Brig,
Even in the coldest part of the winter(-30F) I had to deliver the newspapers. It got so cold that my bike’s wheels not turn and I had to get my mother’s help(and car).
I work with a guy, older than me, who bikes to work every day. It is only when his wife tells him to take their car, that he leaves the bike at home. The ride to work takes him an hour and he crosses a long bridge. We have tried to have him declared insane, but he refuses to believe us.
Most of us have been there, I take it. Fresno, Calif., has nothing on the cold I experienced in Chicago, which I’m told has nothing on the cold in say, Minn. But the cold on my paper route at 4 AM in the dead of winter was a special kind of cold that eats through you to the bone. After that, the coldest I’ve experienced was off the coast of North Korea. But I wasn’t on a bicycle.
Growing up in Wisconsin in the 1960s – when there was a decade long “cold snap” – the coldest weather I’ve ever been out in was 40 below zero. (C or F, take your pick; they’re the exact same at -40) In those days, that was the temperature and no accounting for wind or humidity. That was COLD. We went out all bundled up and it was like we were wearing only swimsuits! You could actually HEAR your breath crackle as the condensation froze the moment you exhaled. The snow was like ground up razor blades.
Anyway, we went back inside in less than ten minutes. We could play in -20 or even -25 and have fun, but -40 was our limit. Still, I’m glad for the experience.
Brig,
A trip is now in the planning stages. Weather permitting, I want to travel by Amtrack via Portland, OR to Salinas, CA. Exact dates are still up in the air, but keep the first 10 days of March open on your calendar! :^)
People don’t realize how cold it is in California in the winter. The temperatures are relatively moderate, but the humidity is terrible. When you couple those, with the wind chill it is terrible. I live in Montana, but when I return to California, I nearly freeze to death.
Lee: You must return to Northern California… Near Tahoe? High Sierras?
It gets cold here in Salinas… like down in the 20’s at times… but the winter highs are usually in the 50’s … which is pleasant… not too cold… not too unseasonable.
I know how Randie feels. My friend and I go out caroling every year (third year in a row this year), and by caroling I mean “Walking around town for four hours singing loudly in the middle of December.” When we get back inside it takes an hour to warm back up! And that’s with snuggly blankets and pajama pants. Brrr!
Whoa ho! Caroling! That sounds like fun! The caroling that is… not the shivering out in the cold part. Snuggly blankets sounds pretty okay, too! oooo… and some hot chocolate…
hot coffee…cocoa…hot tea…hot apple cider…any of those’ll do the trick for me. i live on the monterey peninsula (and spent a looooong time in salinas, i may add) and so i know of the weather here in steinbeck country. it’s s’posed to get into the mid to low 30’s tonight.
Joe: Yep, I know Rhinelander. My pastor did his vicar year at one of our Lutheran churches there, waaaay back in the late 70s. I, myself, haven’t been there to know it. We moved back to Arizona when I was almost 12, so a lot of memories I have are “kid” memories. (The best!) But even though it’s been almost 40 years since I’ve lived there, I still root for Green Bay, and I still say words like crick, bubbler, pop, and Wis-CAHN-sin.
Dada… Now there’s an idea! Hmmm. WHere would she find a hot tub?
Pete…. I like that… Wis-CAHN-sin. NPR’s MonkeySee does a holiday podcast… & the three personalities go off on the accents from that part of the country… and Minne-SOH-tah.
Brig,
Even in the coldest part of the winter(-30F) I had to deliver the newspapers. It got so cold that my bike’s wheels not turn and I had to get my mother’s help(and car).
I work with a guy, older than me, who bikes to work every day. It is only when his wife tells him to take their car, that he leaves the bike at home. The ride to work takes him an hour and he crosses a long bridge. We have tried to have him declared insane, but he refuses to believe us.
Hot cocoa for me, pls.
Hmmm… it’s not too cold, at least. When it’s TOO cold to ride a bike, you don’t feel any cold or any pain. You feel.. nothing.
It’s when you start warming up again that all your nerves come back to life and THEN the pain begins!
Most of us have been there, I take it. Fresno, Calif., has nothing on the cold I experienced in Chicago, which I’m told has nothing on the cold in say, Minn. But the cold on my paper route at 4 AM in the dead of winter was a special kind of cold that eats through you to the bone. After that, the coldest I’ve experienced was off the coast of North Korea. But I wasn’t on a bicycle.
Oh my! Randie has nothing to complain about compared to 4am paper routes in COLD places!
I suffer from cold feet and hands to begin with! I don’t do cold well at all… so no snowy cold places for me!
Growing up in Wisconsin in the 1960s – when there was a decade long “cold snap” – the coldest weather I’ve ever been out in was 40 below zero. (C or F, take your pick; they’re the exact same at -40) In those days, that was the temperature and no accounting for wind or humidity. That was COLD. We went out all bundled up and it was like we were wearing only swimsuits! You could actually HEAR your breath crackle as the condensation froze the moment you exhaled. The snow was like ground up razor blades.
Anyway, we went back inside in less than ten minutes. We could play in -20 or even -25 and have fun, but -40 was our limit. Still, I’m glad for the experience.
Brig,
A trip is now in the planning stages. Weather permitting, I want to travel by Amtrack via Portland, OR to Salinas, CA. Exact dates are still up in the air, but keep the first 10 days of March open on your calendar! :^)
Pete,
Ever hear of: Rhinelander?
People don’t realize how cold it is in California in the winter. The temperatures are relatively moderate, but the humidity is terrible. When you couple those, with the wind chill it is terrible. I live in Montana, but when I return to California, I nearly freeze to death.
Joe: Goodness! A visitor! The Cartoonery welcomes you.
Lee: You must return to Northern California… Near Tahoe? High Sierras?
It gets cold here in Salinas… like down in the 20’s at times… but the winter highs are usually in the 50’s … which is pleasant… not too cold… not too unseasonable.
I know how Randie feels. My friend and I go out caroling every year (third year in a row this year), and by caroling I mean “Walking around town for four hours singing loudly in the middle of December.” When we get back inside it takes an hour to warm back up! And that’s with snuggly blankets and pajama pants. Brrr!
Whoa ho! Caroling! That sounds like fun! The caroling that is… not the shivering out in the cold part. Snuggly blankets sounds pretty okay, too! oooo… and some hot chocolate…
hot coffee…cocoa…hot tea…hot apple cider…any of those’ll do the trick for me. i live on the monterey peninsula (and spent a looooong time in salinas, i may add) and so i know of the weather here in steinbeck country. it’s s’posed to get into the mid to low 30’s tonight.
Joe: Yep, I know Rhinelander. My pastor did his vicar year at one of our Lutheran churches there, waaaay back in the late 70s. I, myself, haven’t been there to know it. We moved back to Arizona when I was almost 12, so a lot of memories I have are “kid” memories. (The best!) But even though it’s been almost 40 years since I’ve lived there, I still root for Green Bay, and I still say words like crick, bubbler, pop, and Wis-CAHN-sin.
Geez, just get her a hot tub full of coffee to soak in!
Dada… Now there’s an idea! Hmmm. WHere would she find a hot tub?
Pete…. I like that… Wis-CAHN-sin. NPR’s MonkeySee does a holiday podcast… & the three personalities go off on the accents from that part of the country… and Minne-SOH-tah.