Bicycling in Cold Weather

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 10:12:03 -0500, Stephen Harding
wrote:

Bill Baka wrote:

human and out of cell phone range. That brings up a final point from
me, you do carry a cell phone for help, don't you?

Rarely!

A humorous story:

My mother insisted I carry a cell phone with me going out to my
second RAGBRAI a few years back. She was convinced I'd break
down and end up being stranded in some lonely midwestern back
road, dying of thirst or starvation.

I pointed out to her that I would really have no excuse for
being stranded long enough to perish since I was hauling 10
bicycles for my co-team RAGBRAI riders in the back of my
pickup truck!

I should be good for at least a couple hundred miles before
lack of water ended my RAGBRAI plans.


SMH

It would be nice to carry a spare bike, but that's only a passing dream.


--
Bill (?) Baka

Stephen Harding wrote:
My mother insisted I carry a cell phone with me going out to my
second RAGBRAI a few years back. She was convinced I'd break
down and end up being stranded in some lonely midwestern back
road, dying of thirst or starvation.

heh, i brought a cell phone along with me when i started out across south
dakota from minneapolis and quickly came to the realization that it was
pretty worthless. if the cell phone worked i didn't need it -- i was
near a city. and of course if i needed it, i wouldn't have worked anyway.
so i mailed it home.

my reason for bringing it was simiarly motivated, tho.
--
david reuteler

On 14 Dec 2004 20:39:07 GMT, David Reuteler wrote:

Stephen Harding wrote:
My mother insisted I carry a cell phone with me going out to my
second RAGBRAI a few years back. She was convinced I'd break
down and end up being stranded in some lonely midwestern back
road, dying of thirst or starvation.

heh, i brought a cell phone along with me when i started out across south
dakota from minneapolis and quickly came to the realization that it was
pretty worthless. if the cell phone worked i didn't need it -- i was
near a city. and of course if i needed it, i wouldn't have worked
anyway.
so i mailed it home.

my reason for bringing it was simiarly motivated, tho.

I find that on the long outback areas of little population there is
very little coverage unless you have an Iridium and those are being
used by the military. Look at a coverage map and you will see
where not to break down unless you want a long hike back into
a coverage zone. For those who don't know Iridium was a project
started by Motorola back in the '80s and then abandoned because
of all the new digital stuff going on. Result, 36 (?) satellites
and nobody using them, until the military realized that satellites
don't have dead zones from hills.


--
Bill (?) Baka

Bill Baka wrote:

I find that on the long outback areas of little population there is
very little coverage unless you have an Iridium and those are being
used by the military. Look at a coverage map and you will see
where not to break down unless you want a long hike back into
a coverage zone. For those who don't know Iridium was a project
started by Motorola back in the '80s and then abandoned because
of all the new digital stuff going on. Result, 36 (?) satellites
and nobody using them, until the military realized that satellites
don't have dead zones from hills.

Iridium has been resurrected by new investors several times in the last few
years. It's very popular with boaters who can afford it, and growing rapidly
these days. I have no idea if it will ever be profitable, though.

Cell phone coverage *can* be a problem in outback areas in the US. Awhile ago I
drove across the country via I-20, and there was almost no coverage from
Shreveport LA, to Birmingham AL. There were analog signals only, which drain a
modern, digital phone in a jiffy. Most other places I've been lately are fine
though. Even west Texas is well covered.

A hot tip though -- Verizon is the *only* provider who has good peering
arrangements with *everybody.* If there's a signal at all, you can use it with
a Verizon phone. Other companies' service is more limited, especially if you
have a digital-only phone.

Of course the other problem is blockage by mountains, etc. We have a few areas
around here like that, but they're still very few, and not very large. I
imagine upstate SC is the same way, though I've never had any problem there.
There's one big hole in the middle of VA I can't figure out -- along 81 near
Harrisonburg -- which is a major route to/from Washington DC, as well as *the*
trucking corridor up/down the east coast. Weird. I've noticed a digital signal
popping up around a couple of big truck stops, then disappearing as I pass by.
They must have installed repeaters for their customers.

Matt O.

On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 22:20:08 -0500, Matt O'Toole wrote:

Bill Baka wrote:

I find that on the long outback areas of little population there is
very little coverage unless you have an Iridium and those are being
used by the military. Look at a coverage map and you will see
where not to break down unless you want a long hike back into
a coverage zone. For those who don't know Iridium was a project
started by Motorola back in the '80s and then abandoned because
of all the new digital stuff going on. Result, 36 (?) satellites
and nobody using them, until the military realized that satellites
don't have dead zones from hills.

Iridium has been resurrected by new investors several times in the last
few
years. It's very popular with boaters who can afford it, and growing
rapidly
these days. I have no idea if it will ever be profitable, though.

Anything they can do is better than the proposal to de-orbit the birds,
and totally waste the whole thing.

Cell phone coverage *can* be a problem in outback areas in the US.
Awhile ago I
drove across the country via I-20, and there was almost no coverage from
Shreveport LA, to Birmingham AL. There were analog signals only, which
drain a
modern, digital phone in a jiffy. Most other places I've been lately
are fine
though. Even west Texas is well covered.

