Quote Originally Posted by thinpaperwings
Hi everyone,
I'm in Portland, OR and I want to commute to work by bike. I have two problems with this commute that I would love some help with: (1) How do I build up the mileage so that I won't be too tired, and (2) How do I handle the cold?
It's a 7 mile ride each way, with hills. For a few weeks I was biking twice a week, but I found I was very tired, and too tired to ride a third time each week. Then I got lazy for a couple of weeks, and now I want to start up again. I've read about the 10% or 20% rule, and I could do that by biking short rides on the weekend. Is that the best way?
My concern about the cold: it's in the mid 30s when I ride. I have warm tights that I wear over my chamois shorts. I also have leggings to wear. For the top I wear a short sleeved jersey, with a winter base layer underneath and/or a long sleeved polar fleece top, and a wind-breaking jacket. I wear a headband and my helmet has a cover. I'm thinking of wearing a balaclava since it's colder now than it was two weeks ago. I feel like rain pants would really help with the cold. Unfortunately, it's difficult for me to find pants that fit my short waist: shebeest is great, but I haven't found any really cold weather clothes from them. Perhaps I just need to tough it out and learn to deal with the cold, but it's difficult to make my muscles work when they're so cold! Does anyone have any tips for dealing with it, especially when it's both cold and wet?
I would love to be able to bike to and from work all five days a week, even in the cold and rain. Thanks in advance for the help!
I have the Firewall tights by Sugoi and I love them. I wear them over my normal bike shorts and they keep me pretty warm and dry. Maybe wearing a little cap under your helmet as well as a helmet cover will help keep in a bit more warmth. I have a smartwool one and another type by Descente which cover the ears as well. This and the helmet cover help keep out that rain and cold.

Hope you find what works for you soon and happy winter riding.

PS Make sure you tuck those bottom layer jerseys into your tights to keep that lower back warm.