Earlier this week, my wife had her first sub-zero bike commute and it actually turned out to be -15C (-5 F). We checked the forecast, booked the car in for repairs (don’t you just hate spending a new bike’s worth on car repairs?), and watched as the forecast got progressively worse over the course of the weekend. She toughed it out and I think she was surprised to find it really wasn’t that bad. Her two bits of advice:
- Extra socks! The only thing that got cold was her toes
- When a coworker asks, “Are you crazy, it’s freezing out there?” she responds with the question “Do you ski? Don’t think you are generating less body heat sitting on a chairlift than riding your bike to work?” Since most people around here ski or have skied, it helps clear up her level of sanity.
What are some of your favourite comments from coworkers seeing you walk through the hall with your commuting gear? Here are some of mine (either heard directly or heard from others):
- Are you nuts/crazy/insane/etc.?
- Oh, did you lose your license?
- Isn’t it too cold/hot/wet?
- How far away do you live because I live to far to ride my bike? (from someone who live approx. half the distance away as I do)
- Cool, I would ride too but I live too far/my bike sucks/I’m too lazy/I don’t have time. (I don’t have time always get me. Really? How many hours a day do you watch TV?)
- It’s snowing! How are you going to get home? (I’ll bike, thank you)
- “What do you mean, ‘the weather is bad?’, Jones here made it in on his BICYCLE!”
And, my all time number one, “Are you SURE you don’t want a ride home?”