"Oh my God!" shrieked a nurse. "You are ridiculous!" another cried out. These were the first words I heard as I walked into work and scanned my badge to clock in. No good morning or how are you, just hysteria. I thought to myself, "maybe I should have just used the side door."

 

As soon as I stepped outside the chilly air took a hold of me and shook me awake. I mounted my bike and clipped in to my pedals. I had just pulled out of my residential road and onto Bengal Blvd and began picking up speed immediately. The icy cold began cutting deeper into my face and my entire body was stinging with the intense cold. "Shit, maybe this was a bad idea," immediately popped into my head. It was 6am, pitch black and 30 degrees F and I was traveling at 35mph downhill and not generating much internal heat. Factoring those two numbers together the wind chill was equivalent to -1 degrees F! No wonder I was freezing my balls off and second guessing my decision to bike into work. I was mashing on the pedals to try and generate some body heat After a solid 10 minutes I began to warm up and get the feeling back into my hands. As soon as I felt the warmth creep into my body, I knew I was going to make it. 

Brrr

Biking in extremely cold conditions isn't very much fun at first. But, if you dress properly and are able to push through the initial chills, it's actually quite enjoyable. A few items will make your ride much more enjoyable:

• Shoe Covers - nothing is worse than having cold feet on a ride because you really have no way to warm them up. Shoe covers block the wind and keep what little heat your feet generate in.
• Winter Gloves - Fingers and feet are the hardest parts of the body to keep warm on a ride. Well insulated gloves are a must. Plain and simple. I wear ski gloves when it's really cold and just a wind blocker shell if it's above 40 F.
• Balaclava or headband - You lose a ton of heat through your head when it's only covered by your helmet. On super cold days put on a balaclava to keep your neck, lips and head nice and cozy. It takes a little while to get used to breathing with, but stick with it. Ear warmers are nice on the days when a balaclava is too much but you still need to keep your ears warm.
• Jacket - Invest in a jacket that is wind proof and still breathes well. If you use a jacket that doesn't breathe well, you'll be sweating buckets after 15 minutes and will end up getting cold later on because all that moisture you are creating. Pit zips are nice too. 

Even if it's crazy cold out, you still can bike. Make it a test of your mental strength to go out and get on your bike and push through the cold. You'll thank me later.