Frosty mornings

It was cold enough this morning to warrant fleece tights and an extra layer riding in. I actually went through that period of extreme pain in my hands for the first seven minutes before they warmed up. I don't know why its seven minutes, but I have noticed that when I ski in the cold, it takes seven minutes exactly of extreme pain before my hands warm up. I guess they're cold in those seven minutes, mostly I just notice that they hurt. My feet stay cold, though, no amount of time spent skiing will help them. At least my feet go too numb to notice if they hurt or not. Anyway, I was thoroughly impressed with how many bike commuters were still out there! Granted, it wasn't raining, but it was cold enough. Maybe the whole high-gas-prices thing that pushed more people to bike will keep them biking even though prices are down? I mean, these were some real commuters, not skinny hipster punks on fixies with no brakes, helmets, or brains. I figure I have another month in me, but come December, enough with the bicycle thing, its ski season!

The problem with this weather, aside from the 'it makes me cold' issue, is that my rollerskis get really slow, and my tips don't dig into the pavement. That makes for some frustrating rollerskiing. And yesterday there were a ton of pine needles down, they must have all blown down overnight, which made for some slippery moments. I love sliding corners when I'm on rollerskis! The only problem is when you go from sliding sideways to not-sliding...