I have cingular and was in plain sight of a tower with no signal due to
having the wrong carrier. Two women were having a fine time chatting it
up on Verizon. What happens when you have a 911 call and the wrong
carrier? I haven't tried it yet since the police get kind of upset,
but that could be a legal issue. The phones are multimodal capable
with the SIM card determining what to do. I would sure hate to have
a major crash and need 911 while looking at a tower and reading
"No service." on my phone.

A hot tip though -- Verizon is the *only* provider who has good peering
arrangements with *everybody.* If there's a signal at all, you can use
it with
a Verizon phone. Other companies' service is more limited, especially
if you
have a digital-only phone.

Of course the other problem is blockage by mountains, etc. We have a
few areas
around here like that, but they're still very few, and not very large.

Since a large part of my riding is in the mountains I have that problem
more often than not. I can have all bars in one place and ride a half
mile more and get no bars. Very frustrating.

I imagine upstate SC is the same way, though I've never had any problem
there.
There's one big hole in the middle of VA I can't figure out -- along 81
near
Harrisonburg -- which is a major route to/from Washington DC, as well as
*the*
trucking corridor up/down the east coast. Weird. I've noticed a
digital signal
popping up around a couple of big truck stops, then disappearing as I
pass by.
They must have installed repeaters for their customers.

Matt O.


I have a coverage map for Cingular and darn, it only covers the metro
and freeway areas. Who woulda thought you aren't a customer if you
drive out of town or take a back road? We have a lot of towers
off the beaten path, just not Cingular.
Gimme a C.B. good buddy. 10-4.


--
Bill (?) Ba__ka

Bill Baka wrote:

I have a coverage map for Cingular and darn, it only covers the metro
and freeway areas. Who woulda thought you aren't a customer if you
drive out of town or take a back road? We have a lot of towers
off the beaten path, just not Cingular.

Each cell company has its pluses and minuses. If you spend a lot of time in the
sticks or travel a lot, you can't beat Verizon. I can even get all of Canada
for the summer for $10 extra a month, then cancel it when I don't need it
anymore.

Gimme a C.B. good buddy. 10-4.

Well, there's a reason they're not dead yet! But even boaters are using marine
radio a lot less than they used to, now just calling each other on cell phones.
If only I could find a waterproof one...

Matt O.

In article ,
"Matt O'Toole" wrote:

Bill Baka wrote:

I have a coverage map for Cingular and darn, it only covers the metro
and freeway areas. Who woulda thought you aren't a customer if you
drive out of town or take a back road? We have a lot of towers
off the beaten path, just not Cingular.

Each cell company has its pluses and minuses. If you spend a lot of time in
the
sticks or travel a lot, you can't beat Verizon. I can even get all of Canada
for the summer for $10 extra a month, then cancel it when I don't need it
anymore.

Gimme a C.B. good buddy. 10-4.

Well, there's a reason they're not dead yet! But even boaters are using
marine
radio a lot less than they used to, now just calling each other on cell
phones.
If only I could find a waterproof one...

Matt O.

Why a waterproof one?

It WILL go overboard in 100 feet of water soon enough!

Happy Holidays!

David Reuteler wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote:
I'll just add what I not yet seen mentioned: We use more calories
in
cold weather. We burn fuel just staying warm in addition to the
work
we're doing. You could almost double your regular food intake for a
ride of that duration if it stayed below freezing the whole day.

wag
the minnesotan in me questions esp. that last sentence. i believe
it's true
that you burn more calories when it's cold but i don't think it's all
that
much -- when you're exercising you're generating a lot of heat
anyway, you
don't really need to generate any more to stay warm. i'd wager the
difference in calorie expenditure is probably only around 10%.
perhaps
more if you're slacking or standing around.
/wag

my experience with long winter rides in minnesota tells me near 100%
is way
off, tho. at least for my body.
--
david reuteler


I'm with Dave for the most part though I might go as high as 15%. My
last long ride in the cold (135 km over 12 hours in -5 C weather but
with a good 3 hour layover at midpoint)did not appear to make me much
hungerier than a similar ride in summer time would. My problem was
remembering to keep drinking lots of fluids. It is very easy to
dehydrate when riding in cold weather.

JOhn Kane
Kingston ON.

David Reuteler wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote:
I'll just add what I not yet seen mentioned: We use more calories
in
cold weather. We burn fuel just staying warm in addition to the
work
we're doing. You could almost double your regular food intake for a
ride of that duration if it stayed below freezing the whole day.

wag
the minnesotan in me questions esp. that last sentence. i believe
it's true
that you burn more calories when it's cold but i don't think it's all
that
much -- when you're exercising you're generating a lot of heat
anyway, you
don't really need to generate any more to stay warm. i'd wager the
difference in calorie expenditure is probably only around 10%.
perhaps
more if you're slacking or standing around.
/wag

my experience with long winter rides in minnesota tells me near 100%
is way
off, tho. at least for my body.
--
david reuteler


I'm with Dave for the most part though I might go as high as 15%. My
last long ride in the cold (135 km over 12 hours in -5 C weather but
with a good 3 hour layover at midpoint)did not appear to make me much
hungerier than a similar ride in summer time would. My problem was
remembering to keep drinking lots of fluids. It is very easy to
dehydrate when riding in cold weather.

JOhn Kane
Kingston ON.