For the past few years I haven't been able to afford good ski clothes (got them this year - YAY can't wait to ski!), and I was still able to ski comfortably. I got a cheap base layer that was stretchy and shiny and looked kind of like under armour and over that I wore a Goodwill wool sweater, cheap insulated nylon work-out pants, and then just zip-out inner layer of my winter coat. Mittens. Cheap hat.

The only thing that would need to be different for cycling would be you'd need to make sure your outer pants were tight enough not to snag in your chain, and I don't think you could really bike in mittens . . . i don't know, maybe you could? . . .

I am very happy I finally got some good cold weather sports gear. It works for both cycling and skiing and it's so much less bulky and looks nicer.