Last Sunday, the 15th of February, the roads looked mostly dry, the temperature was 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and so I said, “good nuff!” and prepared to cycle to Inkom and back! I was dying to get back on my road bike and do some hard and fast cycling.
Here was the clothing I wore (from the top down):
- Helmet with a thermal beanie
- Synthetic jersey, synthetic long-sleeve jersey, hi-viz windbreaker, ski gloves
- Merino wool long underwear and cycling tights
- Regular cotton socks and cycling shoes with shoe covers
This is a winning combo for winter cycling, except for one critical problem which I will talk about momentarily. Ahem.
Setting out for Inkom felt great, but soon the wind blowing from the southeast slowed the ride way down. It was a great workout, but the whole way I was anticipating the tailwind ride back! The route I took on this ride was Bannock Highway and Portneuf Road out to Inkom and then Highway 91 back to town. Bannock Highway and Portneuf Road are at a slightly higher elevation and are shaded by large hills, so I encountered some patches of snow and ice here and there on the road, but it was nothing to worry about.
I was about halfway to Inkom when the cold headwind began to effect one particular part of my body. Yes, you guessed it, my penis was starting to freeze. Every single other part of my body felt fine, but it’s that one area that seems to catch a lot of wind without much blood circulating through the area. I decided to just tough it out until I got to Inkom. By the time I got to Inkom, I was in quite a bit of pain so I stopped at the nearest parking lot, took my gloves off, jammed my hand down my pants and started to warm it up. This also turned out to be painful, and I’m sure some passerbys were wondering why I was moaning with my hand down my cycling tights. Yes, this was rural Inkom, Idaho were people dressed in cycling outfits are already looked at as freaks; so doing this ritual probably didn’t concern them any greater. After about five minutes of drinking water and hobbling around the parking lot, I climbed back on my bike and started pedaling. Thankfully the pain subsided.
The ride back was pretty great and speeds of 22 mph were easy with the steady tailwind. By the time I was halfway home, I felt fine and soon I was back in town and feeling great from the high-gear ride home.
I did some searching around online for solutions to my problem. I think my best bet is to just wear a couple more layers in the general area next time. :-)
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