Ashley has a pair of nice Pearl Izumi insulated pants for winter riding, and a pair of sweet deerskin mittens, so she wore those. I, on the other hand, had a pair of jeans and some gloves that are just about worthless (the only reason I still have them is because I can't afford a pair of these).
The plan was to ride down 26th from blaisdell (where we currently reside) to Lake of the Isles, around it, and ride back somehow, either via Lake Street or 28th. Here's a handy Google map. That, however, is not the way it played out. By the time we had ridden to the lake my thighs and fingers were numb and there was a sharp pain in my frozen thumbs. I made the decision then that there was absolutely no way I was going to make it around the lake and back without causing considerable harm to at least my fingers. So we headed back home.
The whole ride only took about 30 minutes, but I'd say it was a smart call to head back when we did. I was far past uncomfortable by the time we arrived at home. What really bothered me about it was the fact that I forced us to cut our ride short. I'm used to riding through pain, and pushing myself physically when need be. If it was just pain I could have done the whole trip. What stopped me from doing so was the cause of the pain -- COLD. I was afraid of frost bite. That had never really bothered me before. I've dealt with cold all my life living in the midwest, and this was the first time I took it more-than-seriously. Interesting learning experience.
At least I got out and did some riding for half an hour... right?
That's all for now.
zee
