First Cold Weather Ride

[Mr. Bloom]

Today I did my first cold weather ride. I used to get exhilarated by cold...now I'm a cold weather wimp...:(:o

Temp was mid 30's, no sun, light wind. I definitely should have put shells over the two pair of gloves I wore, but although my face was exposed, it did well because I thickly coated it with lotion before leaving.

It was grueling. First time I've been on my bike outside in at least 2 months.

21.7 miles at 16.4 mph avg.

I think it would have been more enjoyable with sun...

[silver]

Way to go! I didn't go with him as I'm still recovering from my "illness" He kept asking questions about what to wear. I told him that you just have to get out there and do it. It's a trial and error thing. He did good!

[IFjane]

S & Mr. S - no kidding he did good! I can't ride below 40 degrees or I can't breathe. I find that I usually don't get cold though if I layer enought. Amazing how much heat we generate when we are riding - unless it's all downhill!

Enjoy and happy new year!

[SouthernBelle]

I'm a cold weather wimp too. I do get out on occasion. I did a short ride yesterday in the low 40s. I never seem to quite get my layers right. I'm thinking about riding this afternoon in the 40s. I hate winter.

[Mr. Bloom]

After visiting Mom today, I did 13 miles down to the river. Same temp...but the sun was out. MUCH BETTER.

I changed two things:
- I wore a glove liner and a shell. The shell blocked the wind better than two woven pair of gloves
- I wore wool socks under my cotton ones...this wicked better and kept my feet much warmer. Yesterday my feet were cold after 16 miles...which I now realize was the moisture held in by the cotton socks I was wearing.

I wore:

two pair of socks (one wool, one cotton)
long johns & leg warmers, under cycling shorts
two long sleeve new tech shirts under a cycling wind breaker (high necked)
skull cap
glove liners under a shell

[sundial]

Great job Mr. Silver! Now if you were having hot flashes, you would have been comfortable on your ride, LOL!

Silver, do you ride well in the cold?

[silver]

Silver, do you ride well in the cold?

No! I don't like cold weather. but I'm getting used to it. I've done a good bit more than Mr. You TE gals have helped me get geared up, but I'm still not too happy below 35 degrees F.

i've been trying to recover from this cold/virus/funk and haven't been out the last couple of days.

[sundial]

Oooh, the colds this year want to hang on. I had one and it was almost 3 weeks before my nose was back to normal. Ack! We haven't had the flu hit the area--yet.

As for cold weather riding, I'm sure the TE'ers steered you toward wool. :D
I layered a silk long sleeve tee under my jersey and it really helps. Also, windproof stuff will provide a more comfortable ride.

Christmas morning I headed out for a ride with bike shorts and fleece lined tights, long sleeve jersey and windproof jacket, gloves, Polar buff around my neck and shoe covers. When I finished I learned it was 28 F! :eek:

[pinkychique]

At the end of the summer I hit all the closeouts on last years winter stuff, and I picked up a fair amount of stuff!

I've been riding in the cold (20 deg F or sometimes lower :rolleyes: my mom thinks I'm crazy) and I wear so much! I don't go without my buff to cover my face, a thick beanie, a base tank top for my core, a thermal running shirt, a long sleeve race shirt, a bike jersey, windproof vest (marmot oooh so nice, yay for sales :D) and then a jacket that's not exactly wind proof, but not exactly breathable, and day-glo yellow. Then i have shorts, long underwears of silk, and then tights on, neoprene foot covers and Grabbers toe warmers and 1 pair of cotton/polyester and 1 pair of wool socks. Its a lot :eek::D

oh and some windproof gloves, sometimes with an extra, smaller pair stuffed inside.

The cold makes for some long days, but I'm glad that I don't have to spend it on a trainer :)

[Mr. Bloom]

At the end of the summer I hit all the closeouts on last years winter stuff, and I picked up a fair amount of stuff!
:)

Silver's good at that too!

Why buy current 'fashion' - it's only going to get covered in snot-rockets anyway:p

[PinkBike]

sundial, say it aint so. i'm in day 4 of a sneezing, sniffling, stuffy, eye-watering, breathe thru the mouth cold. so glad for aloe tissues. havent ridden in almost a week.

[sundial]

Yep, the 2007 Cold is a real pain! My nose stayed stopped up for 2 weeks. :(

If you have access to a sauna, that will help. Oh, and hot and sour soup from your favorite Chinese restaurant. ;)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yep, I'm a current member of the stuffy mucus head crowd too. :(
But I'm still walking and snowshoeing. 10" of snow last night, so went snowshoeing today.

Mr.Silver....those cotton socks won't do anything for you in the cold. Better to wear just wool socks- either 1 or 2 pairs. Also, instead of wearing 2 "tech" base layers, you can wear just 1 merino wool base layer under your wind shell and keep warm without getting soggy or stinky. ;)

[Geonz]

Unfortunately I'm not sure what layers will help with the cold-air-in-the-lungs problems. I've ridden with people whom the chilliness has rendered far more breathless than the effort deserved. I'm not sure a person can't acclimate to it, though, or if it's genetic (or dependent on, say, the size of hte bronchial tubes).

Another little trick I learned is to make sure that I'm holding my shoulders "open" so that my camelbak and posture arent' interfering with circulation. This gets the blood down to those digits in my hands.

I launched so many rockets this week that I saw a screen crawl on the weather channel saying there was a "mucus advisory" on the roads and to watch for slick spots.

Oh, and my cotton socks did **fine** :D (SIoux is allergic to wool). But ... if they don't, and wool doesn't bug you, that's almost certainly warmer.

And my other advice if a person prefers non-grueling: slow down :D :D

[spokewench]

It has just been too darned cold here! About a month ago, we got a great big snow! And, usually, here in Flag, we usually get a week or so here and there in the winter where it gets warmer and things have a chance to melt. This year, not a chance! The roads for driving are okay, but all the bike lanes (and shoulders of road) are icy!!!!! Big patches of slick ice and huge piles of hard boulder like ice. Our best road ride out to the Lakes is covered with really icy patches on the small hills! So, even if I wanted to brave the 30 some degree (high for the day) sunshine, I don't want to brave the icy fall. Icy falls hurt way too much!:(

Mr. Silver, you are doing way better than I am getting out in the cold this year. I just can't hack the idea this year with the weather the way it is.

So, I haven't been doing much on the bike. Got a great hike in this weekend - up the Lost Burrito Trail - it goes straight up the mountain and is a great cardio workout. Got to do more of that.

I'm still playing tennis, which keeps me active, but sure doesn't keep me real fit - I need my bike for that. Here's to hoping for a warmer New Year!:)