Re: Snow/bitter climates

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

: "Kris Givens" wrote:


> For the second time in less than two months west Texas is covered
with
> snow.  When we get snow as early as we did in the season
(November) then
> snow again the first of January it makes for a very long
winter.  I am
> simply not used to this.  All week long the weather has been
bitter
> cold.  Wind chills low, wind miserable, and not over 40 degrees
in
> several days.  Needless to say, I'm not riding in this
mess.
>
> It brings to mind this question: what is your temperature cut off
for
> riding?  40 degrees?  45 degrees?  Less? 
More?  Do you factor in wind
> speed and wind chill?
>

Having just spent the holidays in Texas with the in-laws, I can confirm
that it has been a bit colder than folks from that part of the country
are used to...and they were complaining!!  Their lack of acclimation
or tolerance for the cooler temperatures was *really* demonstrated by the
fact that they turn the heat on in the house way too high (which makes an
uncomfortably dry atmosphere a whole lot worse and makes adjusting to the
difference between the outside and inside temps more difficult)...and
they don't wear enough clothes when they go outside (or inside either,
for some. <g>)  I'd get up in the morning and my
brother-in-law would be running around the house in shorts and a t-shirt
with the heat turned up, complaining of the cold and wind.

I grew up in northern Minnesota so I understand bitter, biting cold --
the kind that makes your boots squeak when you walk on the snow. I grew
up thinking everyone had to deal with -20 and lots of snow for weeks on
end. I had no concept of winters that could be so different.  One of
the best things I learned from this (in a largely Scandanavian area) was
how to dress for the cold.

LAYERS!!!  When I was a kid that meant lots of wool, non-waterproof
parkas and snowpants, and rubber boots over our shoes.  Thankfully
they've improved in the products available since the "old" way
didn't work if you got wet.  I now live in the PNW where it is
milder and I don't have to shovel snow...but we still have to contend
with a fair amount of cold and lots of rain.  The dressing in layers
part is still in effect but with the advantage now of capilene,
polarfleece, goretex, and neoprene.

We rode for 5 hours yesterday in cold rain (and about 40
degrees)...stayed off the road as much as possible and on the trails in
the trees.  We still got pretty wet but we stayed warm -- and we had
a *great* ride.  I started off with 5 layers on my torso area but
had to remove the inner capilene shirt because I got too warm.  Our
outermost layers are gortex so we stay dry.  We also wear neoprene
gloves -- your hands may get wet, but they don't get cold.  (You can
get them at sporting goods stores in the kayaking or fishing department
-- and we've tried several other "waterproof" riding gloves but
they all would get wet after a while and your hands would get
cold.)  If you can keep your body dry, you can stay warm.

The horses do fine in this kind of weather.  We blanket here because
of the massive amounts of mud this much rain can produce (and because
most of the horses are also schooling horses.)  Their everyday
blankets are the lightweight waterproof variety.  After rides,
however, they wear polarfleece coolers until they get home (half hour
trailer ride) and are then switched back to their other blankets. 

One of the things we do after we're done riding and before we head home
is wash the sweat and mud off with warm water.  We fill a couple of
5 gallon buckets with hot water before we leave home and cover the
buckets in the back of the truck with a polarfleece blanket.  When
we're done riding, we take our sponges and scrub off the sweat and mud,
squeegie them, put on their polarfleece, and toss them in the
trailer.  We have found that this makes them much more comfortable
in the long run cuz we've gotten rid of the itchies that the sweat and
mud create...and they're already wet so it's not like we're doing
anything too strange.  The areas we wash are normally just the back
where they have gotten sweaty under the saddle and their bellies and legs
where they've gotten real muddy.  When we get home and open up the
trailer, you can feel the warmth in the trailer and see the moisture on
the *outside* of the polarfleece blankets.  They're all quite
comfortable and nearly dry.  

We have ridden in colder weather than what we had yesterday and pretty
much felt just as comfortable.  Some of our best rides have been in
weather that keeps most of the "weekend warriors" at home with
their beer and their football game. <g>  We can ride on those
days for hours and not see another soul...except for other crazy
endurance riders who "don't know enough to come in outta the
cold". <bg>  Also, it gets cold enough here that a bit of
rise in elevation (we ride in mountain foothills) has you in snow and
ice...and the horses do very well.  (Billy has learned that if he
"high steps" his approach to frozen puddles, he can make the
greatest noise...a bit like a kid stomping in the puddles.)  We
can't imagine not riding simply because of lower temperatures.

Sue

"If all you can do is what you've always

done, then all you can be is what you are right now."

                              author unknown