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Thursday 2 February 2012

Cold

Last winter, we had about ten days when the temperature dropped to -12° at night. For Pembrokeshire, stuck out in the Gulf Stream, that's unheard-of levels of winter coldness. In my current job, I am commuting either to or from work at around 5.30 and 6.00, both morning and evening, so I was out at the worst times. And with snow for the first time in many years, and widespread black ice, I admit to leaving the bike on the driveway and taking the car for those bitter days. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

This winter has been much milder, and so far I haven't really been cold on the bike at all. But last night the winter bit with a vengeance and I got caught out. It was a very cold night here (I am on nights this week) and by the time for home came round, it was -3°. Regular readers may remember that I bought new riding kit for this winter - a jacket with some hi-viz panels and some trousers that didn't let water in. The problem with the new kit is that it is much closer-fitting and has less insulation. Better on the fashion runway, but not as good at 5.30 am when the bike is a uniform crystalline white when I go to start it up for the ride home. And, lulled as I was by the last few weeks' mildness, I didn't have inner gloves and had left the thermal liners out of the pants.

I kept to sensible speeds for the journey home, never going above about 50 mph. Consciously, this was because of the risk of ice patches, but unconsciously I think I was also aware that going faster would mean much quicker heat loss. By the time I got home, I was as cold as I have ever been. I turned the central heating on, got a bowl of cereal, and leaned on a radiator. It was an hour before I was warm enough to go to bed.

There's a phrase I sometimes use with non-biking friends: You've never been cold until you have been cold on a motorbike. Pain in the extremities, illusions of heat in the coldest parts, and whole-body shivering are not unknown if you don't dress for the ride. I had all of those last night. Out of curiosity, I did a little research into wind chill. It would appear (for example from this site), that a temperature of -3°C and a wind (i.e. a forward speed on a bike) of 50 mph combine to give an equivalent still-air temperature of -17°C. No wonder I was cold.

It hardly seems worth it for my 20-minute commute, but if I were planning a long journey in these conditions I would definitely be considering electrically-heated clothing.

There is a weather station on a roof about 50m from here and I have a link to the readings. At the moment (it's 3 am) it is -3°C again.

And where the bike is usually parked is a car. Mine. With a heater, and Cream's Wheels Of Fire album in the CD player. If I take it easy, I will be able to listen to the whole of Ginger Baker's magnificent drum solo in 'Toad' before I get home.

Sometimes, being a backslider is quite pleasant.

8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. "...but if I were planning a long journey in these conditions I would definitely be considering electrically-heated clothing."

    I didn't know such things existed!

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    1. Yes they do, and very good too, so I hear. Heated vests, leggings (not treggings), boot liners and gloves.

      But expensive!

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  3. This posting reminded me of my student days, when my only transport was the trusty Venom.

    95 miles one snowy, Sunday evening, to get to my digs.

    No fairing, so tee-shirt, jumper, leather jacket, Barbour jacket kept the body reasonable, but just 2 x pairs of jeans & waterproof leggings couldn't prevent near-frozen thighs.

    Stopped off at 3 x pubs just to thaw out. Couldn't afford to buy owt.

    Oh, and it only had 6v 'lighting'.


    "The problem with the new kit is that it is much closer-fitting ........."

    A euphemism for 'I'm putting on weight'?

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  4. Nice one, Joe .

    The old kit was bought deliberately oversize, so that I could wear loads of layers underneath, but in fact that was rarely necessary. It was fine on the bike, but I disliked wearing it to the pub or whatever, as the bulky jacket and enormous salopettes made me look like a North Sea fisherman on shore leave. The new kit is closer fitting (yes, really, a whole two exes smaller) and looks much better off the bike. But, more suitable for autumn and spring than a cold winter.

    Ah, 6v alleged 'lighting'. Trying to ride an unlit road by the brown glow of a Lucas headlamp. Happy days.

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  5. I had some electric inner gloves years ago. They were great until I made a long trip and decided to remove the resistor to get more heat out of them. It was fine until I had to stop at traffic lights and could feel my fingers grilling. For weeks after people kept asking why I had red stripes down my fingers!

    6v lighting I had forgotten that, "Joseph Lucas, Prince of darkness" as a friend always used to say when starting his BSA!

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