How cold is too cold?

[Velobambina]

SheFly is brave enough to ride across ICY PONDS! One tough lady, indeed. She is my heroine!!

Feet. Have I found a solution? Santa brought me the Sidi heated insoles for Christmas. The last few mornings have been brutal cold. I've used the insoles, one chemical toe warmer on each tootsie area (top of foot), lighter weight Smartwool socks, Sidi Diablos outfitted w/toe & shoe covers. My feet did NOT get cold. Yesterday was the real test---temps in the 20s with windchills in the lower-mid teens. Today, it was 17 degrees when I left the house and there was a light wind. For both rides, I was out about 3 hours each. By the time I got home, my feet were still warm.

Hands. Our wonderful Lisa sold me her Gore gloves (I think they are the volcano model). They aren't warm enough, for me, on their own. However, they make the best glove warmers. Again, both today and yesterday, my hands stayed warm with this combo: my Lisa gloves, AmFib lobster gloves, and chemical hand warmers.

I try to stick it out despite the cold, so long as the pavement conditions are not icy/unsafe. Getting up the gumption to go out is the toughest and usually, once I'm out there, I'm fine. I give myself the option of turning for home if I get too uncomfortable.

Thank goodness, we are headed for warmer weather next week. It'll be in the forties when I ride before work all next week! Cold by itself is bad enough but DARK and COLD is the worst.

[SlowButSteady]

Low to Mid 40's for me. In Texas it is hard to justify owning clothes for much colder than that. Plus we get so little cold weather it is hard to get acclimated. Now I will ride in a heat index of 100 no problem.

Ditto, only for South Carolina. I got coldweather tights last year for Christmas and send them back unworn in mid-Feb in exchange for something warm weather.

Now I'm wishing that I had them. It's been below 20F for 3 nights in a row here. I went to the "Y" and swam the other night just to get warm

[sundial]

SheFly is brave enough to ride across ICY PONDS! One tough lady, indeed. She is my heroine!!

That's crazy!! Now tubing across a frozen pond, that's my kind of sport.

[OakLeaf]

Once when I was in college I wrapped my front wheel around my forks. Literally.

That was the last time I rode when there was a possibility of ice.