Cold case

At 7:22 a.m. yesterday Perth recorded it’s lowest ever temperature of – 0.7 degrees Celcius. (30.74 degree Fahrenheit)

At 7:22 a.m. yesterday I was on my bike, cycling with a couple of friends and very much looking forward to getting to the coffee shop to warm up over a long black. We got to the shop just before 9:00 a.m.

I know that -0.7 is not all that cold compared to the kinds of temperatures experienced in other places but it’s very cold for Perth. While that was the official temperature for the city, readings taken at other places around the metropolitan area were even lower. I suspect that it was a little chillier in some of the places we were riding.

I had three layers of clothing on my upper body and a couple below. A while after the ride I started to get the feeling back in my hands and feet.

The morning ride wasn’t at all helped by the fact that I picked up a piece of glass in my front tyre in one of the colder spots on the ride. My front wheel is notorious for difficult tyre changes. Tyres fit very snuggly on that rim in normal circumstances but with the extra coldness it was even more difficult to get the tyre off to replace the tube.

A lot of people would have just rolled over and stayed in bed with temperatures like that but in the future when anyone mentions Perth’s coldest temperature I can say I was out cycling at the time. What were you doing during Perth’s coldest ever minimum?

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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5 Comments

  • what was I doing at 7:22am on the coldest morning in perth history?

    sleeping. In bed. with my electric blanket on high. 🙂

  • I feel a little ripped off that I didn’t get to ride on the coldest morning in Perth in 15 years. I had everything ready to come and join you on Saturday, but I was woken out of a deep sleep by my 4 yo boy at about 5 am and spent about 20 minutes getting him back to bed and back to sleep. So when the alarm went off to get up for the ride I just turned it off, rolled over and went back to sleep. Sorry to hear about the flat tyre, changing it with numb fingers must have been a challenge?!

  • A town called salmon gums in the south West recorded something like
    -5 degress one morning this week

    Salmon gums is not far away from where i live and i believe it got to around about 3 degress one morning where i live and i felt every bit of it

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