Wind chill brain freeze!

Brain freeze...when you drink or eat something that's too cold too fast you feel that temporarily crippling, creeping sensation of frigid cold move up through the back of your throat into your sinuses, into your neck, and then it feels like it hits your brain!  AAAaaaaaarrrggg!

(I wish I knew the original source of this image....it's awesome!)

But, this morning I got "external brain freeze".  

It was about 7:30am and 15oF when I left home to go to work.  I debated about whether to ride my bicycle or walk, but because I have a 7:45am class I decided to save time and ride.  I'd been on the bike less than a minute before external brain freeze started to settle in.  External brain freeze, however, starts at your skin and penetrates inward rather than the traditional brain freeze that starts at the back of your throat and moves up and out.

I thought I was dressed warmly enough. I had a coat, gloves, warm socks, ear muffs, and my bike helmet.  The chink in my armor was that I didn't have anything protecting my forehead.  

Oh well...happily, off I went.  It wasn't that it was 15oF that was the problem; the problem is that when you ride a bicycle you create your own wind chill.  Before long I was zipping down a hill - I don't know how fast..  But it felt killer COLD.

As I mentioned, it was 15oF outside and I was riding along at a pretty good clip, I don't know exactly how fast, but it was fast enough to make my own wind chill...and beyond!  My eyes were watering and OW!!!!  Man, the brain freeze hurt!  Bonehead, if you are making your own wind chill, slow down!  Ah, good idea, the synapses must be firing again.

(Originally posted 11-2-2011)