I'm pretty tough and well-equipped to deal with reasonable cold. 20's or even teens are fine, high single digits if there isn't much wind. But, we are having extreme cold - record setting in fact, Lows from -10 to -20 F, highs only reaching 0 to 5, and wind, an ever-present wind taking the wind chills down to -30 or worse. It really is brutal.
And, then there is the snow - storm after storm, some dropping 2 or 3 inches, some 8, 10, 12, 14 - record snowfall for January, over 32 inches and counting. February will be off to a bad start, they are predicting a "whopper" of a blizzard this weekend, in the words of a local TV weatherman.
This was going to be my winter to really embrace the Surly and get out there and still ride. And to work on developing my skills at backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. But, I just can't do it, it is literally dangerous, even if I can prevent frostbite and hypothermia, the extreme cold air is not good on my cardio-pulmonary system.
I just wanna ride.
My concerns are really petty compared to what I see on the local news - the homeless, the poor, seniors, pets all facing dangerous conditions. Fires from space heaters and make-shift heating killing people too poor to pay for utilities, or worse, living in slum housing with landlords that won't maintain properties so broken furnaces. Pets left outside by callous owners, dying in the cold. It's very sad.
Rant over. No one can do anything about weather, except maybe say a prayer that it moderates.,
And, then there is the snow - storm after storm, some dropping 2 or 3 inches, some 8, 10, 12, 14 - record snowfall for January, over 32 inches and counting. February will be off to a bad start, they are predicting a "whopper" of a blizzard this weekend, in the words of a local TV weatherman.
This was going to be my winter to really embrace the Surly and get out there and still ride. And to work on developing my skills at backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. But, I just can't do it, it is literally dangerous, even if I can prevent frostbite and hypothermia, the extreme cold air is not good on my cardio-pulmonary system.
I just wanna ride.
My concerns are really petty compared to what I see on the local news - the homeless, the poor, seniors, pets all facing dangerous conditions. Fires from space heaters and make-shift heating killing people too poor to pay for utilities, or worse, living in slum housing with landlords that won't maintain properties so broken furnaces. Pets left outside by callous owners, dying in the cold. It's very sad.
Rant over. No one can do anything about weather, except maybe say a prayer that it moderates.,
