09 January 2009

when is it too cold to bike?

every day this week as i've biked to the university, i've been wondering about when it really is too cold to bike. monday, as my out-of-shape body grunted my way home, was probably when i wondered the hardest. is it too cold when i see my breath? when the canals start freezing over? when it's -10 Celsius? when the roads are too slippery?

and every time i get on my bike, i put on my hat, i put on the wool mittens, have a scarf on, my coat's done up, and sometimes i even have my long johns on. after about a minute on my bike, i'm cold. it takes about 10 minutes before i'm relatively warm again (although sometimes my hands and feet stay cold longer).

and then i think of the alternative: being cold in the subway system (the metro). the newspaper has been reporting that the heating systems on the subway haven't been doing so well lately - and even the free hot chocolate near the end of the line isn't really a decent compensation.

so, i bike. it saves me money, takes about the same amount of time as the subway, gives me exercise, and i have a bit more control over how cold i am. and it makes me feel stubborn and dutch - and i don't mind having an excuse to whine every once in awhile :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In my books, it's too cold to bike when you can see your breath. But it's also too warm if you need to wear shorts. And too painful if there's any hills.

I obviously don't bike a whole lot!