It was a beautiful morning today. Most people wouldn't have thought so — foggy and overcast is not everyone's idea of a beautiful day — but for a commuting cyclist, that's close to perfect conditions for winter. Well, my finger tips were a bit cool and maybe I should keep my knees wrapped up when it gets below 10°C, but really it was pretty darn pleasant.
I ♥ fog
Fog is great because it:
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means there's (usually) no wind
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helps to stop smog spreading, keeping the air that bit cleaner on the trails
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is humid, which is good for breathing
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makes the world smaller and quieter (it's a state-of-mind thing, trust me)
OK I don't really know about that second one, but the air just seems a bit cleaner on foggy mornings and I can't imagine there are less cars on days like this.
A sense of proportion
It's important to keep a sense of proportion about colder mornings. It's all relative after all. I was chatting with another commuter this morning, sharing similar thoughts to those above then moving on to his time winter commuting in Canada.
It turns out that my assumptions about the hazards of riding below zero were not necessarily legit. Ice, for example, is not a problem according to my buddy as studded tyres made it like "riding on rails". On the other hand, you can't wear glasses: they fog-up then freeze. Riding without glasses? He reckons if you pull on a balaclava with only eye holes you're pretty right. But there are problems even here: the balaclava ices-up and freezes to your beard!
And getting enough clothes on in the heat of the house without passing out sounds like a bit of a challenge too.
Blanket
Sure there are winter days when the rain batters you and the wind whips you (maybe I'm strange, but I rather enjoy riding even in conditions like that) but riding out into a thick blanket of fog is a particular treat for the winter commuter. If you don't do it, you wouldn't understand. And you probably thought it was a miserable morning this morning too.
Ummm, I don't know - our conversation didn't range that far. Maybe you just get used to stopping and defrosting them all the time? 'Tis a fair question though and if I see him again I'll ask...
Foggy mornings are just part of the joy of winter cycling in Melbourne, but fortunately conditions never get that cold that frostbite of the extremities becomes an issue - http://www.bikemojo.com/speak/showthread.php?t=24034
I'm reminded of a story I was once told by an expat Australian who entered a distance skating event on a frozen river (or something like that) in Canada. Before the start he didn't understand why other competitors were shoving newspaper and plastic bags into their crotches. The bold Aussie didn't think he needed any of this - until his nuts got so frozen that he had to pull out.
I meant to ask my companion if (as I suspected) there was a similar problem for cyclists, but we parted company before I could get to it - so thanks for providing the answer!
Comments
Riding without glasses? What if you need prescription eyewear?