Cold, Fun, & Suffering: A Progression

Alaska has been the coldest place in the world this past week, with Fairbanks at the heart of it all.
I rode my fatbike in to work on two of the coldest days, with the coldest temperature I'm aware of riding through being -49º F.
At 10 mph travel, that's a -66º F wind chill, if the air is calm. The bridge of my nose can attest to this. Call me stupid, and I might agree.

An hour and a half to go twelve miles, mostly on bike paths or trails, with a stop at the gas station just past half-way to get some coffee.
I know what everyone is thinking... why in the hell would I ride my bike twelve miles each way, to & from work in the -40s? My mom questioned me, too, and here's what I wrote to her in an e-mail...

Things are different up here (Alaska). Downstates, people would honestly think I'm a f***ing nut-job. Here, people just think what I'm doing is crazy, not me, personally. See the difference?
Anyone who lives in Alaska is exposed to the extremes, both in terms of the people and the conditions. Mushers do incredibly long runs in all weather imaginable, from minus-60s on the Yukon River, to 0F & blowing 50 mph on the Bering Sea coast. People have been skiing, biking, climbing, running, etc, in Alaska for ages and continue to do so. Plus, if you think about the Alaska Native historical & nomadic lifestyle, it makes us all seem like a bunch of wimps.

I like to push the line in some things I do, for, if nothing else, a way to test myself and in an attempt to, as my good friend described it to me once in terms of alpine climbing, 'make myself bulletproof.' If I take opportunities to practice, which is how I look at it, when I'm out on trips, it's not the end of the world if I'm uncomfortable for a while or experience 'poor' conditions. I'll be able to shrug it off easily and say, 'I've seen worse,' with a smile. Make yourself bulletproof to, hopefully, anything you could experience, both in regards to adventures for recreation and in life, too.

Underlying everything I do is the mantra of 'be smart.' Push the line and test yourself in both what you can handle and the skills you've built, but know the limits of what is realistic and what crosses the line as either dangerous or just stupid/detrimental to your health & well-being. Honestly, I was sweating on the ride home the second day, just a little bit, even though it was at least -35F. That means I have a little wiggle room/buffer/room to spare for riding in those conditions with the clothing system I used. If something goes wrong, I have warm mittens, two puff jackets, and puff pants to put on immediately. Plus, from experience, I know that pushing a bike warms you up SUPER fast.

So, now I know that I can comfortably(?) bike for at least two hours at -45F safely. Sure, depending on conditions and location, I might need a warm sleeping bag/tent/cabin/building to go in at the end, but in a different situation (not commuting to work), I would inevitably attack it differently. If I was biking a big route through a remote area, I'd make sure I didn't sweat and think ahead for everything imaginable.
In 2010, I volunteered on the White Mountains 100 bike/ski/foot race and patrolled the 100 mile route on snowmachine, helping at checkpoints & giving assistance to racers, if necessary, but mostly just making sure everyone was ok. I got a real good look at the route and idea of what it would be like to complete it. So, after oogling over the fatbike tracks for 100 miles, I went back the next weekend and did the route solo & unsupported on my 29er. That trip gave me a lot of confidence and understanding of how fast I can go for how long. In 2011, I felt fully prepared to enter the race, and ended up cutting 13 hours off my solo time, finishing in 16 hrs 15 min on my fatbike.

Photo by Ed Plumb, Nov 2011

I think this is a perfect example of the progression that everyone should do when attempting something extreme, in regards to their own viewpoint of their goals, interests, experience, etc. Start by exposing yourself to it a little bit, like biking at 0 or -20. Then step it up a little more, like commuting or camping in those same temps. Then, go big, once you have things figured out and are comfortable with it, if you so choose. I saw it, I tried it, I raced it. I even went out there hiking in summer this year. Now, I feel comfortable on that route in just about any conditions it could throw at me. It's all the first steps towards crazier sh*t, which is all relative and described in that manner from other, more conservative people's perspectives.

Ironically, Dave wrote similarly about this topic on his blog, this week. Please read, as his insights are noteworthy. One could also compare all this silly talk to the types of fun that alpinist Kelly Cordes wrote about a while ago.

It's important psychologically, if nothing else, to be able to get through a situation because you're seen worse, have overcome a bad situation or experience like it before, etc. All these things can completely destroy a person psychologically in the field, on a trip, or just in life. It can break you down and put you in a hole you can't climb out of alone, which is not a place I ever want to find myself, although it may be inevitable.

I tell myself, and believe, there is a point to everything like this I do, and for once, FINALLY, I may have just found my line of where the fun stops but my body keeps going. Possibly the limit of enjoyability (word?) and the continuation of capability. And, by God, does that make me happy. I've been looking for it for years.
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For the record, please do not call me hardcore or anything of similar reference, as some people have recently. It irritates me, big time.
I'm just a dude who has an interest in doing this stuff and am just like so many other awesome people out there.
But, most importantly, there are too many people to list that have, do, and will experience far greater things and endure more pain & suffering than I have or ever will and it would be embarrassing to be referred to in terms of so many great adventurers of history & today:
HA, HS, BM, RR, RD, EP, EP, JO, LM, JL, AS, CC & here & here, too... the list goes on.
Maybe I want to be there, but I am not... yet :)