Calling Winter Commuters:

[cherinyc]

I'm sorry, I was probably not clear. My body was plenty warm. The clothes were fine. It was the places that I DIDN'T have clothes on that hurt. My face.
Breathing hurt me, because the air coming into my lungs was cold. I guess my issue is that, I thought I had taken care of all potential cold issues, and I hadn't. Something about riding my bike wearing a ski mask and goggles....just isn't appealing.
Though neither were bike shorts when I started.

Thanks for the links on the IBEX though. I am always looking for good base layers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I get it now, Cheri.
Perhaps the thin neck gator pulled up over your mouth might help to warm your breath as it comes in. You might sew two gators together to make one tall one that can go up high.

If you do ever get the merino tops, I can tell you that the Ibex run just a bit smaller/skinnier than the SmartWool ones.

I wear glasses, and I do find that sometimes my eyes get cold in the downhill winds and they get teary. Usually in the beginning of my ride only so far. I expect more problems as it gets colder, especially since my frames are metal not plastic.
My nose always runs when I'm biking. I think it has to do with the wind as I ride. I've always found that it runs even MORE if I blow it. It seems to irritate my nose linings so they try to protect themselves with yet more mucus coatings. So I just sniffle it in and swallow (I figure it's already in there anyway!)

[Dianyla]

In mildly chilly temps I can get away with just a cotton buff or earwarmers, but when it starts getting windchappingly cold I switch to this Sugoi Balaclava. The fabric is somewhat smooth and silky feeling on the outside, and slightly fleecy on the inside. But it's not made of fleece per se, I find heavier fleece balaclavas to be great for cold weather camping (especially at night) but when I'm working and sweating they're too hot.

[lph]

It's a few degrees below freezing here now, and I ride with a microfiber Buff pulled over my nose to heat the incoming air. It gets all soggy after a while, though.

Anyone try something like this?

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=21626

I found something very similar in a bike shop yesterday, but it kind of freaks me out. Looks like it might stay dryish, but then, you can't pull it up and down to adjust as you go.

[nuthatch]

There are softer balaclavas that have that nose flap/breathing hole combination (and actually that Gore one looks soft too). Yanking it down and up is hard with gloves or mitts on, though.

Everything gets damp from your breath. But it definitely helps cut down on condensation to have that breathing hole area. If it's super cold, you're going to have some icing and when you pull it down and then back up (at a stop light to prevent glasses or goggles from fogging) it feels like climbing into a cold, soggy sleeping bag! And you might as well forget about trying to wipe a running nose - just let 'er run and wash the balaclava when it gets too gross.

I'm liking the snowboard goggles for cold riding (stolen from my son). They vent really well and don't fog up at stops. Also the foam around the face keeps things warm and comfy.

[lph]

it feels like climbing into a cold, soggy sleeping bag!

Ew, appropriate but bad mental image...

So far I've worn a thin wool balaclava under my helmet (covers cheeks and chin) in addition to the Buff around my neck to pull up and down over my mouth and nose. But it gets a bit bulky around the neck, and there's that soggy/ice patch as mentioned, and the top of my head is still a bit chilly, and I have this naive faith that somewhere somebody's invented a cool technical solution to all this...

When it's really cold I wear a long wool neck gator, that I keep folding and turning to keep the ice patch off my skin. Fine until you've used up all the dry parts... I'll look out for a neck gator with a breathing patch, think I can do without Gore's Darth-Vader-on-a-bike-look.

Funny thing is, my eyes are rarely a problem. Maybe the contacts protect them a little.