Calling Winter Commuters:

[lph]

That works for 4 degrees (F) and 8 miles, and I haven't had to do more than that.

Kudos. I have roughly the same distance to go but usually give up at about 12-14 F. I find it gets really hard keeping my hands warm but still limber about then.

But otherwise I prefer temps between 18 and 25 F when things are dry (gee, I sure hope I got that conversion thing right so this makes sense) to temps around 32. I just *hate* wet feet, dark roads, slush all over the place, freezing on the cassette, packing in the brakes... yucko

[Geonz]

For the hands - and generally - when it gets really, really, really cold I get on the trainer for five or ten minutes, until I feel my furnace kick in and up the circulatoin to my hands. Then I'm already warmed up for going outside.
We haven't had too much of the slushy stuff - yukkers!!!
And this winter I will have the rain suit, which is a toasty layer and a little large for me (it was a hand-me-down - me fork over the bucks for Gore-Tex??? NOT!) ... so I'm almost looking forward to adversity...

[7rider]

Well, I can say....Don't do what I just did.
Was so excited to have a chance to wear my new long-sleeve jersey this a.m. and knickers, that I wore them without regards to what the weather would be like for the *ride home* this evening!
Ugh.
Long sleeves were fine this a.m., but I'm going to be roasting on the ride home. It's a good thing I can push the sleeves up a fair bit (I can't on all my LS) and it's a full zip. May have to flash the folks in cars tonight!
So...
Pay attention to the AFTERNOON forecast when planning your a.m. ride!

[Susan Otcenas]

OK, so here's a question (in a roundabout kind of way).

Pearl Izumi has a new women's short this winter. It's the Microsensor Thermal Short. A thermal short. I, of course, said. "Well, that's dumb. If it's cold enough to need thermal, then why wouldn't I just wear tights? Thermal with bare legs seems dumb." But, as was pointed out to me by my dear sweet man, my butt always seems to be very cold to the touch after a winter ride (even if I don't *feel* chilled).

So, now this thread has me wondering how many people would find this type of a short a useful product. (Useful enough to actually purchase, of course. ) Would you wear it with leg or knee warmers? Or layer wam tights over it to get extra thermal just on the buttocks?

What do you think? Useful? Hokey? You all kow I value your feedback greatly, so have at it! And thanks!

Susan

[Dianyla]

Pearl Izumi has a new women's short this winter. It's the Microsensor Thermal Short. A thermal short. I, of course, said. "Well, that's dumb. If it's cold enough to need thermal, then why wouldn't I just wear tights? Thermal with bare legs seems dumb." But, as was pointed out to me by my dear sweet man, my butt always seems to be very cold to the touch after a winter ride (even if I don't *feel* chilled).

As someone who prefers to always layer chamoisless tights over shorts in winter, I think it sounds pretty darn good, actually.

I'm also amazed at how warm and toasty I can feel, but there is an outer layer of about 1" of flesh that is quite cold. Yay for insulation.

[lph]

But, as was pointed out to me by my dear sweet man, my butt always seems to be very cold to the touch after a winter ride (even if I don't *feel* chilled).
Susan

My question would be - if you don't feel chilled, why warm it up? I get a cold butt too, but unlike hands and feet, which don't work very well when they feel cold to the touch, my butt seems to do just fine... I guess the extra fat there means women were just born to ride a bike

In winter of course.

[uk elephant]

My winter commutes have generally been less than 4miles so I just wear what I'll wear to work. Possibly with a pair of tights under my jeans or a pair of rain pants over to stay warm when it gets down below 0F. When training in that kind of weather I wear my fantastic windbreaker tights. Not sure what the brand is, but I think it came from REI. It's warm and keeps the wind out. And it will fit over cycling shorts when the time comes to need it. Unfotunately, here in SE England I'm not so sure I'll need it. At least last season we didn't get any decent winter weather. It never even went below 0!

[Trek420]

uk elephant "Unfortunately, here in SE England I'm not so sure I'll need it. At least last season we didn't get any decent winter weather. It never even went below 01"

Not even below 01! that's practicaly tropical shorts and short sleeved jersey weather

[CorsairMac]

OK, so here's a question (in a roundabout kind of way).

Pearl Izumi has a new women's short this winter. It's the Microsensor Thermal Short. A thermal short. I, of course, said. "Well, that's dumb. If it's cold enough to need thermal, then why wouldn't I just wear tights? Thermal with bare legs seems dumb." But, as was pointed out to me by my dear sweet man, my butt always seems to be very cold to the touch after a winter ride (even if I don't *feel* chilled).

So, now this thread has me wondering how many people would find this type of a short a useful product. (Useful enough to actually purchase, of course. ) Would you wear it with leg or knee warmers? Or layer wam tights over it to get extra thermal just on the buttocks?

What do you think? Useful? Hokey? You all kow I value your feedback greatly, so have at it! And thanks!

Susan

Need a tester??........I mean - someone who has a problem with cold tushie and would be willing to test these for my winter commute?? *wink wink nod nod*

[Cassandra_Cain]

Very novel thread here, I've enjoyed the varied responses.

I've never suffered from "ice-booty-ius"

My problems lie elsewhere...can you say numb hands and feet? yikes, now that's more where I have trouble

I probably wouldn't use a thermal short, since I would feel limited by it in the summer. I'm tending to buy jerseys/shorts that I can use year round and not just in the winter. Also layering is, for me, a pleasant alternative.

Some people might like the short though as has been mentioned in this thread.

[nuthatch]

Very novel thread here, I've enjoyed the varied responses.

I've never suffered from "ice-booty-ius"

My problems lie elsewhere...can you say numb hands and feet? yikes, now that's more where I have trouble

It feels like sitting in front of a campfire on a really cold night. Your whole front side (with the exception of the EVER cold hands) is warm, even sweaty and your backside, no matter how hard those glutes are working, is feeling icy. If only I could transplant some belly fat to the parts that need insulation when it's cold (or some enhancement? )!

The thermal shorts sound weird, I guess. The backside would be warmer but the crotch would get sweatier and it doesn't need to get sweatier in the freezing cold. That's why I don't think those thermal tights with the windproof panel in the crotch area would work for me either. I need to vent those areas.

What they need to make is a bolero for our bottom half!

I saw a jacket recently (maybe here on TE) with the greater protection in the arms and less in the core area. Now that makes sense to me - the core quickly gets hot and the arms never do.

[lph]

Well, I can say....Don't do what I just did.
Was so excited to have a chance to wear my new long-sleeve jersey this a.m. and knickers, that I wore them without regards to what the weather would be like for the *ride home* this evening!

Yup, I've done that. And learnt to wear a somewhat decent sport bra/top underneath so that I can tear off the long-sleeved on the way home without getting arrested. I had a skimpy Patagonia Capilene thing on underneath one afternoon and did feel a bit ... brazen. (To the extent that a even-smaller-than-A-cup can look "brazen".)