Sixteen BELOW zero in Minneapolis (Lotus Elise content)

[kaisen]

Okay, it's cold here. I keep my garage at about 55F, and I left this morning just as the sun came up and watched the temp display in the car drop ten degrees at a time. It settled around thirteen below zero. Thank god for heated seats and heated steering wheels.

The sunrise is always beautiful when it's this cold because the sky is perfectly clear. At these temps the air cannot hold moisture, so clouds are banished. The air is VERY dry, so it doesn't really feel as cold as it is.

It has been windy, but this morning was calm. Wind chills were in the -40F range, fast enough to freeze your exposed skin in 10-15 minutes.

I live on the river, and follow it into downtown Minneapolis. The river doesn't freeze over, the current is too strong. So on a day like today 'steam' rises from open water, and the trees along the banks turn a beautiful frosted white. The river also moderates the temperatures. As I drove, the temperature gauge read as low as -16F as I went through a low spot further from the river.

Cars don't like the cold. The roads don't like the cold. They conspire together to make a smooth ride less likely than a Brittany Spears comeback. The roads get hard. Heaves and buckles get worse. Shocks seize, tires turn to rocks, and bushings no longer bush. Your car's suspension feels like it doesn't have one.

There wasn't much traffic. People tend to stay in. I was downtown, near Washington and Hennepin, when it rolled up next to me at the stoplight. A gray Lotus Elise, wearing the forged wheels signaling the track pack. I could see the driver's breath, so it was cold in there. The light turned green and I paused, allowing the little Lotus to get a couple lengths ahead. It had Minnesota plates, so it wasn't someone who didn't know better. This guy was hardcore. The little car bounced and dipped as it made it through the city streets. That guy was either wearing a kidney belt, or he could no longer feel his kidneys. I can't imagine the heater (or insulation) in an Elise is up to sixteen below zero. The cold I could stand; the ride would grate on me worse than, well, a Brittany Spears comeback attempt.

Last week I saw a guy (bundled up, of course) riding a Harley. The roads are dry, so I guess it isn't insane. Does the harsh climate taunt us in some primal way? Do we 'brave the elements' to prove that humans can endure whatever nature can throw at us?

What do you think?

E

[Laneco]

Some of us definately have the nature to brave the elements. Hopefully not in stupid fashion, just displaying an adventurous personality.

I used to cycle with a group on Saturday mornings. Rain or shine we met at 8 am. The core group never changed. One morning it was 6 degrees. I bundled up assuming that I would be the only person there. WRONG! The whole core group and a few drop-ins showed up. We agreed to keep the speed down.

The problem is that even if you are only going 15 or 16 mph (slow) your feet are still spinning at 90 rpm and they can get SERIOUSLY windchilled. Everyone with a camel-back ran out of water because the hose to the pack froze. Then the water bottles froze.

We decided to cut the ride short and headed to a coffee shop!
angela

[Jim Bremner]

I used to breed Siberian Huskys, Lovely animals, kind, loving...many great things that one would want in a dog and companion. Except one thing was missing.





anyone ever hear of a great civilization in the North ?

Anyone?
Bueller?

Let's see, We had Rome, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Aztecs, Greece, & China.

Never one in the North.

My thought is that the one thing that was not evident in the Husky breed was SMARTS. (A smarter dog would have started walking south)

[slakjaw]

You betcha, it sure is cold here doncha know.

[speeder]

Yeah, I grew up there and it's harsh. The funny thing is that -13 deg. is not considered an extreme temp there, -25 or -30 plus wind and now we are talking cold.

Riding a MC in the winter there is not too smart. You have patches of ice, cars w/ fogged or frosted windshields on the road, tires that don't grip, etc... I know that people do it to prove how "hard-core" they are, but come on...might as well just stick your nuts in a vise. That's hard-core.

Here's a sentimental photo of my 914 getting a jump on a sub-zero day in Mpls. back in mid-'70s:

[pavulon]

Did he have snow tires mounted?

Oh yeah, it was -22F at my house this AM.

[azasadny]

It's 19 here near Detroit, but it feels colder than that!

[nostatic]

I'm in shorts and a t-shirt. but we're gonna have an earthquake and my rent increase any minute now...

[SLO-BOB]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Okay, it's cold here. I keep my garage at about 55F, and I left this morning just as the sun came up and watched the temp display in the car drop ten degrees at a time. It settled around thirteen below zero. Thank god for heated seats and heated steering wheels.

What do you think?

E

I think you're a wuss. A real man (like me) keeps his garage at 50 degrees!

I submit that if you keep your car in a heated garage, you don't even need to turn on the heated seats. I rejoiced in the comfort of my 50 degree Yukon interior as I watched the thermometer drop from 50 degrees to -4. We are a bit warmer here by the big pond.

