Bike Gears and Cold Temps

I had an interesting experience tonight with my mountain bike that I think is worthy of sharing with you. It was -6°F tonight, as I rode my bike to a bar. You must be thinking, is he really this... smart? I wanted to do the right thing by not driving, so I faced mother nature head on. Literally. Thankfully, my face was only exposed to the cold weather, light winds and snow flurries.

As I started to ride my bike, I couldn't shift the gears. It didn't matter how slow or fast that I was going on my bike. The derailer gearing system just wouldn't cooperate with me. It was only until I applied alot of force to the quick finger trigger that the gears starting shifting for me.

I was wondering what I might've done to the bike that would cause this slow response. Was it due to neglect? A less-than-lubricated chain? Then, I realized that this bike wasn't made to be ridden in temperatures like tonight.

Who would've thought that the bike gears would fail at these temperatures??? I didn't. That's for sure. And, by the way, the Snake River Brewing Company OB-1 pint tasted extra good tonight.