I am back. This blog was written along time back. I did not get to post it. On reading the post I felt it worth posting, to give a new cold weather cyclist point of view. I have also since got a new laptop making it possible to start posting again.
After packing bicycle into a box in South Africa to send it with my household items. It took from April 2021 to February 2022 to get to me in the United States. This was due to a few things. First was we could not afford to hire a full container so we had to wait for a shared container to get full. COVID 19 had a slow down on immigration as they stopped visa interviews for a few months. There was the strike/rampage /destruction of property when Jacob Zuma (ex president of South Africa) was put into prison for contempt of court. Then there was the labor shortages at harbors to off load in the United states. The relocation company that did not have the paper work right for customs and then a supposed hold on our goods by I do not know who.
Bike build
Our boxes arrived on a cold February morning with a wind chili of -25 degrees Celsius. At that stage my garage with a heater felt too cold to assemble the bike for another week. When I finally got it together a week later, I went out but found there were to many ice patches to even try test ride the bike. I will have to plan to change tires for the winter.
Learn cold weather adaptions
Then another week later I went to town and got a head covering and goggles so that when I breath the glasses do not mist up. You cannot ride with ordinary glasses as your eyeballs freeze.
Bike repairs
Then there was a warmer Saturday where the temp was only -5C and wind had slowed down to 25 mph. Only to discover the gears did not want to change. First, I thought it was that the chain lube had frozen the chain and gears. Think that was part of it but the main reason was that the gear shifter spring had broken for moving the back derailer. Front derailer must have been frozen.
I decided to purchase a new set of shifters on eBay. I knew that the shifter was on their way out already in South Africa. With the cost of immigration, I had decided to delay the purchase. I decided to stay with Shimano leavers and not the high end of the range. Much to my disappointment when they arrived a few days later they did not even have Shimano written on them. I am not too sure how long they will last but they will get me going. They may even surprise me. I am not sure that I would trust them on the Tour Divide route.
Lessons learned
On my third ride I thought it was warming up. So, I did a part gravel and part hard top ride. Was a round trip of 9 miles(note I have changed my GPS from km to miles). The temperatures were just above freezing. This time I did not wear my jacket and snow pants. When I got home and changed I found that I had mild frost bite around my hips were the wind speeds up to go around your waist. So I must remember if the temperature is warmer than freezing the wind chili must be considered. Layering is also important as having extra layers can break the wind speed. Only problem breaking the wind with a wind breaker can cause you to sweat too much so that you feel like you are in a swimming pool.
Well, will catch up more on the next blog.
Long day safaris 