I went for a decently long ride the other day. I checked the weather and it was supposed to rain in the evening and I knew wI would be back home well before that. I sometimes bring my winter gloves on rainy days because they are waterproof. I left them home this time since the weather is warm.
Halfway into the trip, it started raining. I checked the forecast and it still said that it will not keep raining so I kept pushing forward.
Around the furthest point I was planning to go, it started raining and the forecast was updated to reflect that it was raining and it would keep raining. It was between 8 and 13 Celsius where I was riding. (It gets colder in the mountains.)
My gear was soaking up the water. I was drenched all the way through all my gear. The wind was making me cold. My fingers felt really cold but honestly, not out of the ordinary for a ride on a cold day.
In hindsight, the first sign that there was a problem was using my controls. When I went to turn off my turn signals, I honked the horn. I thought nothing of it. Then it happened again around 5 minutes later. Still, no big deal. I thought I was off my game because I was disappointed about the change in weather.
I stopped at a convenience store to get a hot coffee and use the restroom. When I took off my gloves, my fingertips were purple! I was getting frostbite. It never crossed my mind that I could get frostbite from wet gloves and wind chill. WIth the temperature above freezing, I never expected it.
At the store, they sell hot steel cans of coffee. The first can I bought seemed to hot to hold and I didn't want to risk burning my fingers or something so I held the can with the gloves on. My fingers were still cold so I bought a second one when the first one cooled down. My fingers went back to a seemingly normal color and it took 3x as long as normal to get home because I stopped every time my fingers felt too cold.
The moral of the story for me was to pay attention when something is out of the ordinary. Stop and take a minute to find out what is going on. Also, make sure you have the right gear. Prepare for what may happen. I knew it would rain later so I should have brought some gear that could handle the rain better.
Stay safe out there!
Halfway into the trip, it started raining. I checked the forecast and it still said that it will not keep raining so I kept pushing forward.
Around the furthest point I was planning to go, it started raining and the forecast was updated to reflect that it was raining and it would keep raining. It was between 8 and 13 Celsius where I was riding. (It gets colder in the mountains.)
My gear was soaking up the water. I was drenched all the way through all my gear. The wind was making me cold. My fingers felt really cold but honestly, not out of the ordinary for a ride on a cold day.
In hindsight, the first sign that there was a problem was using my controls. When I went to turn off my turn signals, I honked the horn. I thought nothing of it. Then it happened again around 5 minutes later. Still, no big deal. I thought I was off my game because I was disappointed about the change in weather.
I stopped at a convenience store to get a hot coffee and use the restroom. When I took off my gloves, my fingertips were purple! I was getting frostbite. It never crossed my mind that I could get frostbite from wet gloves and wind chill. WIth the temperature above freezing, I never expected it.
At the store, they sell hot steel cans of coffee. The first can I bought seemed to hot to hold and I didn't want to risk burning my fingers or something so I held the can with the gloves on. My fingers were still cold so I bought a second one when the first one cooled down. My fingers went back to a seemingly normal color and it took 3x as long as normal to get home because I stopped every time my fingers felt too cold.
The moral of the story for me was to pay attention when something is out of the ordinary. Stop and take a minute to find out what is going on. Also, make sure you have the right gear. Prepare for what may happen. I knew it would rain later so I should have brought some gear that could handle the rain better.
Stay safe out there!
