5th January 2017 No exit!

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Thursday 5th 27F, -3C, a cold bright day with snow showers. Wind falling slowly from 12m/s or 25mph Northeasterly gusts. I walked around the rural block in frequent snow showers. It was interesting to watch the forest on the hill fogged out by falling snow a minute or more before it reached me. Not quite a blizzard but quite exciting to be out in it. My yellow, wraparound workshop safety glasses made the horizontally driven snow flakes quite tolerable.

A wall of snow cloud coming quickly over the northern horizon.

I added a light, fleece jacket under the Helly Hansen today and enjoyed perfect comfort in the cold wind. Not nearly so successful with my choice of gloves. The cheapo fleece gloves from the supermarket had proved too open to cold winds. So I swapped to a pair of GripGrab and my hands soon started literally aching with cold. Their only advantage over the cheapo fleece was being able to handle the camera without removing the gloves. Only as I neared home, after an hour of fairly brisk walking, did my hands begin to feel more comfortable. On the trike I never wear the GripGrabs below 50F. Today it was 25F, -4C with 15-20 mph wind gusts. So about the same as a cycle ride. I shan't make that mistake again! Putting my gloved hands in the Helly Hansen pockets provided so little extra warmth that I quickly gave up that idea.

I keep expecting to see videos or pictures of the "once in a century" coastal flooding but hardly anything online so far.

The Head Gardener refuses to let me out of the Tradesman's Entrance on my trike. Citing cold, wind and snow showers as unsuitable conditions for tri-cycling. The temperature has been falling very slowly all day and has now reached 24F, -4.5C at 14.30pm. I have previously ridden at -15C, 5F. And that was before I had proper cycling clothing! So think on!

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