Back in the end of January I wrote about problems I was having with my hands and feet in cold weather. As time went on, I noticed that the end of my nose and the tops of my ears were also affected. I found the latter odd, since I rarely have my head uncovered outside in the winter.

When going outside in cold weather, I noticed that I’d quickly feel cold, even slightly tingly, in the mentioned extremities, despite dressing very warmly. When going back inside, those areas would become red as they warmed up and I’d feel a stronger tingling sensation.

As time has gone on, these symptoms have lessened, probably because of time and the end of winter.

When I saw the doctor about this in January, he thought I might have chilblains, which can sometimes involve a systemic problem with the blood thickening upon exposure to the cold. On the other hand, a friend said that I might have gotten “frosted,” which made me think that I may have experienced “frostnip,” the mildest form of frostbite.

I still don’t know the cause of these problems and can’t point to one incident that caused them. It may have been due to playing outside with my daughter in cold weather, sometimes around 10-15 degrees with wind, I think, though I was dressed very warmly. Or my troubles may have been the result of riding my bike in the winter, though I did that much less than usual this year and not in the coldest weather.

In any case, I’ll enter next winter more cautiously, chastened by this experience. Some of you will say, “The bike advocate has gotten his comeuppance!” Perhaps. I’m now even more understanding of those who restrict their cycling to warmer temperatures. I’m also more sympathetic now to that majority of people out there who can’t stand cold weather. For some folks, the body just doesn’t do well in the cold.

On the other hand, I’m even more interested in cycling options that provide weather protection, such as velomobiles. And I would rather have pushed the boundaries of my endurance than not to have done so.

While I’m much less likely to plan a trip up north in the winter, and less likely to daydream about sleeping in an igloo with the Inuit or climbing a frigid mountain, I do hope to regain some hardiness by next winter. A life spent only indoors is a diminished life, and I hope that is not my fate in winters to come.

(Note: See a page on frostbite and frostnip at thepoles.com for some good ideas for coping in very cold weather. You can also use thepoles.com to follow Minnesota adventurer Will Steger’s current expedition to Ellesmere Island, the northernmost island in the Canadian Arctic, where he is examining the impact of global warming.)

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under Autobiography, Health, Minnesota, Winter.