Frozen mt bikers!!!!

We did a 2 hour night ride last night...it was 25 degrees when we started, and 17 when we finished. Holy Cow was it cold at the end. I did ok everywhere but my feet.
We have a 35 min drive home from the trailhead, and it was one of the most painful thawing out of feet that I have had since I was a kid.

Mine is also compounded by that fact that I have bad frostbite in both feet 5 years ago, up to the middle of my foot.

All they way home I just kept thinking...

I AM A POP CYCLE....get it ??? pop cycle....

ok what can I can, I was out of my mind..........

My coldest ride started out at 18 degrees and ended up under 10 at the finish. It was the first time that I HATED downhills! I actually got my hubby some of these, kind of as a joke because he was always complaining that no matter how many socks he wore, the type of booties, etc., his feet were always cold.

http://www.amazon.com/BeWellShop-com...UTF8&s=apparel


Well, the joke is on me, because he loves them and thinks that they work really well.....So if you are planning on going winter riding a lot and with your having frostbite on your feet, you might think about trying them!

You guys are tough! I am a wimp! I ride with a group at 10:000 AM on Sunday mornings. This week it was about 35 degrees when we were supposed to meet. I blew off the group ride because I decided that I would prefer to ride alone around noon by myself than to brave the cold! Wimp Wimp Wimp!

You're a much braver girl than I. I just can't go out below 30- my body rejects the cold... I'm proud of you for doing it tho! I can't wait for all this snow/ice crap to melt so I can ride again. I sooooo miss my mtn bike....:(

Back in the day when I used to commute to work in the winter in Edmonton Alberta Canada, (you might like to look at a map), it was often - 20 celcius, (that's about - 8 F). I would use my winter hiking boots and socks with platform pedals. The platforms were a good idea anyway because spds can freeze and it's always good to be able to get you foot down quickly if you slide. The coldest I've ever riden, drumroll please.... minus 27 C, which equals about minus 22 F. :eek: :eek: :eek: Yikes. The hard part was that you couldn't stop or your glasses would fog because your entire face is covered and your hot breath gets behind the lenses. Oh well, you don't want to stop when it's that cold anyway. :D :D

But you wouldn't catch me dead riding outdoors below freezing nowadays. So good on ya!

Below 25-30, I can't last much longer than 1 hour. My face, feet and hands can't take it.

I find one great thing for longer rides on those cold days is toe warmers such as the Grabbers brand or other similar brand products. Depending on how tightly your shoes fit you can put them right inside your shoes or they make footbed warmers that you can use by removing your insoles and putting in the footbed warmer. They sell them at most sporting good or outdoor stores and they work super well. I hate that they are a disposable product but they do keep you from painfully cold feet.

They sell hand ones that you can stick in your gloves as well. Personally I own a wide array of different gloves for different temperatures as I commute year round and what works when the temps are 20F won't be quite enough for below 0 days. I sometimes laugh at the crazy array of gloves in my closet but I don't enjoy being too cold or too hot so I've invested in lots of gloves over the years.

I 2nd the recommendation for toe warmers. When it's below 25 F, I need them. I wear wool socks, toe warmers, shoes and shoe covers and it seems to work well. I've found them in the hunting section of sporting goods stores. They're pretty inexpensive and work wonders!