Thick Skin (Or: "Shouldn't You Be Wearing a Sweater")

I've been enjoying the cool weather lately. Winter is the only time I can ride for miles and not get all sweaty. Despite the cool temps, however, I still have to be careful not to overdress. I think that this has something to do with my skin.

ELECTRO-SHOCK without the THERAPY
I've always been a one-layer-less kinda guy. Since I was a kid, I've seemed to deal better with the cold than most other people do. Some years ago, I guessed that this was psychological, a response to my mom telling me to wear a sweater ("But I'm not cold!). But recently I remembered a pain study I'd participated in during college. I earned $10 to have electric shocks of varying severity applied to my fingers. The young researcher told me afterwards that I have a very high pain threshhold and guessed that it might also have to do with my skin's electrical conductivity. So my new theory is that my skin also doesn't conduct the cold as much.

I also read recently about how our bodies respond when we get stuck in the cold. When our body temp goes down, we automatically switch on some mechanisms that try to warm us back up, especially the core areas. Our extremeties get bypassed a bit while our blood is pumped mainly to our head and trunk. This may explain why I ride for 30 minutes on a chilly day in just a t-shirt and shorts and still find myself a bit schvitzy.

Whatever the reason, it's fun zipping along half-nekkid on a uni passed Xmas shoppers. And I always wear my New York Unicycle Club shirt to advertise our group.