Don't Have to be Crazy to Ride in this Weather, but it Helps

Short-tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
The indicated  temperatures today were supposedly not that bad, but only seemed to get up around the low 40's.  The wind was quiet when we first got up (It was HOWLING all day yesterday, Sunday).
We hoped today would be relatively quiet wind-wise but when I opened the front door to bring in an armload of wood to start the fire it was HOWLING again, with the wind shifting back and forth.
Jacque wisely decided against even a short mail run but I had made up my mind I was riding - windy or not.  Since being laid off my full time job where I was riding at least 7 miles one-way 5 days a week year round, I have gained enough girth that I cannot wear my 32-inch waist pants any more and am now flopping around in 34-inch waist pants.  Riding regularly those distances reduced my waist size and I stocked up on 32" pants for several years...... I'm not sure I'll ever get that size back again, but I'm sure going to do better with regular riding.  So I took off on my own today, if only for the short but intense "Mail Run".
I quickly realized I was underdressed and stopped to put on my windbreaker layer.  I zipped it up to the top and did NOT get overheated until I was on my way back, huffing and puffing up the final hills to the house.
When I got down to the paved Frost Road and off our goat-path road, I had to ride the road shoulder about a quarter mile.  I normally prefer to ride the road shoulder instead of the "multi-use" bike trails, especially when the bike trails run close to and parallel with the main dinosaur-burner roadway.  Why? You may ask... well, it's because the bike path is bumpier, has weeds sprouting through the thin pavement, has steeper hills and dips, and still has ice and snow patches in several spots along the trail.
Howsomever, today, the wind was pushing me left and right so much I decided to ride the bike trail just to avoid being blown sideways into the roadway with the gusting wind.  No other fools were out riding the path so I had it all to myself;  I didn't even encounter the typical dog-walker.  It was also COLD, and my gloves were full fingered but not mittens so my fingers suffered.
Other than those small details, it was a fairly invigorating ride.
Trip Started: 1:09 PM    Trip Ended:  2:12 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp  36 F      Highest Temp:  42 F
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  5.58
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
 5.4 MPH                                7.0 MPH                    23.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
1 hours  2 mins                     47 mins  34 secs          14 mins 26 secs