Cadence & Riding Cold Days
Looking for advice in improving riding with cold legs. For me - step 1 is to find the right tights.. I do much better dressing my upper body than my lower body.
But, if I'm out on a cold day, it takes my legs forever to warm up. Any additional effort (elevation, wind) and I tank, my recoveries take much longer. DH tells me I don't ride well in the cold because I "mash too large of a gear." Well, it's the same gear I would ride on a warm day in order to maintain that 18 mph pace, and if I gear down to spin faster (more friction to warm the legs?) then my speed suffers. If I try to compensate and keep the speed up - well, the cardio backing just isn't there.
I'd really like to do better - and particularly in effort to try cyclecross this year. I certainly won't be able to go far if I'm struggling with frozen lead legs.
So - tips on how to improve cadence? or gearing? or your favorite keep-the-surface-of-your-quads-warm tights?