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.
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