[p911dad]

A long time ago, when I was even more stupid than now, my brother and I ran a Triumph TR3a in a rally in Toronto in the middle of a cold winter. I will never forget the ride up the QEW(Queen Eliz. Way to you non-hosers) from Niagara Falls in zero temp in bright sunshine, freezing our butts off, side curtains bowing out in the wind. Yes, we ran the rally, and stayed overnight at a cousins place in Hamilton. I don't think I have ever been that completely cold ever again. Like Kaisen says, the whole car is a rock, misery but a complete blast tooling along in the rally with the cold making your brain work even harder at keeping time, speed and distance all in track, making the checkpoints on the spot(or not). Back then we used to rally all year with 2 Heuer stopwatches on the dash and a clipboard for the navigator(me at age 16)holding the rally notes. That rally had Austin Healeys, Alfas, Porsches, Sunbeams, Jags, Morgans all running in the ice cold Canadian winter. Good memories.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by speeder

Yeah, I grew up there and it's harsh. The funny thing is that -13 deg. is not considered an extreme temp there, -25 or -30 plus wind and now we are talking cold.

Here's a sentimental photo of my 914 getting a jump on a sub-zero day in Mpls. back in mid-'70s:

Denis, the Apostle Islands (Bayfield, WI) are seeing huge lake-effect snows along with -15F air temps and strong (20mph) winds out of the northwest. Don't you have family there?

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Bayfield&state=WI&site=DLH&textField1=46.8116&textField2=-90.8214&e=0&FcstType=graphical

Makes Minneapolis look appealing. At least it's sunny with no snow.
How was the heater in that 914 when it was below zero? Yikes!!

E

[Hugh R]

It must be in the high 40's here right now. Probably go down to the low 40's late tonight. When in the hot tub last night. That 20 foot dash from the hot tub back into the house is a b!tch!

[BGCarrera32]

Minnesota right now is when I chuckle at all the hybrid drivers...because electric cars mated to lawnmower engines really pump out the heat in below zero temps...

-8 right now at 8:30 PM

[Flatbutt1]

It's a balmy 28F here right now, cold front on the way though. The coldest I've ever been was on a backpacking trip through the Adirondack park in Feb 1980. The first night it dropped to -20F the second night -40F. the third night it was +62F in the motel! My Mama killed off all the dumb ones early!!

[FastCarFan]

A couple of years ago I was driving home from work in a big-time blizzard (i.e., snowing hard with lots of snow on the road). As I was driving through a small town near home I saw a green Elise coming the other way.

I also have a friend who drives this car all year long, rain, snow, etc. He doesn't even own a top for it! It is a Birkin. He said he just puts on his rain or snow gear & drives it to work. While he lives in Columbus, Ohio, not Minnesota, it still gets cold there!

[azasadny]

-7 with wind chill, made it difficult to get out of the hot tub!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Denis, the Apostle Islands (Bayfield, WI) are seeing huge lake-effect snows along with -15F air temps and strong (20mph) winds out of the northwest. Don't you have family there?

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Bayfield&state=WI&site=DLH&textField1=46.8116&textField2=-90.8214&e=0&FcstType=graphical

Makes Minneapolis look appealing. At least it's sunny with no snow.
How was the heater in that 914 when it was below zero? Yikes!!

E

The heater in the 914 worked very well. Then again, it did not have much of an area to heat-up and the hot air came out right under your knees so it was perfect. I worked as a busboy at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington that winter and I can remember getting into that car late at night when it was beyond cold. Shiver just thinking about it now.

We own some RE on Madeline Island and up until recently owned half of "Tom's Burned-down Cafe and Bar". My Dad let Tom Nelson, (who is like a step-brother to me), buy him out of his half last year. The extended Nelson family own a lot of Madeline, and used to own more of it. Interesting place w/ a lot of stories to tell...

[pavulon]

Been to that bar...selling was smart.

Heat wave today...only -20F this AM...supposed to break 0 this afternoon!!!

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by FastCarFan

A couple of years ago I was driving home from work in a big-time blizzard (i.e., snowing hard with lots of snow on the road). As I was driving through a small town near home I saw a green Elise coming the other way.

I also have a friend who drives this car all year long, rain, snow, etc. He doesn't even own a top for it! It is a Birkin. He said he just puts on his rain or snow gear & drives it to work. While he lives in Columbus, Ohio, not Minnesota, it still gets cold there!

Must be getting heat off those pipes.

[lm6y]

When I got home at midnight it was 9 degrees last night. I saw a single headlight as I pulled in, and had to wait and see. Yep, it was a motorcycle. That's not hard core, that's just stupid!