a little more on the weekends) when I workout, but I laugh…because do I run and/or swim fast to strive to be fast…or to return to my peeps?!? LOL! I’m not even sure I know that…but I always admire those who embrace and crave solitude. Keep after it friend! Love the post!

  6. bsaunder
    Reply

    Nice post – I too love cycling in the cold and when employed will do my best to cycle to work year round. I love the solitary of exercising in the cold be it biking or running, its like your own private winter wonder land to risk being a bit cliche. I also find that while some senses are muted due to layers, others come alive. I can literally feel the ground when cycling in the cold and my vision is extra sharp. I’ve long held that there is really little weather than can be categorized as bad weather – just bad gear to deal with the weather.

  7. runnrgrl
    Reply

    your description makes me think of how alienating cold is. how much it pulls us apart from each other and our natural connections and also sometimes from the world. you self-imposed isolation is like an insulating bubble that sets you ‘apart’ even farther, but on purpose you create even steeper barriers and create a solitary cocoon. maybe that’s the crazy part that ppl don’t get, if they even thnk about it so much.to me, it kinda sounds canadian.

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