Yesterday I rode up to Nelsonville to help out my Dad with his new DSL install. I was nice to be able to do something for him. It seemed kind of odd in a way, to do something for him that he did not fully understand, for the man who did so many things for me when I was a kid that I did not understand. But anyway that is not the gist of this entry. More to the point this should serve as a warning to others. It was cold yesterday, colder then I thought it would be on the bike, but I rode it anyway. I got about 7 miles out of Athens and had to pull over to warm up at the Ranger Station because my legs stung and I could not feel my legs very well. Now, I rode the highway to Nelsonville so I was traveling about 55-60 mph in 25-degree weather. That made the base ambient temp around minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit. It took about 20 minutes to get there. At that temperature frostbite sets in after about 30 minutes. I did have 2 pairs of gloves on but I was still cold. The worst was yet to come. I rode back cross-country, thinking that I could drive a little slower and not get chilled as badly. Nice theory anyway. The route I took led me through much of the scenic back country of Athens. For those of you not too familiar with the terrain, it is all nice little frost hollows. The temperature can differ as much as 20 degrees cooler in these areas from the average, due to their protection from the wind and the sun. If we just drop the temp by 10 degrees that makes it 15 degrees for the base temp, with an average speed of 45-50 that made the ambient temp minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 27 Celsius. Frostbite sets in at that temperature in about 15 minutes. My ride was 25 minutes long. When I got home I was having trouble closing my hands around the grips of the bike. I did get it up on the stand and got in the house okay, but Judi (bless her) had to take off my helmet, as I could not undo the strap. She tried to warm my hands, but they hurt too much to be touched. I headed into the kitchen and soaked them in cool water, slowly increasing the temperature until they started to warm up. Finally they began to hurt worse so I knew there was not much damage. Today, my fingers are a little pink and still a bit sore at the tips but not so much as to keep me from typing. Guess there is another upside to having that blacksmith leather like skin. No broken skin or blackening, so I would say no frostbite, but dam close enough for me.
So, there you have it. Public admission of a dork attack. Me vs. Mother Nature, we will call it a draw.
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Monday, March 8, 2004
Coffee and dreams, bitter and sweet
Well, of late I have found myself quite addicted to ridding my bike; a pastime of most efficacious manor and deep soul cleansing. You would not think that ridding would do that, but perhaps it is feeling the wind on your face and the press of the air on your body that forces the dust from your mind and soul. We all accumulate dust in our being; just not everyone knows how to clean it out. I hope everyone finds his or her own way to do it. I had perviously made a comment about the look of a fighter pilot, but all I was missing was the silk scarf. Well, no more, thanks to Heather and The Fish, I have one now! Look out Red Baron, you have more than Snoopy to worry about now!
In other news, nada.
Life in general has been quite quiet of late, so much so I am actually getting caught up on a few projects now and then. I need to direct more attention to my writing. Everyone knows about writers block, but I think I have come up with a new one, Writers Guilt. When you know you should write or you want to write, but the whole of the universe seems to conspire against you to keep you from writing, yet, you still have a layer of guilt for not changing things so you can.
It surprises me sometimes the things I learn from reading my friends blogs. With all these extra eyes I have developed quite an intelligence network one could say. I am informed from conversations, blogs, news, phone calls, excreta. I listen and see things all the time and just file them away for later if need be. Makes me glad I swore long go to only use my powers for good, he he.
Well, not the most exciting of entries, but none the less it is still an update of sorts.
Better than everyone just skimming past, seeing I did not update the page yet again. I am doing something unusual for me; there is neither music nor movies playing right now. The sound of the heater seems to be enough for me. I usually hate silence in general, but right now it seems to be just fine. I keep looking out the window and cursing the snow I see, I want to ride more. It is just too cold out. Now, you may say it is only 40 degrees, it is not that cold. Consider this, if it is 40 degrees outside and I am riding at 50 mph, the effective temperature on my person is now 25 degrees. If the temp drops to 30 degrees at that same 50 mph, the effective temp on me is now 12. See? Way too cold to ride. That does not even take into account any wind there may already be. For example, 40 degrees with a 15 mph wind is effectively 32 degrees, now, we take that base of 32 and add in the speed of riding, 50 mph, and our new effective temperature effect is the same as if it were 4 degrees. Water freezes at 32 degrees; Bryian freezes at anything below 40. Bryians operational temperature range is optimally around 85-90 degrees. And now you know why I still wear a jacket when it is 75 degrees outside. This ends meteorology 201 for today.
This one came from my friend Toms blog. I am not big on quizzes, but this one did interest me a bit. I wonder how accurate it is? You decide.
Maybe more later, after more coffee…
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
In other news, nada.
Life in general has been quite quiet of late, so much so I am actually getting caught up on a few projects now and then. I need to direct more attention to my writing. Everyone knows about writers block, but I think I have come up with a new one, Writers Guilt. When you know you should write or you want to write, but the whole of the universe seems to conspire against you to keep you from writing, yet, you still have a layer of guilt for not changing things so you can.
It surprises me sometimes the things I learn from reading my friends blogs. With all these extra eyes I have developed quite an intelligence network one could say. I am informed from conversations, blogs, news, phone calls, excreta. I listen and see things all the time and just file them away for later if need be. Makes me glad I swore long go to only use my powers for good, he he.
Well, not the most exciting of entries, but none the less it is still an update of sorts.
Better than everyone just skimming past, seeing I did not update the page yet again. I am doing something unusual for me; there is neither music nor movies playing right now. The sound of the heater seems to be enough for me. I usually hate silence in general, but right now it seems to be just fine. I keep looking out the window and cursing the snow I see, I want to ride more. It is just too cold out. Now, you may say it is only 40 degrees, it is not that cold. Consider this, if it is 40 degrees outside and I am riding at 50 mph, the effective temperature on my person is now 25 degrees. If the temp drops to 30 degrees at that same 50 mph, the effective temp on me is now 12. See? Way too cold to ride. That does not even take into account any wind there may already be. For example, 40 degrees with a 15 mph wind is effectively 32 degrees, now, we take that base of 32 and add in the speed of riding, 50 mph, and our new effective temperature effect is the same as if it were 4 degrees. Water freezes at 32 degrees; Bryian freezes at anything below 40. Bryians operational temperature range is optimally around 85-90 degrees. And now you know why I still wear a jacket when it is 75 degrees outside. This ends meteorology 201 for today.
This one came from my friend Toms blog. I am not big on quizzes, but this one did interest me a bit. I wonder how accurate it is? You decide.
Maybe more later, after more coffee…
Till next time, be mindful and awake.
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