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šŸ„¶ The Paulcb coldest ride of Winter 2025-2026

I still have the back of my T-Shirt from the 2011 contest. That was the year I rode in -15.7*F. I remember the next few years when @The Dan rode in -18*F and then -24*F IIRC.

I was feeling old and tired this morning so missed the +2*F I saw on one weather app. But I did finally get out before 10 am and rode 25 miles... weaving through the bare spots of packed snow on some of the roads (mostly around my own neighborhood). I figured if I stayed straight up and straight ahead and slow I'd make it over the 5 ft band of packed snow/ice across the end of my driveway. Temps stayed rather steady and dropped below what the picture shows but I'm going with 14.0*F for this ride.
This is the temp I was expecting I'd get to on this bike. The battery heated gloves made it possible and I had them set only on medium heat. High heat was a little too much.
PXL_20260120_161753513.jpg

Honest, the temp sensor really was showing 13.4*F but by the time I could get the phone out and take the picture this is what I get. So this is what I have verification of getting.
BTW- one year I did try dipping the temp probe in the bank of snow just to see what would happen and the temp actually went higher than just leaving it in the air.
 
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The Dan used to stomp our butts every year. Lately mudduc has been doing it lol.

We used to have the below zero club too included in the cold ride contest, but right after I made it into it, it went away.

Doesn't get cold enough in southern Ohio ( it's rare to get below zero) to lead this thing, but it sure is fun to play along with all you other sturdy riding souls!
 
I don't see me making it on the list. I got a 37 with a snowflake on my dash going to church on Sunday. For the next 2.5 months, it shows the temp only getting to about 29 F.

I'll still be out riding...I just won't be in the top 10.

Chris
 
Daboo said:
I don't see me making it on the list. I got a 37 with a snowflake on my dash going to church on Sunday. For the next 2.5 months, it shows the temp only getting to about 29 F.

I'll still be out riding...I just won't be in the top 10.

Chris
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Don't give up yet. 29*F would still be 8th place on the list.

@the Ferret , Normally we get several days below zero*F. This year I don't see as many coming along. We will have below zero*F very early in the morning later this week but my days of getting out from under the blankets before sunrise are very few now. I may be wrong about the coming cold mornings but not so much about me "rising to the occasion" to ride in them. I still push myself though just to prove to myself that I can.
 
Oh I have a shot at making #1 this weekend. Slight problem... with all the rain and melting we had a month or so ago, the 300' driveway became literally a skating rink smooth enough to skate on. That's now covered over with some snow and I'd need chains or studs on the bike to get out..... ain't happening, you're safe!! :eek-2x::(:p:giggle-2x:
 
IF, and that's a BIG IF, I can get myself up early enough I might be able to catch the -10*F on Friday morning. Expecting a bit cooler than that but no way am I getting up that early. The high for the entire day Friday is expected to be at or below zero*F so even if I don't drag myself out from under the warm blankets I'll still improve my personal temp standing no matter what time of the day I get out.

Then I'll send all this coolness your way @the Ferret
 
FWIW, I almost took the car this morning. Why? Because the asphalt pavement outside the house was a bit slicker than normal to my shoe...and there was this really pretty sparkly effect on the pavement.

I have to keep reminding myself that Starbucks won't give me a break on the price of a latte if I win this competition.

P.S. Are studs in your tires cheating?

Chris
 
-22F to work today. No student in school today so I could park in the heated auto shop class shed (picture). it was a couple degrees colder at my house on the low budget electronic wire through the corner of the window thermometer, but I'm at the bottom of a bit of a bowl where the cold air sinks to. I chose the local airport weather stations to determine the best temp number. South and east of me were colder but twice as far away. Calmer than predicted made this friendlier than a couple years ago. Now I still get the pleasure of riding home with bright sunshine this afternoon and it will be at least 8 degrees warmer!! Apologies to those of us who don't quite have temps like this to play in. But this is just for entertainment, eh.fef5b4f3-3610-456b-8187-bf925a539108~1.jpgpro-kYZluCnu.jpeg
 
Great job, @centralMN.

I was thinking about running over to Buffalo Wild Wings near Huntington Bank Stadium tomorrow to get a double-digit negative but since that will only be about -12 at noon, I'll skip it. Would have been too much "riding for the number" (which I said I wasn't going to do) and wouldn't best your catch anyway. I'll be happy with 2nd. Or 3rd or 4th if someone else takes advantage of the cold snap.

Later,
Kent Larson in Minnesota
 
I missed having the first place spot for a few minutes by only a few minutes!

