Fall/winter riding gear and tips

[newfsmith]

First the cold water: riding at night, in cold weather means you will lose speed. All those layers make your legs slower, and even with 20-30W of light you have to slow down so you have time to react to road hazards that are only visible in your light cone. My winter commutes are anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes longer than my fall commutes.

So why ride outdoors in the dark when you could train better indoors on a trainer? Because it is outdoors, and it brings a new set of challenges and skills. I don't mountain bike, but I do ride across ice covered streets with rain or snow falling. It demands a round pedal stroke. Here in the Boston area it is really only 1-3 months. I regard it as the season I work on improving some of the riding skills I let slide in the summer when I may be thinking more about endurance or speed.

Specific tips on cold night riding:
1 Be sure to check your brakes before you leave, moisture in cables can
freeze, locking your brakes.
2 Have 2 headlights & 2 taillights, so if one fails you still have something.
3 You can not have enough reflectors, it is not possible to overdue it.
4 A loud horn is even more important. I use a 12V car horn.
5 Don't forget to use layers on your hands. Invest in thin underliner gloves,
they will add lots of comfort with less awkwardness than heavier gloves.
6 Pack like you are going on tour. Mechanical problems with sweaty clothes are an invitation to hypothermia. Carry at least a dry top and pants. A spare pair of gloves or mitts can be a finger saver if you lose one while turning a bike over to change a tire in the dark.
7 Be extra careful to keep your cell phone charged. Consider calling for help rather than risking hypothermia dealing with a simple problem you know you can fix yourself. Cold and darkness will make it take at least twice as long as normal.
8 Go to the library and get some books on wildlife at night. Learn what to watch for in your area. Stop to listen. Winter brings a profound silence, punctuated by the owls, coyotes, fox and other nocturnal animals. While at the library check out the star maps too. Winter skies are often less smoggy and if you ride out the light pollution you will see brilliant skies.
9 This is the season to ride for the love of riding. It will reward you in its own ways not easily measured in speed, HR, time, or distance, but hard to measure bike handling ability.

[Trekhawk]

Looking for some yummy winter woolies check out www.icebreaker.com
The New Zealanders sure know how to make great stuff.

[shewhobikes]

Knew I could count on TE for good advice and tips. Thanks, ladies, for all the links and tips on warm and dry clothing. Newfsmith, those are exactly the kind of safety/preparedness suggestions I was after. It's rarely that cold down here in Birmingham, but there is a Tuesday night ride I want to continue doing starting next week. During the summer, the club does one route which changes to a different ride the first week in October. This new one is mostly on neighborhood and downtown streets where there is little traffic after 6 p.m. (our start time), but generally good street lights.

It will be interesting to see how long I can hang in there!

[crazycanuck]

I keep forgetting you notherners are heading into winter.I'm not a big fan of heat..but i'll think of you in the snow when it's 42c down here..

Anywho...when we lived in nz..we relied on ground effect for our wet weather/wintry type gear. I found the toasty pie and storm trooper were lifesavers in the icky wet weather auckland was known for..

Also, try Mountain Equipment Co-op. I've not tried thier biking gear, just the jackets..Ask any of the other canucks that post here about MEC. It's pretty reasonable....(xept for the shipping costs down to oz)

c

[Grog]

(I'm one of these canucks I guess...)

I'm going on to MEC today for my Winter needs. Usually I just buy the plain stuff there and tools too, but they seem to have a great new jacket that I want to try on.


http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1128178778300
MEC Airfoil cycling jacket

It has no reflective features whatsoever, though, which kind of bugs me. I'm still think of the Descente vest/jacket (sold here on TE) so I may just walk out of MEC with knee warmers, fenders, new lights (very basic just in case system), toe warmers if I can find them, or windproof socks maybe, and two of their cheap longsleeve jerseys that are great as layers (they look quite like Performance's):


MEC Longsleeve Jersey

Add to that new cleaning brushes, some White Lightening fluid and perhaps new tires and I'll have all the gear I need for this Winter!

Oh! And today's the outdoor gear swap so maybe I'll find a tent too?

Nice day in perspective.

[bluerider]

Along the lines of this topic, I start out early and it's starting to get nippy. I went out to get my first pair of leg warmers and EGADS, they did not fit well. Mostly because I'm 5'2 and they honestly go up to my bum. Righty O, not comfy. Anyone know of a brand that carries leg warmers for shorter females? I was thinking of getting them shortened.....

[roughingit]

Along the same lines....any recommendations for cheap cycling tights? Or would leg warmers work in extremely wet conditions? I was thinking of just waterproofing some tight if I could find any cheaper than $80 (which is what they've been going for around here). When it's too cold I have to switch to normal pants sometimes and they get kinda uncomfortable when they are full of water...plus they don't have a chammy!