Colder’n a witches…

Let’s just not project that image. I’m from Southern California. For the past many years, I wore shorts year-round. Rarely wore a jacket. The toughest decision about riding my bike during the winter months was if I wanted to wear a long sleeve jersey or short sleeve with arm warmers.

Now, I’m 500 miles north, still about 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, but have realized that a different winter exists in this neck of the woods. The sun is low on the horizon and once it falls behind the Inverness Ridge, the temperature plummets along with the sun. I got home yesterday at about 5:45 and it was already down to 38 degrees. The coldest it got was 29.5. I had a beer outside in the backyard after work last night while I kicked the ball for the dog to chase and I swear the beer got colder as I was drinking. But what really gets downright cold is the shop!

With no real insulation, it’s colder inside than outside during the day. It was probably stupid to do, but I brought a thermometer to the shop today to see just how cold it is inside. In the middle of the shop, it’s a meager 51.1 degrees. At my desk, it warms up to a tropical 52.3. I’ve got a space heater near the work bench which helps boost the temp to a toasty 55 degrees! But, hey, at least there’s no wind chill to contend with!

Needless to say, I’ve abandoned my shorts this winter and now employ the use of long-johns and long pants…and wool socks, insulated boots, wool base layer, wool sweater, beanie. I’m now excited when the Land’s End catalog arrives and I get to check out all their lined insulated pants!