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Old December 25th 08, 02:39 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.misc,rec.bicycles.tech
Alexandre Kampouris
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Posts: 21
Default December Cold in Minnesota

Hi Andrew,

Andrew Price wrote:
On Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:38:15 -0600, Tim McNamara
wrote:

[---]

At 4:15 when I left the workshop to go
home, the wind had picked up and the temperatures felt much colder- it's
dropped 13 degrees F since 1:00PM to 8F now, and will be dropping to 2F
tonight and -14F tomorrow night. Sigh. I'm not a real Minnesotan and I
don't enjoy this stuff.


That I can well sympathise with - living in Western Europe, to me,
those temperatures look really mean. How do you cope with it indoors
- double/triple glazing on windows and lots of insulation?


Quite well, actually, and IMO *much* better than in countries like F or
GB, where winters are milder but where single-pane windows are
prevalent. (Some days ago I was in Paris, and froze in my hotel room
even though the temperature was above 0C.)

It can actually get too stuffy indoors, especially when there are older
folks around who prefer setting the thermostat at 75 F (I'm quite comfy
at 65, even 60). (German-style individual thermostats on radiators are
practically unheard of). What bothers me most is the groaning of the
furnace.

I personally miss "real" winters.

The downside to "real" winters is that cycling is a 6 month/year
activity. Of course, there are some real die-hards, like here (the
temperature was probably something like 20F):

http://radio-bip.qc.ca/deneigement/v...janvier%202006
http://radio-bip.qc.ca/deneigement/a.html

I am not one of them. Even if I had snow tires, the corrosion would ruin
the bike in a season. (Was Sheldon a 4-season cyclist?).

Here in Berlin I have a problem finding good handgloves which will keep
my fingers warm in the wind.

I imagine
that heating costs must represent a considerable part of the household
budget, too.


Indeed. It's a pity oil prices came crashing down, we must really get
off the hook. Heat pumps, passive houses, solar panels, urban heating,
the works.

Alexandre
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