The Aussies, particularly those who move here from other places in Australia think it is SUPER cold here. I was at an event a couple weeks ago and a woman said, "I just moved here and it was 18 degrees for 10 days in a row. I'm not sure I can stand that." Eighteen in Celsius is 64 degrees in Fahrenheit. She was from Brisbane - the place where all the tourist beaches are.
To be fair, compared to the rest of Australia, Melbourne is closest to Antarctica (if you don't count Tasmania). And when it is dark and rainy and windy, 64 can feel pretty chilly. I had that conversation in May, which is just the start of winter, so it does get a colder as the season progresses. Last year, in July (the heart of winter) my women's boot camp instructor confided in me that sometimes, in the morning, it's so cold that there is this stuff on the windshield of your car and you have to use a credit card or something to scrape it off so you can see to drive. I managed not to laugh out loud.
So, sometimes it
gets to freezing (like a couple of days a year), and some days can be blow me off my bicycle windy, and pretty often it's just rainy. I've discovered this requires a bit of adaptability since my bike is the way I get around. I
have finally figured out how to dress to bike in the rain without being
overdressed. Last year I kept thinking it was COLD because it was winter, but every time I discovered wearing a wool
coat on my bike just meant I was soaked with sweat when I got wherever I was going. And if it's raining, then I'm sweaty inside my clothes and soaked on the outside. Attractive.The solution: my "Apollo Anton Ohno" hoodie (because the tight hood fits under my helmet and keeps my ears warm - and makes me look fast), my rain jacket, and my new Gore-Tex rain pants. And usually my black Merell boots. All of which I got for half or less of their regular price. Plus my panniers came with bright yellow rain coats of their very own. So here's the rainy day weather one day last week and me geared up for the ride into the office.
