On my ride to work, I stopped at a local sugarhouse, which I pass everyday (twice a day, actually). I wanted to get a housewarming gift for my buddy John and his family, who recently moved to Spokane, WA. He was a grad student at UCSC in the lab across the hall and an avid cyclist. Anyway, this stuff is for him and his girls. Who doesn't love pancakes and maple syrup?
I credit the good Dr. John with introducing me to Rock Lobster Cycles (see blog link on the sidebar). Just after we had moved to Santa Cruz in 2005, I broke my bike frame (pictured below) while riding in some of my favorite local trails. I was broke (and so was my frame) and needed a cheap frame repair, so John recommended TIG-welding guru Paul Sadoff. It turns out that I got a free frame replacement from the manufacturer, but after meeting Paul, I caught the fever. Soon thereafter, I put in an order for my first custom bike frame, a Rock Lobster Team TIG SL cyclocross frame. Thanks John!
So, where was I... Oh yeah, so that the syrup stop was on the way to work. On the way home, it was 15F with a real feel of 3F. Yup, three degrees. By far, the coldest bike commute (not coldest ride) I've ever done.
That's no slushy in my water bottle. It was an ice cube tray. Next time, I'm carrying a warm beer. We used to have a 'trick' in the old days. Store your water bottle upside down in the bottle cage so that the ice forms at the bottom rather than the top of your bottle.
Honestly, I was okay in the cold temps. I'm not going to front and say, "Oh yeah, it was great." Yes, I was cold, but it was manageable. I'm not going to list everything that I had on because that might take a while. But I will say that I wore less than what I expected that I would need. More later...
Ride safely (stay warm) and happy trails.
