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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-01-15, Page 9By Margaret Fraser Call 526-1112 St. Helen's Snowmobile Club is holding a Breakfast - 50-50 - Poker Rally January 18 * at St. Helen's Hall Breakfast - Registration 8-11 am * Rally approximately 75 miles OFSC permit required Postponed Date January 25 143 Josephine St.,Wingham (519) 357-2191 Just what you will be looking for this winter "Meal of the Month" Large Fish Dinner $6 00 + tax Open all year round! Order your ice cream cake today o 6 "Your Arctic Cat Sledquarters" ARCTIC CAF What Snowmobiling's 'II About. TM Service to most makes of small engines Automotive farm and tire service 519-345-2248 Fax: 519-345-2790 Jim Bauer email: bktire@bellnet.ca Mike Kells ATTENTION SNOWMOBILE - S Classifieds advertisements published in The Citizen are now available on our website at www.northhurorion.ca On-line Classifieds ~® :ma C., C, C., THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2004. PAGE 9. Moisture management By Craig Nicholson (©2004 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) life /• Parifia re, CRAIG NICHOLSON Moisture can be a snowmobiler's greatest enemy. That's because moisture of any kind conducts cold. As perspiration, it makes your skin cooler as it evaporates. This is okay in the summer, when you want to cool off, but in the winter, valuable body heat is used to rewarm your skin. The longer the moisture stays in contact with your skin, the more heat is lost and the colder you become. Some people swear they don't perspire, and maybe they don't sweat profusely. But everyone releases moisture through their skin, some more than others. When you work harder, more moisture is released, because that's part of the body's temperature regulation system. When snowmobiling, the problem is what happens to that moisture. Because the outside air temperature is cold, you don't want any moisture lingering near your skin to cool it too. And that's why you should wear one of the new high tech fabrics such as polypropylene as yout' first layer of clothing. It doesn't retain moisture and hold it against your body like other fabrics, such as cotton, do. In fact, it actually moves moisture away from skin towards the outside. If the next layer you wear is fleece and your snowmobile jacket is a breathable Material, that moisture is quickly transported to the exterior of your suit, where it evaporates without bothering you. One of the biggest mistakes snowmobilers make is to wear cotton while riding. Most everyday sweatsuits, t-shirts, jeans, underwear and socks are made of cotton. Cotton has many excellent properties, but it also retains moisture like a sponge. When you perspire wearing cotton next to your skin, you get that clammy feeling until it dries. The trouble with being clammy while snowmobiling is that cotton takes a long time to dry, and every second means that more body heat is being lost, so it's easy to get chilly. To avoid this, I recommend replacing all cotton, including underwear and socks, with fast drying material that wicks moisture away quickly. You can have the warmest outwear on the market, but it won't help if there's moisture trapped against your skin. It's also important to have the ability to help your body finetune its There were 11 tables at play at the Ethel euchre on Monday, Jan. 5. Winners for the night were: share- the-wealth, Hazel McKenzie, Velma Sleightholm; high, Eva Harrison, Iola Subject, Jim McGillawee; lone hands, Hazel McKenzie, Edna McLellan, Allan Edgar; low, temperature. You can do this by opening your jacket as you get too hot and closing it again as you cool off. Another way is to buy outer wear with built in underarm, chest and back vents which can be opened to release the excess heat that causes sweating. Many snowmobile pants also have side zips that serve this function. With a little practice, you will quickly learn to anticipate your body's temperature fluctuations and control heat retention or loss easily. Now that you're dry on the inside, it's also important to keep moisture out. If water from rain or melted or wet snow penetrates your outer wear, you will get wet on the inside too. This moisture has the same effect on your body temperature as perspiration, but it's more dangerous because in order to get inside, it has probably soaked your best layers of insulation. Once these layers are wet, you'll lose body heat considerably faster — and they will take a long time to dry. For my money, there's no better way to keep water out than a snowmobile suit made with one of several waterproof, breathable materials, coatings or treatments that are on the market today. They also have the added benefits of letting body moisture escape and being generally lighter weight and less cumbersome to wear. All the best gear in the world won't help with moisture manage- ment if it starts out damp. When you finish riding for the day, you may not think 'you've been perspiring, but unless you're dead, some moisture will have built up in your clothing, helmet, glove and boot liners. So be sure to turns things inside out or apart ,overnight so they dry thoroughly before being worn again the next day. Otherwise, your new day may start with case of sudden chills that can make life miserable. Until next time remember that snowmobilers care about the environment too. For the tour planner and trail condition reports check out www.ofsc.on.ca and look under trails. Craig Nicholson is a regular contributor to Snow Goer Canada's Snowmobiling Magazine: The Intrepid Snowmobiler also appears on radio and on Snowmobiler Television. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. Dorothy Martin, Betty Ken- .nedy. The next euchre will be held on Monday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. Good start to a day Rose, Brandon and son Devon Tune were among the diners who turned out for the Auburn Lions Club pancake breakfast held at the Community Hall last Sunday morning. (Elyse DeBruyn photo) At Knox United Church, Rev. Pat Cook's message was on claiming our identity. Spiritual readings were Isaiah 43:_ 1-7, Luke 3: 15 —17 and 21-22, and Psalm 29. The Auburn Women's Institute meeting is on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. In spite of the visit from Mr. Winter, 260 people attended the Auburn LiOns' pancake breakfast last Sunday. The next Lions Club meeting will be held. Jan. 21 at 7:15 p.m. Happy birthday to Meagan Cameron, Nicola Hoover, Tanya Hodges, Maison Nesbitt, Doug Blackwell, Larissa Jones, Terry Pannabecker, Michael Andrews, Christine Hoffman, Dorothy Grange, Irene Hebert, Florence Wightrnan, Mellissa Delyea, Sharon Thompson, Ron Huya, Debbie Jefferson, Jean Woods, Katelyn Stoner, Ruth Armstrong, Leone Robertson, Stephen Berry, Bev Grigg, Sandra Popp, and Lorraine Chamney. Happy anniversary to Lorne and Gwendy Woods and Elaine and Allan Craig.