Zadown Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I feel like a diver. I adjust my goggles, annoyed at the way they press on the frame of my glasses. Around me the night is yellow and black, the colored goggles giving everything an unreal shade. Yellow, black and deadly cold. My breath feels loud and laboured inside the hood and I do my last mental check, probing the two imaginary tanks of air I carry: warmth and energy. Both seem to be at a reasonable level and I mount my bike. Headwind, even with all the clothes I wear, the layers of goretex and coolmax and wool, is still like a death incarnate. I drive with one hand inside my jacket, then later one hand keeping the hood in place so my lips won't be hit by the lashing whip of the wind. The moisture from my exhaling fogs my goggles, but it's either that or vision fading because of the biting cold ravaging my eyes, and I'll rather take this warm blindness. It's a familiar route and the cycle path is plowed, it doesn't matter if I hardly see anything. Cold doesn't seem too bad, now, but riding the bike wearing three to four layers of heavy clothing is depleting the other tank, that of energy. The roads opening before me, vague outlines barely visible behind the veil of yellow fog, seem like they tremble sideways more than vanish beneath my slowly spinning wheels. It's like a scene from some nightmare, legs treading in place as the horror of hypothermia stalks behind me. I swear, as only a Finn can, and keep on pedalling.
Appy Posted February 9, 2007 Report Posted February 9, 2007 Technical: Very neat how you wrote this in a sort of sci-fi horror tale style, it works well. Personal: Oh my.. you're nucking futs! *hugs* I hope it's summer again soon for your sake Thank you for an enjoyable read.
Zadown Posted February 9, 2007 Author Report Posted February 9, 2007 Alas, there's no fiction included in this "sci-fi" story. It was -27 C when I wrote this and weather forecast promises -33 C for tonight. Yay.
Gwaihir Posted February 9, 2007 Report Posted February 9, 2007 Delightful reading. We've been having weather that wouldn't impress a Finn at all, but strikes us as incredible (and people from Chicago make a life of boasting about the weather) and you have the aura of such weather down pat..
The Portrait of Zool Posted February 10, 2007 Report Posted February 10, 2007 I've been there Z, and that's a pretty accurate description of cold weather cycling. One winter when I lived in the eastern US I found myself in the unenviable situation of needing to cycle in the wee hours of the morning, in the coldest part of the year, in a year that was inordinately cold. One morning was just 3F. One thing, I found I had to make sure the bicycle was in the proper gear the night before. In the morning it was so cold that it wouldn't shift gears. The first and foremost rule, of course, is to minimize exposed skin. Two scarves, thick gloves, long overcoat with hood over heavy clothes, and heavy boots over two pairs of socks was the only reason I made it. In fact, I was just able to reach my destination as my extremities were becoming numb. Thanks for the trip down (the COLD!) memory lane!
Recommended Posts