Cold As Ice

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Quebec City in January. 30 below. Cold. Very, very cold.

I felt that cold yesterday.

The sun was out and the temperature was reading close to 10 Celsius. My threshold for riding outside is around 8 Celsius. I don’t mind if you call me a fair weather cyclist. At my age, I get to pick whether a frigid outdoor ride is worth the pain. When it is colder than about 8 Celsius, I will just do an indoor spin.

However, I have had so few outdoor rides this season that I was fine to push the edge a little bit. Although the temperature was riding 10 Celsius, the wind chill made it feel more like 5 or 6.

I had a few challenges.

Clothing.

Wind chill.

They were related.

My thermal bibs were in the queue for washing. Unavailable. So I had to use my summer bibs with some lightweight leggings.

My thermal base layers were also in the queue for washing. I pulled a previously enjoyed base layer. After all, it was only my sweat from Tuesday’s outdoor ride. I won’t reuse bibs without a wash. Ask any cyclist if you want to know why.

Winter gloves unavailable. And there is also a reason why gloves need to be washed between use.

I went out into the frigid cold with crazy arctic winds wearing basically an early fall kit.

It was the most ridiculously cold ride of my life. All I could think of was the time I spent in Quebec City last winter. Man, was it cold. A deep, harsh, miserable cold. The kind of cold that takes your breath away and literally forces you back inside.

It was that cold that I experienced yesterday.

And did I cut my ride short?

No. Of course not. Even in the freezing cold, it was still a wonderful ride. Particularly when it ended.

I spent several hours thawing out in a hot shower.