Wind Chill

Its -40 today in the ‘peg.  

-40… profanity if I ever saw it.

Can you comprehend how cold this is?

Well I can help you out with that as I got to experience this temperature to its fullest extent today since my Transit bus pulled a no show.

Environmentally friendly commute, is not always so convenient… or on time… or comfortable.

Today had to be the day it didn’t show though.

I’m dressed for my office job, I’m smart enough to be wearing some not so styling winter boots but here in tundra town it’s more survival of the fittest, then stylish (at least that’s how my beliefs work… unless you believe frostbite is fashionable).  I wasn’t however smart enough to wear my fleece tights beneath my dress pants though.  We had a couple weeks of negative single digit to mid-teen’s weather and I’m still holding out hope for its return.  So I rebel by making my work commute less then comfortable… logical no… blind hope yes.

Usually if I’m not running for the bus – that constitutes as an early morning jog in my books, strength training when I’m also lugging my 50tonne gym bag too – it pulls up within minutes of my arrival.  I time it perfectly so the effects of winter are minimized.

But today… oh today…

Today I opened my back door to a blast of cold.  I figured as such since the windows had ice on them… on the INSIDE.  

It’s a cold so shocking your eyes instantly water, it hurts to breath in your nose, and your teeth ache when you breathe in your mouth.  A scarf does wonders to help with not only warmth and comfort on your face, but simply breathing.  My scarf was still downstairs, folded neatly from the laundry.

I was scarf-less.  I was tight-less.  My preparedness for the weather was borderline stupidity, luckily I wore a turtleneck and my down jacket is ridiculously awesome against the elements.  

My mitted hands covered my face for a majority of my walk against the morning northwest wind.  My forehead burned from the cold, what little draft got through the tiny openings of my hood.  Then I stand, waiting at the stop the few blocks away from my little house.

My branch of community is pretty far removed from the city sounds and lights.  When there isn’t a car, or a bus driving by, the silence is as still as a small town.  You can hear birds calling, the wind creaking the branches of frost split trees.

The world hibernating around you.  Your own breathing seems loud, and out of place.  In the summer the song birds are in full chorus by the time I’m at the bus stop.  In the winter, only the brave chickadees seem to stick around and watch, even they’re half frozen in time.

I can hear the vehicles far before I see them.  Making their way down streets filled with snow ruts, and salt sand.

It’s been about 15-20 minutes standing at the stop.

Exposed skin is said to suffer frostbite within 10 minutes time frame, but luckily I’ve been alternating covering my face.  I can’t feel my toes even with my thick tough to -50 boots.  My legs have long since numbed, even my mitted fingers are starting to feel blocky.  My lips are tingly, reminding me of the after effects from the dentist.  I rub them constantly with my lip gloss to keep the blood moving.

It’s not my bus that finally arrives, but I take it for the few blocks of warmth it will offer before taking a transfer and waiting on a main route.  The other regulars of my bus that didn’t show are on this bus too, we all had the same idea, half frozen in our minds.

It’s about another 5 minutes waiting for the next bus to arrive.  The cold sets in fast from the brief reprieve of the 2 block journey.

It’s chilling to this point and tremors are unavoidable.  I’ll shiver intermittently until about 2 hours into my shift, with my desk heater blowing full force.

My toes are still cold, but no longer numb. The chill won’t go away until after my work out no matter how much the heater will blow, the heat can’t penetrate a chill like working out can.

RPM is the perfect fix.  Second only to a nice, long, hot bath, and some really thick fleecy penguin pj pants ;)