Coldest day of the last several years today with the high still expected to be zero*F. And still that's not expected until 4 pm! It's 11 am now and still only -7*F.
I actually crawled out from under the warm blankets earlier than usual this morning but still only left for my ride at 9:25 am. Last night I added a few extra PSI to the tires even though it was already 31*F in the garage. I also brought my helmet and gloves and neck gator inside the house. Actually I've been keeping my heated gloves inside anyway since that makes it easier to remove and insert the batteries. I turned on the glove heat on high first then put on ALL my gear including the helmet and gloves and then went out to the garage. At the time all the weather stations were reporting -11*F or -12*F. Within a half mile of my home my temp sensor was showing -11*F. It stayed close to around -10*F almost the entire first 10 miles.

A big problem showed up when I stopped to take a photo of my temp sensor. My phone died 5 seconds after taking it out of my pocket!!! So I missed getting a picture of -9.9*F. There was a bank a few miles farther so I rode there to warm the phone in the lobby until it stayed on. My previous phone could still work at colder temps but my current phone lost almost all battery charge in this temp. Started with 95% charge and after it warmed up it finally showed 26% charge. That was only 35 minutes from when I started. My Cardo also lost significant battery during this ride. That started with around 85% and ended the ride with 50%... not as bad but another proof that extreme cold drains battery fast. Next time I ride in really cold temps I'll have to remember to put a hand warmer in my pocket with my phone. I have a few small rechargeable hand warmers that will work perfectly for that.

I rode a total of 23 miles this morning and the temperature I did get a photo of is -8.9*F sitting in the parking lot outside the bank.
I really wasn't thinking I would be riding in temps that cold this year but the heated gloves made the difference. They were set on high starting about 5 minutes before I left the house and only dropped one power dot (around 25%) for the entire ride. The gloves kept my hands comfortable. Not hot or warmer than warm, but not cool or cold either. This ride felt about the same as I think I recall my coldest cold ride felt back in 2011. Not bad for a naked bike with no windshield and no heated grips.

PXL_20260123_161216159.jpg
 
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centralMN said:
-22F to work today. No student in school today so I could park in the heated auto shop class shed (picture).
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No starting problems in garage in the morning?

A few years back when I was commuting on below -10F days, my company had a garage door access to heated machine shop. I'd put the bike inside my mud room at home and in the machine shop at work or it would be no-start, no-riding. They took away my "motorcycle only" parking at my new job for the winter but they do have a nice heated hallway with double-door access. This year I'm too new but maybe by next year they will find me so valuable I'll wrangle in-door parking as a perk? They had 8 car slots labeled as Motorcycle Only parking during the summer but they strangely disappeared about November 1st.
 
My garage is not normally heated, but itā€™s always 10Ā° -15 degrees warmer in there in the early morning hours than it is outside.
The greenhouse effect warms up everything inside the place, and that heat takes a dozen hours to dissipate.

But, where I live, generally speaking, our winter nights are still in the high 20s to low 30s Fahrenheit and itā€™ll reach 50 almost every afternoon.
 
mudduc said:
I'll be happy with 2nd. Or 3rd or 4th if someone else takes advantage of the cold snap.
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:D I don't think I'll hit a cold snap like you guys. I admire your fortitude. The best I've ever done was 16F for two commutes to work probably 15 years ago.

When I mentioned back on post #6, this:
Daboo said:
I got a chuckle out of reading the posts above. None of us are competitive. :D

Now cut those temps in half...and you might be in the running.

As cold as it might seem, this is nuthin' yet. :D

Chris
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...you guys are now starting to get the really cold temps that makes my 28 F seem like child's play. Congrats!

Chris
 
I'm likely not going to be riding any colder than today for the rest of this season. Not that I can't but I really don't think we'll be getting this cold in the next month or two. I really only play this game to push myself past my own limits.
 
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Yep, I'd be riding contest or not. It's all for fun and the personal challenge of it.

It was a balmy 21 degrees and sunny for today's 32-mile ride. Might be the last one for a little while. They are calling for a bunch of snow starting tomorrow morning, and arctic lows with a zero temp Tuesday morning. If we get the snow they are calling for, the roads won't be clear enough to ride for a few days at a minimum, especially our private road. I've been stuck in for a couple weeks after a bad snowstorm before. You can tell they are serious about this winter storm...first time brining the roads in my area this year (those white stripes in the pic below that I took on today's ride). The salt/organic beet juice brine is sprayed on the roads and is supposed to prevent the snow from sticking.

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Was reading a 2yr-old article on ADVrider that was recycled last week. I posted there 2 yrs ago.
One guy mentioned tumbling some of his riding gear in the clothes dryer before riding in the cold, to preserve his core temp longer.
That's not really cheating, ...is it?
 
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