DST cold morning

March 9, 2009. First Day of DST. 36F cloudy. Sunrise 7:37

As I thought, it was dark on the ride this morning. One of the greatest aspects of riding to work everyday throughout the year is the intimate relationship I have with the weather. I know, for instance, the difference between the rain that will actually get me wet on the ride and the rain that will dry from the wind as quickly as it hits my jacket. I know the slight temperature differences from day to day and morning to evening. I don't want to linger on the weather, as that seems like such a commonplace complaint, but I would like to document my experience with it.

I knew it was colder this morning because my legs first felt it on the walk up my driveway to the street. This morning I was wearing tights and even in them I felt cold. The first part of my ride is down an amazingly steep hill, and in the mornings, this is the most brutal part of the ride. Like jumping into a chipped out hole in the frozen lake surface in northern Minnesota, the first few minutes of riding in the morning are difficult to handle. I simply tuck down, clip my pedals and wait frigidly until the speedometer slows to 21, the point my pedal strokes will contribute to the ride. Above 21 and I am spinning but not helping.

As I ride down the hill I know it is colder because my forehead begins to ache. Like a teenager with a frozen 7-11 mountain dew drink, I got a whopper of a cold headache this morning. Once I start pedaling, however, things start to go better for me. I begin to generate heat and I can feel my body easing into the rhythm. It is at this point I am ready to pay attention to the world around me. The chill in the air is reflected throughout the ride in various ways. The first is the gentle white coating that covers lawn, rooftop and car window. Frost is one of the earliest signs it will be a particularly cold ride. This morning the tall plants that line the Amazon creek alongside the bark trial on East Amazon were coated in a delicate white frost, like feathers from a downy chick.

If I didn't realize it was a bit colder by now, the steady stream of steam coming out of my mouth will tell all. By the time I get to work, my beard and moustache will be soaking wet and dripping, and my hands will be blocks of ice. I wear one of three pair of gloves each day and today I was working the Smartwool/Leather gloves. Big, warm and comfy, but today the cold won the battle as I had lost most feeling in the fingers by the fairground.

Perhaps the best part of the DST rides is that I am on the Fern Ridge path by the time the sun rises. With the artificially controlled time, I have become more likely to see the sun rise and all its comlimentary sky-shows. This morning the sun had to compete with the clouds and each had clearly won at least once.

What I wore to ride today: Black running tights, white "tech" t-shirt, orange MEC longsleeve running shirt and my REI Randonee jacket. On my feet I wear regular socks and my mountain bike clipless pedal shoes. I wear gloves and a helmet (ALWAYS!!) and my iPod. This morning I wish I had brought a forehead warmer!

Gettin' there with two wheels,
jeremy