My toes are frozen!

[PinkBike]

we've recently experienced some colder than normal temps, and my toes are freezing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have some new socks from REI that are kinda like neoprene, and i have pearl shoe covers, but i seriously thought i was gonna lose some toes when i was out riding after about a half hour. the temp has been high 30's. what do you cold-weather cyclists wear??

[makbike]

PinkBike:

Are you wearing wook tights? I found just wearing wind pants was not enough. Also, have you tried the foot warmers you can insert in your shoes?

Good luck.

[PinkBike]

marcie, i dont think i've heard of the foot warmers.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi Laurie,
I had really frozen toes today too. See my post in "December 29th Friday rides" thread.
It's getting more consistantly cold here now in NY state.
I can't speak for how others handle the cold, but here's what I do:
For a 4 hour ride in 31F today, I had to wear my heavy Thinsulate hiking boots. I don't use clipless, just PowerGrip straps on regular pedals- that way I can wear heavy warm boots with room inside for heavy socks. With my boots today I wore Smartwool merino knee socks and a pair of very thick warm hiking socks. Still wasn't quite enough, so next time two heavy pairs and will skip the thin smartwool socks. (I wear two pairs of winter tights as well, and two pair of gloves.) I really don't know how people can keep their feet warm in clipless shoes, even with neoprene booties, but the booties are what people recommend for clipless coldness. There doesn't seem to be any room for heavy socks. I admire them if they can keep going, but I think it must be hard to keep warm enough with clipless shoes. I am assuming you are wearing clipless.

[PinkBike]

yeh lisa, i'm totally clipless, i cant figure out what i can do with the fact that theres only so much room inside my sidi shoes!! i cant afford to have winter shoes (that fit with big woollie socks) AND summer shoes. fortunately we dont usually get that cold, but i thought maybe some others have experience with it. i did read your post, and know EXACTLY where you're coming from!
and, by the way, being 52 is a blast!

[makbike]

Laurie - you can pick them up in hunting section of your local Wal-mart, Target, etc. The ones I have are called Heat Treat - Toe Warmers. They are good for about 6 hours. Here is their website

www.warmers.com

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Marcie, those toe warmers sound like I could use them too! Thanks for the tip!!

[makbike]

I hope they help. BTW they also make hand warmers.

[anakiwa]

Are you wearing enough to keep your core warm? I generally stop cycling this time of year, but I do spend a lot of time outdoors (mainly cross-country skiing). I've found that if my core is warm enough, the rest of me is too (hands, feet, face etc).

Booties can be extremely helpful for blocking the wind and keeping your feet from cooling off too much.

The other thing to think about is how tightly your shoes fit. You want to wear a warmer pair of socks, but be careful you don't get so much in your shoes that the circulation is impaired.

[CycleTherapy]

Hi PinkBike....

I'm from Scottsdale....and my toes have been cold too ! My answer is to wear a pair of wool cycling socks and before I slip on my cycling shoes I put a baggie (sandwich bag) on each foot. The baggies seems to help retain some heat and keeps out the wind.

I also have the Pearl Izumi shoe covers, they'll keep my cycling shoes dry but I can't rate them very high for warmth !

I have a friend who lives on the east coast, she uses those disposable hand warmers (something like 0.99 cents at Walgreen's) and just sticks them in her shoes.

I'm curious where you ride/live....maybe we've passed eachother on the roads.

[withm]

I've been wearing these with heavy wool socks. So far so good. Temps in the 40s.

Pearl Izumi CalienToes here at TE for $19.99
http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=10526

Soon I'll be breaking out the shoe covers:

http://www.terrybicycles.com/detail....s&item_no=1417

They come in neoprene or windblock styles. I have the neoprene and they worked nicely when I was riding in the rain in Europe in October. But now seeing the windblock style.... I sort of wish I had those instead. Neoprene ought to be ok in the cold and wind as long as they don't get wet.

Martha

[PinkBike]

thanks for all the responses!! i'm definitely going to check out the heat treat toe warmers.
bliss, i live in south scottsdale, DH and I commute to sky harbor every day (usually thru papago park), ride to chandler via price on sunday mornings (church) and try to ride with the PMBC club that departs out of kiwanis park on saturday mornings. not so much in the winter tho. maybe i'll see ya, look for the pink bike!!

[nuthatch]

If you don't mind dropping some serious chips, Sidi now makes a remote-controlled battery shoe insole that heats. It has a smart chip that will only allow it to warm to a certain temperature, then cycle off. They're called "toasters." It works with a remote that looks like the little clicker for your car door locks. Totally cool but with a Sidi price tag.

[SouthernBelle]

one thing I do is wear a pair of wicking footie type socks under the heavy socks. Helps keep the feet dry.

As far as affording shoes, keep your eye on ebay. I bought my Lakes and Specialized shoes for a dollar a pair plus shipping, totaling less than $10 for 2 pair of shoes. My Lakes are now my winter shoes. They are soft, warm and suedey inside.

[Crankin]

I have Sidi road shoes and I can wear Woolie Bully socks comfortably. I just leave the ratchet thing and the velcro fasteners quite loose. I wear those socks with Neoprene booties down to about 40 degrees. This week I went out and rode with temps in the thirties for the first time. I used the chemical foot warmers and it was heaven. Basically, I dress the same way i would for x country skiing. I also wore my longer smart wool ski socks, which are thinner than the woolie bullies, and helped to insulate my legs a bit.

Does anyone else have difficulty shifting and braking in lobster gloves? Mine are extremely warm, but I feel really restricted in which fingers I can use, so I've ended up taking them off and switching to my Am-fibs, which are almost as warm, but not quite. They were expensive, and now I think I may have wasted my money.