-9C

Not that extreme if you live in the Alps, the middle of the continental land mass or some places in America and Canada, but for here 25 miles from the west coast and the prevailing south westerly gulf stream fuelled warmer winds, this morning was getting near to as cold as it gets. Most of my cycling gear is OK for this weather but gloves and shoes were the areas where the limit was exceeded. It was almost as if I wasn't wearing my Thinsulate gloves. I could feel my fingers freezing as I rode along and nothing I could do would warm my them this morning. Any more temperatures like this and I'll be breaking out my ski gloves but it's still some way off needing pogies. My toes weren't too bad but a longer ride would have seen them go numb. One amusing side effect of the icy cold is a numb chin causing an inability to speak, which makes ordering at the sandwich shop interesting.

A couple of other cycle commuters were spotted out today, similarly muffled against the cold. Good to see.